​ Internship Reflection

Kaiser Permanente-Labor and Delivery unit (12 hours)

During my internship at Kaiser permanente I was immediately greeted by the staff in the labor
and delivery unit. I was than taken to a patient's room to experience a "once in a lifetime event".
I was able to observe the nurse's ability to interact with her patients and help them as their labor
induces. I enjoyed the learning experience I had gathered at Kaiser. It was astonishing
witnessing and observing multiple births. I also had the opportunity to take plenty of notes on
the health diagnoses of the mothers, I was given the chance to use a computer and research
terms that were used by the nurses to describe a patient's well-being and nutrition. Not only was I
able to witness the magical moment of birth, but was given the chance to interact and help take
documented measurements of newborns. I was fortunate to interact with the mothers, who were
willing to let me feel their placenta and allowed me to help them move from room to room. I also
enjoyed touring the facility and discover the multiple different areas of care that the hospital
gives to patients. I was also given great advice by the staff to further my interest in a health
profession by volunteering at local hospitals and to gain other learning experiences in the health
field. I gained medical knowledge of the diagnosis most of the patients had such as, preeclampsia
or HELLP syndrome. There were many terms that my supervisor had used that I had no clue
what they were, but with her help I was able to comprehend the academic vocabulary. I also
learned about the effects of postpartum depression, and the significance of vaginal recovery after
labor.

Tuality Community Hospital-Med/Sur Unit (12 hours)

During my internship at Tuality Hospital I was able to experience hands on practice of what it's
like to care for acutely ill adult patients. With these particular patients I engaged the most and
became to connect with a few who will talk to me about their experiences in the hospital. I was
most often greeted by the patients and enjoyed telling them about our health science focus
program at GHS. Most were well accepting of my presence in their room and gave excellent
advice on furthering my education. However, There were patients who were least interested in
my desire to help them. At those times my supervisor would ask me to step into the hallway, in
order to avoid further conflicting with their patient. On the other hand I enjoyed the faculties and
the staff welcomeness it was a pleasure to be alongside them. Often, I found myself interacting
with other nurses in the same faculty and asked them if they knew what HIPAA is. Many being
astonished that I had known about it would reply, “well looks like your ahead of the game”.