3rd 9 weeks Journals

1/21
My first day of mentorship went very well. It was very exciting to see my mentor again along
with all the nurses I’ve met along the way. I observed a blood transfusion and got to speak to an
anemic patient which changed my perspective on the disorder. The patient had a kidney
disease prior to anemia which was caused by a drinking problem. To continue my professional
relationship with my mentor I plan on using good communication throughout my mentorship
experience, I’ve concluded that communication is key through a professional relationship.
Communication helps task get done faster in the ER along with staying on schedule.
1/28
For my ISM Spring Project topic I have chosen Infection Control and PPE wear. My mentorship
experience helps add to my project because before any procedure there’s always certain steps
that you must follow in order to continue the procedure. I’ve observed some of the techniques
such as sterilizing probes and wear protective PPE wear. This year I do have the same mentor, I
plan on making my project different this year by including steps of the process and using
pictures of graphs. Instead of creating a trifold board for my project this semester I will be using
a series of videos instructing how to wear PPE properly and how to use Infection control
beneficially.
2/4
My mentor helped me chose my topic by introducing me to the safety equipment and
techniques they do to protect themselves from infection and it keeps their patients away from
infection. In my current mentorship I am always observing procedures, the nurses always wear
PPE and it relates back to my project topic over PPE. This week in mentorship I got to observe
how an IV works, first my mentor gathered the materials and inserted the tube to the IV. Next,
she put on gloves and applied pressure on the patients arm to search for a vein. Then she
inserted the needle and removed it so she could insert the tubing. This simple procedure
relates to my project because my mentor had to prep using PPE in order to prevent infection.
 2/11
This week in mentorship something new I experienced was observing the nurses put on PPE.
My project topic is over PPE and infection control therefore, I started paying attention to the
nurses. When they enter an environment where infection could spread, they wear PPE. I got to
observe a blood transfusion, the nurses must wear PPE because the patient is extremely
sensitive to any bacteria or infection that could occur. First, we put on hairnets, then we put on
face masks next, we had to slip on gloves. The nurse explained that during a blood transfusion
you must wear PPE it’s a required component. The nurses or any people in the room are also
protecting themselves by wearing PPE, we also don’t want to contain any virus the patient
might have contracted. After the blood transfusion was completed, we immediately washed
our hands. This is an important step when dealing with any patient because this keeps any
bacteria away.
2/18
When developing my Mid Term PowerPoint, I put in a vigorous effort. I used my time very
wisely, when planning each specific part, I used a good amount of my mentor’s feedback. She
helped me come up with the topic of a Presentation. When creating my PowerPoint, I made
sure I designed each slide very professional. Every slide had a picture corresponding with the
topic. For example, each key point slide had a picture describing what each key point talked
about. To make it easier on myself I used my fall ISM PowerPoint, I gathered all my information
and make the corrections easily. However, this did help me get an idea of certain slides I could
improve on. For, example last semester one of my peers made a comment that my mentor slide
should look more collegiate. I took their advice and added more information to my mentor
slide. My mentor also helped me with the layout of my PowerPoint by suggesting I wrote out all
the details I wanted to include that I didn’t add last semester. This helped me tremendously
because it organized my slides and helped me get the right idea of how my Final ISM
presentation will look.
2/25
What most interest me about my nursing is how quick they can diagnose a patient. The
technology for nursing is amazing, it makes task much easier. For example, last week in
mentorship a patient had severe liver complications and the nurses did a liver biopsy. Which is
an examination of cross sections. What most interest me about my project topic, PPE and
infection control is that something so simple such as protective clothing can help prevent
various diseases and infections. PPE is a very important aspect of nursing and it’s interesting to
see how easily we can be protected. These nine weeks one thing that stood out to me was a
procedure called ascites. This procedure is based off draining the stomach of fluid buildup in
the abdominal cavity. One patient came in with a build up because he had a poor liver due to
alcohol abuse. I observed my mentor as she stuck an IV like needle in his belly, as the fluid
 began to drain, I noticed a discoloration, I learned was from the alcohol. This procedure was
exciting to watch because I didn’t know fluid could build up so much to where your belly could
expand so far.

3/18
My current greatest strength in completing my semester project is my ability to obtain certain
amounts of information in a small-time frame. My mentor gives me a lot of feedback and I
always take notes on the corrections she gives. This benefits me because throughout my
project I’m making corrections and by the end of my final project everything will already be
finalized. My biggest weakness would be my ability to focus because in the ER setting, it’s so
much going on in one day. You see all types of patients who come in with different situations.
Working in the ER is very fast paced and its very hard to concentrate on one task at a time. I am
willing to strengthen my weakness to complete my semester project and have a good overall
mentorship experience. To strengthen my weakness, I will start paying more attention to what
my mentor is saying rather than observing the other patients in the ER. However, my mentor is
a very understanding person, she gets my curiosity. I’m very privileged to be able to see behind
the scenes in an environment such as the ER.
3/25
Throughout my research the I’ve learned so much about our bodies and what could happen to
them if PPE isn’t applied correctly. One of the main health complications is a respiratory
infection. This could occur if you inhale any sickness from a patient. Influenza is also very
common through body fluids or airborne you wouldn’t know you if you had it immediately
because the symptoms might take a while to form. Throughout my mentorship I’ve learned that
PPE is extremely important to protect the spread of viruses. Just a simple mask or even gloves
can protect our bodies from serious damage in the future. Learning about our bodies in my
research can help me incorporate my main slides in my presentation. This could also help my
audience during my Presentation aware of how important PPE is in health care. What I have
learned in my mentorship experience can help me with my product for my Final presentation
because I can better explain why PPE is such a necessity.