Taylor Hughes

Journal 2
10/9/2013

Description
At clinical this week I got to witness a cesarean section and also a newborn circumcision.
When the day first started I was not expecting all of that to happen, especially not at 7 am. When
I was first thrown into the room and told to act like I knew what I was doing I did the exact
opposite. I had no idea what I was doing and I didnt know where to stand or what to say. The
doctors were originally all in the room explaining the procedure to the mom; once they left I felt a
little more relaxed because the nurse introduced me and started to tell me what was going on.
After we prepped our lady for the OR we all walked down there together. The over all procedure
took only about an hour, which was surprising, I thought it would be double that time. I also got
to see two babies be born, which was another a surprise. After the babies were born each was
given to a nurse and the doctors took samples from each of the babies umbilical cords. The mom
also requested the placenta be saved. Both of these I found to be unusual, the nurse told me that
not many people go through this processes of saving umbilical cord blood. According to
Schuman (2007) it cost about $1,800 to for an initial fee and then about $150 per year afterward
to go through this process of saving the blood (p. 74). These parents had two babies so they had
to pay double that price.
Feelings
I was excepting to pass out during the surgery because everyone talks about how it is so
bloody and even people who dont pass out have told me they get faint feeling in there. When I
originally went in I got myself all nervous because I was expecting to feel that way but once it
started I felt fine. I actually did not think there was that much blood. The overall experience was
awesome. It was so cool to see everything right there. Seeing the sac around the second baby
before it came out was so surreal to me. I wasnt expecting them to just pop it like a balloon but
that is exactly what they did. I could definitely see myself being more involved in OR situations
because at no time during the surgery did I feel faint or grossed out in any way.
One thing that I found to be strange was saving the cord blood. Cord blood has its
advantages such as treating malignancies of the bone marrow, hematological, metabolic, and
immunological disorders (Schuman, 2007, p.74). However, I believe that now days there are so
many cheaper ways to get stem cells that it is not necessarily worth it to pay all that maintenance
money for something that may not even be needed.
Evaluation
The best part about the experience was getting to see my first birth. I didnt know if I was
going to get to see one because I had told you originally that I have passed out in the past. It was
such an amazing thing to get to see these two precious babies being born into the world. I also
loved that I got to hold the babies and help give their first bath and dress them. I felt like a real
nurse instead of the student standing in the corner. The downsides to this day were not being able
to ask as many questions as I would have liked to. During the surgery there is so much going on
at once and when the babies are born its like a rush against the clock to check them out and stitch
mom back up. Even after we left the OR and were in PACU there is so much going to make sure
mom and the babies were stable, that there is not much room to ask questions. By the time
everything settled down it was time to go and I didnt get to ask as many questions as I would
have liked.
Analysis
I wish I could have done more hands on with mom and the babies when they were in
PACU. I would have like to done a newborn assessment as well as a postpartum assessment on
mom. I now it was crazy with everything the nurses have to get done in that short hour thats
considered PACU but it still would have been nice to get to practice those skills we have
learned in class. I also wish I spoke up more and did ask questions even though they nurses were
doing the stuff they had to do. If I had said something originally the nurse might have been more
likely to explain as she was going.

Conclusion
Overall my day was great. I never expected to see so much and learn that much in one
day. I learned that I shouldnt let others fears get in my head. I got all nervous for nothing. I think
I did really well considering that I was put in that situation so last minute and had no idea what to
expect. I am so glad I got to experience a c-section and also that I got to participate in newborn
care. Before today I had not touched a baby in clinical and I was getting a little nervous because
its mid semester. After today though I feel much better about clinical and everything that
happened.
Action Plan
For the next experiences to come I want to work on being more vocal. I need to ask
questions and speak up. I get nervous that the nurse will get mad but I need to get over that and
just realize that the nurse will either teach me then or tell me at a better time. Also, I need to ask
to help more often and if its permitted the nurse will let me and if it is not, its not. I think that
once I get more experience and get more comfortable with newborn care I will be more willing to
speak up and ask if I can help. Like everything in nursing the only way to get better is to build
confidence and become more comfortable, because once those two things happen itll just help
permit learning.











Reference

Schuman, A. J. (2007). When parents-to-be ask about cord blood
banking: For a few parents, saving their newborns' umbilical cord blood is good
insurance. for most, they shouldn't bank on it. Contemporary Pediatrics, 24(9), 73.
Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=2009689012&si
te=ehost-live