ISM Journals

Week 9/7
So far I havent been able to meet with my mentor since I am a part of the special group
who gets to mentor at Clear Lak Regional Hospital. While I am waiting on starting I am talking to
my new mentor who is now filling in for the mentor I had before but moved jobs. I am getting her
to sign all of her papers so that I may get them all turned into you and begin mentoring sooner.

Week 9/14
This week I have worked on getting my scrubs, completing all paperwork, and talking to
my mentor to get an idea for what to do as far as my major project goes. My mentor and I have
been discussing some of the really controversial topics relating to what neonatal nurses deal
with and have decided that the best one is whether or not to allow your babies to get vaccinated
and medicated at birth. We are coming up with more ideas on how to better improve my project
in order for me to get the best experience with it. Meeting up with my mentor this week could not
happen since the hospital paperwork couldnt be turned in until Friday afternoon and my mentor
didnt work the weekend. As for this weekend I am getting a pair of normal scrubs to wear
around the hospital until the ones I ordered from the school come in.

Week 9/21
This week I was able to meet with my mentor for the first time. We met on Wednesday
night for two hours and thirty minutes. While I was there I learned about the rotations a nurse
makes between the nursery and rooms of the mothers who have just recently given birth and
are now located in the postpartum area. I learned about how to tell what the shape of a babys
head in based on how it looks and what the plates are like inside its head. I helped feed a baby
who was in the middle of a cps case and learned how to do his weight and measurements as
well as look for birth marks or other common marks on his body that typically babies have after
birth. On Friday I was supposed to mentor but she unfortunately got put on call.

Week 9/28
I shadowed Tammy Rowlands on Monday and Thursday this week. We had a lot of
babies who had jaundice so she spent a lot of time explaining too me the process of how to
treat for it and what could go wrong if it isnt treated for. She explained to me that all babies get
tested for jaundice because it could be very server and dangerous if not treated for. One of our
babies was getting discharged so I watched as she went over everything the parents might
experience with their baby over the first few months. She told them what was normal and what
to expect, as well as what was abnormal and what to look out for. Overall I learned a lot of new
information which I can use to help me in the future.

Week 10/5
At the hospital this week I met with my mentor for three hours. They were pretty busy
and had a good mix if babies who were just born and babies who were being discharged. I got
to listen as she went over all of the information to the new mother on what to do and expect
when she got home. There were things like how to wash the baby, what to do if they arent the

correct temperature, if they are choking what to do, what to expect as far as bawl movements
go, who to call if they are having trouble breastfeeding, and how long to wait between feedings.
I learned more about jaundice and special equipment they use for the lights and got to go over
instructions with a woman who had just delivered and was moving to postpartum.

Week of 10/12
At my mentor site this week I watched as my mentor put together schedules and helped out
other sections of the hospital. Unfortunately the day I came was slow and not very eventful but I
was able to visit the nicu and help with donated clothes for the babies. I also got to put together
a list of things that other sections such as labor and delivery and nicu needed. Most of the items
were arts and crafts to decorate name tags and handouts that new parents receive before they
are sent home.

Week of 10/19
This week I did not meet with my mentor due to our schedules not matching up. She ended up
only having to work on days where I had practice and I had already had extra hours from
meeting last week so we decided to just meet next week on Monday (10/26).

Week of 10/26
This week I met with my mentor on Monday night from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. I got to see what a
high risk jaundice baby looked like and what procedures it had to go through in order to be
discharged from the hospital to go home. This baby had to stay under the jaundice lights all the
time and couldn't even come out to eat or get its diaper changed. The mom was allowed to sit it
the nursery and feed the baby in the bed and spend time with it whenever she liked. I also got to
see a baby who was only 4 pounds but was very healthy and passed all of its tests. It was born
early but looked perfect besides its low weight.

Week of 11/2
This week I met with my mentor on Tuesday. At Clear Lake right now they moved their nursery
due to construction so it was kind of hectic. There were a bunch of babies born and new
procedures taking place. Nursery is now bathing babies as well as checking in with the parents
to get information on their baby instead of asking the day nurse during shift change. My mentor
was the charge nurse and didnt get any babies assigned to her although she did go to one
room for one of the newer nurses and did the babies vitals which I was able to watch. I now
know how to measure the baby properly and where to check on their head for bone placement. I
also got to interview another nurse with the same job and she told me more about what to
expect going into the field.

Week of 11/9

This week I met with my mentor on Monday. There were a lot of healthy babies born so it wasnt
too hard. I was able to see how they handle twins on two different sets, they had them sharing a
bed due to the shortage since so many babies were there in the nursery. I was able to watch
more babies get their vitals done for the first time and what happens when they dont meet the
requirements. At the hospital there was a baby who was considered too small for gestational
age and a baby who was considered too big for gestational age, both of the babies had blood
tests done and their sugars checked often because when a baby is not average its more likely
for their sugars to drop.

Week of 11/16
This week I was unable to shadow but I did shadow over the break. When I went to the hospital
on Monday there were a few babies born but a ton of babies who were supposed to be born. My
mentor was the charge nurse that night so she allowed me to follow another nurse for a few
minutes who took me to go see a delivery. Watching the delivery was very interesting and
opened me up to another part of nursing that I could very well do, although I enjoy nursery more
I was very interested. I learned what a delivery is like and the steps that have to occur
afterwards in order in order for the baby and mother to have the fastest and heathiest recovery. I
also was able to see an adoption case baby and how the mother interacted with the child.

Week of 11/30
I did not go to see my mentor this week because I only have thirty more minutes to complete
and our schedules didnt match up. I will be mentoring on Wednesday the ninth to get the rest of
my hours in.

Week of 12/7
At my mentorship site this week I caught up with my mentor and explained what exactly would
happen when I presented and made sure she was still okay with the date. We looked over the
room that I would be presenting in and went over our last details.