Personal Narrative: My First Experience When I Was Pregnant

This past Thursday was the first OB clinical day and I was assigned the post partum unit. I was paired with Nurse Donna, who was full of information. Originally we had three couplets, with one baby in the nursrey. As the day went on and families were discharged, all our patients had gone home so we gained three other patients from two other nurses so they could go home for the day. I was able to give two moms their TDAP (tetanus, diptheria, and pertusis) vaccines and learned a new trick when it comes to giving intramuscular shots. Donna told me to have the patient hang her arm down by her side and wiggle her fingers. This not only had the patient concentrating on something other than the shot they were about to get, but it helped activate the

I had such a great day at clinical yesterday. I was finally able to see a vaginal delivery and that entire process. When I arrived in the morning, the mom had just received Cytotec, to help induce labor and ripen her cervix. She was forty-one weeks and zero. Around ten thirty in the morning, she asked for her epidural to manage her pain. We bolused her with fifteen hundred milliliters of lactated ringers to prevent hypotension. Shane was the certified registered nurse anesthesiologist (CRNA) who administered the epidural. It was very cool watching him administer all the needed pain relief medication before he administered the epidural to make sure that it would be placed in the epidural space in the spine. Then administered a small test dose, waited till a few blood pressures were taken, then administered the remaining about through an epidural pump. After the epidural was administered, I was able to administer her foley catheter. I was so happy that I was finally able to place one. I learned a few tricks from Maura (my nurse) as well. She taught me that it was easier to take the top off of the lubricant syringe and to place the tip of the foley inside of the syringe, that way it will not wiggle around and become unsterile. She also taught me to grab from the bottom of the labia and pull up, that way it ensures that I will have a clear entrance to

It was late February in 1998 when I found out I was expecting another child. I was 16 years old. It should have been a happy day it was my daughter’s 1st birthday party and everyone was there. The house was full of family and friends and smelled of chill and cake. Please don’t get me wrong, it was a happy day for the most part until I found out I was pregnant. Scared and not knowing what to do, I kept this what most would call exciting news to myself. You see I was dating a man and he was not a very nice person he was mentally and physically abusive to me most of our relationship and he was the soon to be father. A month or so went by after I told him and we were both somewhat excited him more than I. I was more scared then anything. He managed to get himself into some legal trouble and was sent away for a long time. Where did that leave me? I was scared to death

My one true goal in life was always to be a mother. I was thirty years old and had underwent over four surgeries on my female organs. I had finally given up hope that I may ever get pregnant and it not ultimately end in a miscarriage.

Hey Nandi, just letting you know that you're a really amazing person. Honestly you're a unique person there is no other person I could meet on the planet that could out weight your personality. I've decided that since the day I was born, BAM, mother-child bond. You've always been a strong woman you've done everything from working two jobs, to go our every school events, and handling our family problems. You're extremely happy even in bad situations and your not afraid to show us discipline that has an impact. You're a woman of few words but when you do open your mouth something extraordinary comes out. You fight for us, love us, your kind to all people, help raise strong people by putting reality in front of us since we were little. The most valuable lesson you've taught me so far is, life's going to be extremely difficult at times but you have to be strong, because you are strong, you can fight, and if you go down swinging better make worth your while. Couldn't ask for a better woman in my life.

My prenatal development was normal. There were not any concerns or worries about my development. My mom had a fairly normal pregnancy other than preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is a medical condition in women who have not experienced high blood pressure, and developed in during a pregnancy (Preeclampsia and Eclampsia, 2016). High protein levels in urine and swelling of the hands, legs and feet are other symptoms of preeclampsia. My mom had an ultrasound at fourteen weeks. She did not have any other testing like an amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling. It was unnecessary.

I decided to discuss the second trimester stage of development because for me, with both of my pregnancies, that is when I started to get really excited about having a baby. There is the whole scare of losing the baby in the first trimester but also that’s when I started to feel the baby move, both times in the 16th week, when the baby, and myself, grew the most (I gained 8 pounds in the 5th month with both pregnancies), and when I got so heavy I had to walk instead of run, it was actually faster from about 18 weeks on. Babycenter.com says that the fetus of 14 weeks of age is the size of a lemon, 3 ½ inches long and weighing 1 ½ ounces, while parents.com says it’s the same weight and length but the size of a peach. At 27 weeks both sites said the babies are at 2+ pounds, 9.25-14 inches long and either the size of a head of cauliflower or a sock monkey (which wasn’t fun to look at when your trying to picture a cute little baby). On page 96 of the textbook in Figure 5.8 it is confirmed that after the 16th week the mother may start to feel the baby move. The fetus is also forming small hairs all over the body, including the scalp, and the lungs are beginning to

Alexus Casidy is out of her teenage years and now twenty, with a whole life ahead. The name Alexus may be a common but, the story of how it was picked, was not. Her father named her after a nurse at a Psychiatric Hospital, that he said was pretty. Not only did he name her after a nurse but, he chose the spelling of the car, Alexus. She grew up with her two younger siblings in Beloit WI, and I am yet to wonder if her sibling’s names have a comical story behind theirs as well. My peer went to high school at Beloit Memorial, graduating in 2015. Where she was an active cheerleading and softball player, also where she met her boyfriend, of three years, Ryan. Most don’t see that she is a mother, student, girlfriend, and employee; holding many different roles in all statuses. Alexus studies at UW Rock County and is undecided with fulfilling her dreams for becoming a children’s nurse or a teacher. Also, is hard-working employee at the factory Prent Corporation in Janesville, WI as an Inspector Packer. Where the money pays for the house her and her boyfriend own, with their one year old, Brooks.

My first clinical I felt my greatest accomplishment was not being shy and hesitant. The first day we had clinical was the first day that I got the opportunity to float to another floor, I was very nervous at first. Going into a new place for anyone is different at first because you don’t know what to expect. I think what made my experience so great was the endoscopy nurses and doctors, they were some of the nicest and helpful people I’ve met so far. I got a wonderful opportunity to learn next to the doctors doing the procedures and also see other roles of the healthcare team like the nurse anesthesiologist.

Today was the second day of my 6-week placement at Ward 3A-Logan Hospital, I have originally been paired with a demand casual pool RN, however, the said RN is not confident enough to handle me as her student nurse at the time. After the scrum at 7am, and the handover on the 4-bed bay + sides, I politely ask her if I could take one patient as it was one of the instructions of my CF during the orientation on day 1, but I was answered with “I’m not really familiar with the area and I’m from the demand casual pool...” Having sighted my CF at the corridors, I excused myself from the RN and discussed the matter to my CF, and she allowed me to be buddied with a very good EN, informing me that “she is an EN” before letting me to the bay and introducing me to my new buddy EN.

It was 3 years ago when I was diagnosed with Pectus Excavatum, a condition in which the breastbone sinks into the chest. 1 in every 400 births have it. My condition over the years began to get worse, reducing my ability to participate in sports. The feeling of being exhausted everyday started to hit me as time passed. After finally being diagnosed, my mom took the initiative to schedule my surgery date on June 8,2015. I had asked myself “What if something goes wrong?”, over and over creating this emotion of vulnerability inside me. This feeling that I had never fallen victim to, brought me to a time of reflection. Reflection on the life that I had lived up to that point. The question "What if I don't make it out of this? Is not a common question for someone my age, at least I don't know anyone who has had to ask this of themselves.

This week I had rotation at Genesis and also Cumberland Hall. Genesis was very different that what I expected. When I think of a “rehab” I think of people all sitting around with major withdrawal symptoms, a very strict schedule, multiple one-on-one session, and with no smoke breaks. At Genesis, throughout the day the client was able to do their own thing until the scheduled group session and smoke breaks. I was placed on the male unit and I was very surprise of the self-awareness that I experienced. Just listening men talk and tell their stories brought on a whole new prospective and quickly changed the image of the addict stereotype. While I was there we also established that all the clients was first timers and all fathers, and afterwards I was able to sit and think about how grateful I am to have my father who’s not an addict. I have had the luxury of always having a clean and sober father; which I had taking for granted.

My first clinical was a good experience because I learned a lot. I would say my first day involved experiences that I was expected to learn but also ones I didn’t. I learned that getting up at 5am in the morning really isn’t as bad as you think, once you get your coffee paid of course. As well as the drive from Valpo to St. Mary only talks about 20 mins. As soon as I arrived at the hospital, I expected to learn about what we as student nurse would be doing, as well as that since it was the first day, learn are way around the hospital. I wasn’t to nervous about going to a hospital for clinical, but as Soon as I stepped on the oncology unit I got a little nervous. It hit me that I was no longer just practicing vital and providing base care to

It’s August 13, 1975. Mom left the house 2 days ago, and she came back today with a new baby. He doesn’t look like a newborn, he has none of my parents features, and well he looks kind of weird. But, I guess I have really never seen a newborn and I mean the kids at school call me weird so maybe we are exactly the same. I can tell from the start that we are going to be great friends, but I just can’t help it when he cries I get so annoyed. It’s like he is doing it on purpose. Mom and Dad left the house a few minutes after they got home and I didn’t see them for another 5 days. All I heard from them was, “ There is food in the fridge. Should be enough to last you a few days. Take care of this one. Lord knows we don’t need any more trouble than we are already in.” How could they just leave me here with this annoying little brat? lts evident that Mom and Dad don’t care about me or my little brother.

My goal for clinical experiences is to apply what I have learned throughout my semesters to a clinical setting. I want to become more competent in my skills. I want to be able to look at a patient and identify clues that help me create a focus assessment. I also want to be able to use the patient medication to identify some adverse effects to create a preventative plan of care. My goals are to become more structured with my care plans. I want to make them more patient centered and more focused on initial issues that the patient might have then move it towards preventive methods instead of having my preventative methods first . I also want to become more confident in preparing and starting IV. I know that perfecting starting an IV will come