Class Cancelled

• Today was supposed to be the start of my new birthing class called, The Bradley Method; to continue on with my Independent Component 1 hours. However, class got cancelled due to the instructor being a doula and attending a birth this evening. 
• The Bradley Method is a system of natural labor techniques, in which a woman and her coach (significant other) play an active part during labor and teaches natural childbirth using breathing, relaxation, nutrition, exercise, and education. This simple method increases self-awareness and teaches a woman how to deal with the stress of labor by tuning in to her own body.  

Blog 10: Essential Question

1. I have reviewed the rule of three, for writing an EQ.

2. Review the following EQs, tell if each EQ meets the rule of three, why, and why they do not. 

• What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?
• The question above calls for research, is not a yes or no question, takes a stance for allowing some sort of argument, and is somewhat specific, allowing this essential question to meet the rule of three.
• What is most important to securing a conviction in criminal investigation?
• This question requires a framework of studies and research, is not a yes or no question, allows for points of argument, and is specific, allowing this essential question to meet the rule of three. 
• What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?
• This question does not require any depth of research, but it can be argued with. Due to the lack of research and specifiability, this question does not meet the requirements for the rule of three. 
• How can an anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?
• The above question requires for some very in depth research, allows the topic and points to be argued about, and is very specific in the direction where the answer should be, allowing the question to meet the rule of three. 

3.  Write another EQ draft for your senior project.

• Based on my review of the rule of three and assessing four essential questions, I believe that my current essential question, How can a Labor and Delivery Nurse ensure a successful delivery?, meets all the requirements for the rule of three. 
• For example, in order to answer my essential question one must research and be educated on my topic. My question can also be argued with facts, statistics, and opinions. As far as my question being specific, I believe that is specific enough for me to build a good ground of foundation for research, and is informative enough to where I may have three best answers. 

Blog 9: Lesson 1 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your Lesson 1 Presentation and why?

• What I am most proud of in my Lesson 1 Presentation, is that I referred back to my sources and was confident in the information I was presenting. I also had the classes full attention, due to my volume and interesting props. 

2. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 1 Presentation? Explain why you deserve that grade. 

• If I were to assess myself on my Lesson 1 Presentation, I would give myself a P; due to my lesson plan and presentation meeting all requirements for P consideration. My volume, eye contact, and content clarity was precise and clear; along with my references to my research, mentorship, and interviews. 

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 1 Presentation?

• What worked for me in my Lesson 1 Presentation, were my props and interaction with my audience. My quick and fun activity with the birthing ball I had presented, went very well and succeeded in grabbing the classes attention.  

4. What would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 1 Presentation?

• What I would've done differently on my Lesson 1 Presentation, was not to get so nervous before I'd presented. I still tend to get a bit nervous before presenting, even though I have been doing this for quite some time now. Because I had gotten so nervous, I had forgotten and skipped over some valuable and important information on research and facts. 

Not What I'm Used To..

• My mentor Deborah, has been presenting an STD presentation to the Baldwin Park Police Department's delinquents, for quite some time now. When she had invited me to attend the presentation with her, I had no hesitation accepting her invitation. Although I have to admit, I was a bit nervous. 
• When we arrived at Baldwin Park High School, the first thing I noticed was the clothing of the delinquents. They were all dressed in sweatsuits with their last names across the back of their shoulders, and were accompanied by police officers around the room. Both my mentor and police officers had warned me about the hoodlum's possible behaviors and reactions. 
• Surprisingly, the presentation went better then expected, due to the small group of hoodlums and their behaviors. They all took the presentation very seriously, participated, and asked questions; except for two boys who were too embarrassed to look at the graphic pictures and giggled the whole time. The questions and comments that some of the delinquents had made, were quite shocking and surprising due to their lack of knowledge and resources; and because of that, my mentor had me pass out her business card for any additional questions. Police officers even took her card!   

A Prepared Childbirth Class?

The instructor demonstrating a pain relief position, for lower back pain. 

• I'd never thought that I would ever attend a birthing class, even if I were to be pregnant myself. The idea of those classes always seemed so lame and cheesy to me. But now that I have actually attended a class for my Independent Component, my whole perspective has changed. The class was actually very informative and educating for first-time couples. Even to those couples who already experienced their first childbirth! 
• The instructor was very entertaining through out the lessons she was introducing, such as the anatomy and physiology of childbrith, nutrition, signs and symptoms of early labor, etc. She was also very insistent that the pregnant couples (including myself), participate in her body conditioning excercies such as pelvic rocks, kegels, slow paced breathing, and progressive relaxation. 

Blog 8: Research and Working EQ

1. What is your working EQ?

• My working essential question is, How can a Labor and Delivery Nurse ensure a successful delivery? 

2. Possible answers to my working EQ are..

• Labor and Delivery Nurses must be able provide emotional support, care, comfort, and fulfill the needs of the patient. 
• Labor and Delivery Nurses must be able to cope, move quick, understand, and handle stress in any time, type of situation, and current condition the patient is in, with the process of delivering. 
• Education of the woman's body before, during, and after birth is essential to the Labor and Delivery Nurse in order to understand, relate, and advance their care to the woman in need. 

3. What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ? 

• Many articles and journals I have read and researched, all had one thing in common to state, and that was to provide the patient with emotional care and support. But the one article that I have found most important and useful is, "Lesson 5: Special Situations in Labor and Delivery" written by the Medical Education Division, Bookside Associates, Ltd. This article has helped me shape and answer my essential question by not only providing me with information on nursing, but the woman's bodily response to labor and delivery. 

4. Who is your mentor, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ? 

• My mentor is Deborah Nakielski, CNM., and what I am doing right now, relates to my working essential question by understanding the woman's perspective on birth.  

Blog 7: Independent Component 1 Approval

1. Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours. 

• What I plan on doing for my 30 hours, is to take multiple classes such as child preparation, birthing, lamaze, breastfeeding, breathing, and pain management, etc., at Kaiser Permanente Hospital and/or Health Clinics. During each class, I will participate, watch, learn, take notes, and most likely turn in an essay to my mentor.  

2. Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence. 

• To meet the expectation of showing proof and evidence of 30 hours completed, I will probably turn in pictures, notes, essays, brochures, and possibly videos of classes I have taken. 

3. Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth. 

• Taking classes as part of my Independent Component, will help me explore my topic more in depth by understanding how women may feel and do before, during, and after birth. Understanding means better communication; and that is one key to a successful delivery, in which a Labor and Delivery Nurse must master. 

4. I have updated my Senior Project Hours Log. 

What a Difference!

The "Lab".

• My mentor wanted me to tour the Natural Birth Center and Women's Wellness in Whittier, to compare and write a comparative analysis on the Birth Center to a normal hospital setting like Kaiser Permanente. Let me tell you right now, there is such a huge difference between the two! 
• The Birthing Center was nothing like how I expected it to be. It consists of only one waiting room, a front desk, two restrooms, lunch and food area, a small room that is suppose to be their "Lab", and two birthing rooms. I didn't even know I was in the "Lab" until one of the front desk ladies told me otherwise. The birthing rooms completely caught me by surprise. The rooms had actual beds, chairs, and one tub to give birth in. 
• One major difference between the Birthing Center and Kaiser Permanente, is the services that they both provide and offer. For instance, the Birthing Center focuses more on "letting birth take its course and time" while the hospital tends to "speed things up" and provide medication to the mother when needed.  

A Birthing Room.

Blog 6: Second Interview Preparation

1. Who is your mentor and where do they work?

• My mentor is Deborah Nakielski, CNM., who works at Kaiser Permanente Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in Baldwin Park. 

2. What five questions will you ask them about their background and/or the background of the organization/company where they work? 

• How long have you been working at Kaiser Permanente Hospital and what made you choose to work there?
• Over the years, how has the OB/GYN Department changed? 
• Has any new technologies and/or discoveries affected you, your work, and the hospital?
• When it comes to the protection of the patients and their newborn(s), how has the security advanced?
• Are the patients usually satisfied with their care and hired staff?

Blog 5: Mentorship and Research Reflection

1. Describe your experience on how you found your mentorship. 

• I happened to find my mentorship, with no intention of finding one at the time. A substitute teacher (whos name I don't recall), was asking me what topic I had planned to do for my Senior Project; I then explained to her what I wanted to do and why. She had then referred me to Noah Nakielski (a recent graduate from iPoly) to find and ask his mother, if she could be my mentor, since she just happens to be a certified Nurse Midwife. Contacting Noah was not uncomfortable at all, we had taken a college course together at Citrus College and often spoke to each other at iPoly. 
• Once Noah had given me his mothers information, I contacted her right away. She had agreed willingly and was very nice about it. We soon set up a meeting together to discuss future plans of my mentorship. I guess you can say, I was lucky!

2. What has been your most important article you have read so far and why? 

• I would say that the most important article I have read so far is, "Lesson 5: Special Situations in Labor and Delivery" written by the Medical Education Division, Bookside Associates, Ltd., because this article provides me with important and detailed information, along with pictures, definitions, conditions, responses, nursing interventions, and the delivery of the labor situation(s). 

Getting A Taste..

• Touring Kaiser Permanente in Baldwin Park for the first time, was such an exciting experience for me. I wouldn't have gotten such access if it weren't for my mentor, Deborah. She had shown me the clinic, then back into the hospital on the Labor and Delivery floor, the nurses station, nurses schedule, monitors that kept track of the newborns heartbeat and rate, delivery rooms, caesarean section/emergency surgery rooms, and recovery rooms. The labor and delivery rooms are designed to make a woman feel comfortable and at home as much as she possibly can. For example, the room is an open space with windows, has a personal restroom, wires and monitors are kept hidden behind huge cabinets, and newborns stay close to their mother and never leave the room (unless there is some type of emergency).

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

1. Who do you plan to interview? Why?

• I plan on to interview Dr. Roselyn M. Dinsay, MD, or another certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist. I chose to interview an Obstetrician and Gynecologist because, they themselves have delivered babies and know keys to a successful and smooth delivery.    

2. What additional questions do you plan to ask?

• What sparked your interest in Obstetrics and Gynecology? 
• What duties do you expect of your nurses during each stage of labor? 
• How much do you depend on your nurses? 
• What is the most essential part, of the relationship between the patient and Labor and Delivery Nurse?
• Which type of birth is more challenging? Vaginal birth or C-Section? Why?

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Working EQ

1.  List your topic here:

• The topic choice of my senior project is, Labor and Delivery Nursing.

2.  Write a question that helps you to focus your research this month. 

• How can a Labor and Delivery Nurse ensure a successful delivery?

3.  I have posted a working bibliography on the right side of my blog. 

Blog 2: Summer Mentorship Component

1. The link below will lead you to my log of Mentorship Hours. 

• Mentorship Log

2. What is the contact name and number of where you volunteered?

• Deborah Nakielski, Cell: (626) 485-9344, Work: (626) 851-5400

3. What questions were raised because of the 10 hours of experience? Why?

• What is the difference between a doctor and a nurse midwife? - I ask this question due to the amount of freedom a nurse midwife has. I also ask this question because I want to know what a doctor can do, that a nurse midwife cannot do.
• Why is the clinic located inside the hospital? - I ask this question because I assumed that the clinic and the hospital were located in two different areas.

4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

• Since I was not able to complete my hours by the time this post was due, I cannot completely answer this question with thought and experience. 

5. What is your senior project going to be? What made you choose this topic? 

• My senior project is going to be on Labor and Delivery Nursing. What made me choose this topic, is my choice of career. I do want to become a registered nurse and specialize in Labor and Delivery. If I choose to further my career and education in Labor and Delivery Nursing, I will then go back to school to become a Nurse Midwife like my mentor.   

Blog 1: 2 - Hour Presentations

1.  What presentations did you see?

• Teaching Biology - Alejandro Espinoza 
• Soccer training - Jasmin Quiroz 
• Special Education - Diana Serrano
• Bodybuilding - Christian Velez
• Dentistry - Nitjasin QP
• Bikram Yoga - Jessica Hartlein 
• Music Industry - Emmely Avila
• HIV - Rhaven Innis
• STEM Involvement K-12 - Brenden Trang
• Medical Missionary - RJ Baron 
• Cancer Advocacy - Brianna Sigala
• Teaching Kindergarten - Alexis Teixeira
• Nursing - Allyana Salud 
• Physical Therapy - Jazmin Castro 
• Domestic Violence - Marilyn Sambo   

2. What questions do you have that haven't been answered about the senior project? 

• How close are due dates and deadlines?
• Is it hard to juggle core classes, college classes, and senior project throughout the year? 

3. What has the most important part of the senior project, based on what you are seeing in the 2 - hour presentations?

• Based on what I am observing throughout the presentations, research and the essential question along with three answers and one best answer, seem to be the most important part of the senior project and presentation put together. 

4. What topic are you considering doing and why?

• The topic I will be doing is, Labor and Delivery Nursing. I chose this topic because, this is the field I see myself working as a career. Bringing life into the world is beautiful, and so is a womens body.  

5.  What are you doing for your summer mentorship?

• For my summer mentorship, I will hopefully be working with my mentor inside hospitals and clinics, while working with patients and learning new things.