My Clinical Observation

My clinical site is at Good Samaritan Hospital at Downtown, Los Angeles. On my first day, I was a bit nervous because I have never seen a friend or family member give birth. All I can think about is, how can I carry a newborn baby, change diapers, and feed the newborn. We did orientation on my first day and we were introduced to each floors that we will be assigned for the next three weeks. On the 7th floor is the Post-Partum floor, and the 8th floor is the NICU and Labor and Delivery On my second day of clinical rotation, I was assigned to postpartum floor. I followed my Nurse everywhere she went as well as observed what she was doing. Every patient she was taking care of, she let me do the assessment on the newborn and on the mother. She would show me how to check the fundus, the peripad for locia, and to check on any sign of bleeding. Doing the assessment on the newborn was a little different. However, my Nurse

I saw my first Cesarean Section. It was mind-blowing. I thought, I was going to faint or not able to handle the sight of blood, however, I was there for my patient from her C-section to transferring her to postpartum. I developed a trusting rapport with the patient, her husband, and the newborn baby that they allowed me to teach them with cord care. On my last day of clinical rotation, I was assigned to NICU and I was able to also witness two vaginal delivery. I was able to follow my NICU nurse and she allowed me to do some feeding as well as change diapers. I was able to witness a placement of the IV line through the umbilicus and saw a Nurse drawn blood for peak and through for erythromycin for the newborn. My overall experience was educational, amazing, and most of all, hands-on. I was scared at first because it was very different from Med Surg and Mental health, but with nurses that explained, demonstrated, and allowed me to be hands on, I felt confident at the