Shadowing Journal

Time: 8:00am-3:00pm

Date: 10-5-16

Place: Prairie Lakes Hospital (OB Department)

Total Hours Spent Shadowing: 7 hours

Observations:
2 deliveries
1 epidural
Learned about the Prairie Lakes Helicopter
Stepped in on a diagnosis/treatment of a baby with a knob sticking out of his head
Watched a nurse determine dilation of a patient

Reflection:
Working in the OB means days that are super busy and days that arent busy at all. In
their free time, the nurses do a lot of orders and reports. The OB nurses work together to make
the best decisions about patients. Also, I learned about how some deliveries go quickly and
smoothly, but others dont go as planned, which makes them tough. Before the deliveries, I
watched the nurses prepare the patient and tools. Afterwards, I watched them take vitals and
blood samples. All in all, I was kind of overwhelmed with all of the new stuff and the critical
situation at the beginning of the day, but in the end, I found it very enjoyable!
 Shadowing Journal

Time: 8:00am-3:00pm

Date: 10-10-16

Place: Prairie Lakes Hospital (OB Department)

Total Hours Spent Shadowing: 7 hours

Observations:
1 delivery
Attended 4 lactation meetings with one of the lactation counselors
Watched a baby evaluation and bath
Helped prepare newborn kits

Reflection:
By the time I got to the OB station, only one mother was in labor, and she had delivered
her baby by noon. The rest of the day was very slow because all of the mothers were being
discharged. Because of how slow it was, the nurses got all of their charts and orders done, so
they had a lot of free time to sit and chat. When theres nothing going on, shadowing gets really
boring because theres nothing to do or see. I didnt really enjoy sitting around during the day,
but it gave me the opportunity to attend lactation consultations, so Im glad it was a slow day.
 Shadowing Journal

Time: 8:00am-2:00pm

Date: 10-12-16

Place: Prairie Lakes Hospital (OB Department)

Total Hours Spent Shadowing: 6 hours

Observations:
1 Epidural
1 Circumcision
Issuing of medications
Preparation for transfer/air lift
How to take an IV out

Reflection:
When I got to the hospital, the nurses were in the middle of trying to save a baby in critical
condition. Because of this, the nurses were totally busy until I left for the day. After the baby was
transported out of the hospital, the nurses had to do charts, take inventory, and then stock carts
again. While things slowed down, one of the nurses let me see an epidural, and a different nurse
showed me how they issue medications to patients. Because of the critical situation earlier, I go
to see first-hand the tough part of being an OB nursewatching a babys life start to slip away.
The resuscitation brought up problems with the authority ranking during an emergency and the
equipment that was taken from the ICU and was replaced with less accurate and less reliable
equipment. Today was a little too hectic for me because a baby almost died, and this really
showed me that I couldnt handle being an OB nurse. I dont want to watch babies die.