Blog 14: Independent Component 1

   LITERAL


 (a) I, Valerie Lopez ,affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 35 hours of work.

(b) Diana Guevara RN, LAC+USC Medical Center

(c) Linked on the sidebar under Senior Project Hours

(d) I did extra mentorship hours with my mentor Diana Guevara. I would mostly shadow my mentor when she was not busy working in the Emergency Room. I shadowed her while she went around checking patients. I would mostly just watch what my mentor do her job and I was able to talk to some patients. I would also get some patients some basic neccisities such as water or give them their food. I would also help sort and file some paperwork. Sometimes I also had the privilege to go visit the Labor and Delivery Center, I would mostly open boxes and help sort the different baby neccesities such as bottles, pacifers, and clothes that they were offered when the newborns baby stayed in the hospital

INTERPRETIVE

Different Newborn Essentials that were given out to the newborn babies at the hospital.

Different Equipment my mentor would use.

Filing paperwork

APPLIED    

My independent component one helped me understand the foundation of my topic better because i had the opportunity to see what it was like to work in a hospital. I got to speak and get comfortable talking to patients and different nurses. I also had a lot of answers answered by some of the different nurses that worked there, not just my mentor. It also taught me how to communicate better and to be patient. 

Premature Discharge

This month I really focused on the nutrition a premature baby needs to grow healthy. When I was researching I also found a lot of information on post discharge. The following video explains that as the preterm baby begins to mature the parents need to start planning discharge. I really enjoyed the video and found it very helpful because it has some important tips a parent would want to know. It also explains the different skills the parent must need to take care of their baby, and even though it may be scary at first, it will become easier the parent just has to get comfortable with their baby.

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

1.

What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

·      I feel like a presented better than I expected. I also really liked how my PowerPoint was set up and also feel like I had a good flow.

2. 

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

       AE       P          AP       CR       NC

 b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

I think I deserve a P because I had everything that was required contract and I feel like I really went into depth with my lecture content for my first answer to answer my essential question.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

I really liked having the opportunity to have technology during the presentation. I really felt like I was able to go in more depth and show more pictures/videos that is relevant to my topic. 

4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

I would want to change my activity to something better and I also would have not talked so fast. In the beginning I felt like the nerves really kicked in and I just started talking really fast. I would of also explain my sources more.

5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

I think my second answer would have to do with communication and how crucial it is to have good communication between the neonatal nurses and the parents of premature infants.

Blog 12: Mentorship 10 Hours Check

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?

LAC+USC Medical Center

2.   Who is your contact?

Diana Guevara 

3.   How many total hours have you done (total hours should be reflected in your mentorship log located on the right hand side of your blog like your WB)?

I have done a total of 15 hours at the LAC+USC Medical Center

4.   Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.

For the hours of service I did at the LAC+USC medical center I mostly shadowed my mentor Diana Guevara. I was able to communicate to patients when my mentor was not in the Emergency Room. I also filed and sorted out lots of paper work. On days when my mentor was busy, I had the chance to communicate to different nurses and learn more about their work in general and see the nurses do very different jobs and duties. 

Blog 11: Holiday Project Update

1.    It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?

·      Over the break I really focused on learning more on the equipment that a NICU nurse may use on a daily basis depending on the condition of the premature baby.

2.    What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

·      The most important thing I learned was how to properly use the equipment. I got a list of NICU equipment from my mentor and decided to research the different equipment.

For Example:

Bililights

·      The bright blue lights placed over the baby's incubator are used to treat jaundice which is yellowing of the skin and eyes.

Blood pressure monitor

·      A machine connected to a small blood pressure cuff wrapped around a baby's arm or leg. The cuff automatically takes the baby's blood pressure at regular times and displays the numbers on a screen.

Cardiopulmonary monitor

·      A machine that tracks the baby's heart and breathing rates. It is connected to the baby by small adhesive monitoring pads placed on his/her chest.

3.     If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers for your EQ, who would you talk to and why?

·      I would probably ask one of the NICU nurses that work at the place I mentor at, they are very kind and helpful when it comes to answering my questions.

Registered Nurse

This month I really focused on the education and work of Registered Nurses. The reason being that one must become an Registered Nurse before becoming a Neonatal Nurse. Since my mentor is a Registered Nurse I really focused on the different tasks and duties a Registered Nurse has. My mentor also recommended that I found videos of Registered Nurses to see exactly what they do. The following video gives a walkthrough of Registered Nurse named Lindsay Bateman. I really like how the video is a good visual to show Registered Nurses duties. It was very interesting to see the different duties a Registered Nurse may have, they are not just limited to one job and I really like that.

Saima and Qais

My mentor recommended finding more personal stories of mothers and their premature babies and I found one that I really liked

Saima Parveen, 26, and her husband Mohammed, 35, live in Bradford. Their first baby, Qais, now two and a half, was born when Saima was 25 weeks pregnant. At first Saima’s pregnancy was going very well until she reached her 18 and 20 weeks of pregnancy when she found out that she had been bleeding. For Saima “It was very frightening, and the doctors couldn't find a cause.” They gave her a scan, and could only reveal the sex of the baby – it was going to be boy. Then, at 24 weeks, she bled again. She was rushed to the hospital and was there for three days, having steroid injections to make sure the baby's lungs were healthy enough to breathe if he was born.  They had to put Qais in a ventilator because he couldn’t breathe on his own. Qais weighed one pound and one ounce when he was born, but now he’s a healthy baby boy who is feisty yet sociable. Saima explains that Qais can’t walk yet because of his developmental delay but he is still a young healthy toddler!