Post Partum- The Medical/Surgical Unit for Babies

Post Partum- The Medical/Surgical Unit for Babies

• My Responsibilities: none
• New Knowledge: I learned about all of the different types of nurses and all of the qualifications and education necessary to achieve different degrees in nursing
• Best Thing: The best thing was talking with one of the nurses on the floor. She was very patient and sweet.
• Worst Thing: Seeing how many of the women had miscarriages or abortions
• Overall: Good

• When I came to Post Partum, I was immediately greeted by the nurse that I followed. She was very welcoming and was very knowledgeable. She went out of her way to try and find things that were interesting for me to see (though we couldn't find anything because all of the nurses were either eating or charting). Because of this, I just talked to her and asked her questions about her job, why she wanted to go into it, and how it compared to other jobs in the medical field. 
• Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see any diagnostic procedures, but the RN I followed explained the diagnostic procedures to me. She told me that the nurses keep track of the number of times the woman has been pregnant in the past, the number of babies they've delivered, the number of term babies the woman has delivered, the number of abortions and miscarriages that the woman has had, and the number of living children that the woman has. They check all of these to determine how difficult the birth is going to be, and how knowledgeable the mother should be about everything that's going on.
• I was not able to see any therapeutic procedures while I was on the postpartum floor, but the nurse that I followed told me that they instruct the parents on how to hold the baby, how and when to feed them, and how to change diapers.
• No diseases or disorders observed.
• Grafa- number of times pregnant 
• Para- Number of babies delivered 
• Breech Position- Baby is coming bottom first

1. The Post Partum is less strict than the NICU, and it was more peaceful (from my experience there). There were a lot of adorable pictures hanging on the walls, and the entire environment was very welcoming. All of the babies and mothers were healthy and just waiting to be released. All of the nurses were very nice, and they were all willing to answer my questions and strike up conversation with me. There were one or two nurses who were charting on their computers when I was there, and there was a blood pressure/vitals machine that could be wheeled to all of the rooms if necessary.
2. The nurses worked as a team and seemed to be their own community made up of friends who had mutual respect for one another. They communicated with each other very well and they seemed very comfortable with each other. The environment was professional, but also comfortable. They had social events and medical conferences planned for all of the nurses, and they were making an achievement board while I was there. They seemed like a very constructive and welcoming community of nurses. 
3. I learned a lot about the diagnostic procedures that I mentioned before, and in addition to those, the nurses also keep track of the baby's  estimated gestational age, how dilated the mother is, how thick or thin the cervix is, how the mother and baby are positioned in relation to each other, and if the baby was coming out head first or bottom first. This helps the nurses guide the mother and give her advice. I also learned about all of the different levels of nurses. There is an LVN/LPN who can do basic nursing skills and have the least amount of education. There are ARNs who get an Associates Degree and are able to care for the patients' mind and body, BRNs who get a Bachelors Degree in nursing, care for the patients holistically, and are always in charge of LVNs and ARNs. After that, there are RNs with a Masters Degree who understand and theorize about why nurses do what they do, and who can teach at nursing schools. Lastly, there are RNs with PHDs; these nurses philosophize about nursing and advance nursing as a field by incorporating their ideas into lessons that future nurses learn about.
4. The Post Partum area was a very nice and peaceful place; the nurses were all great and interesting and passionate about their jobs. I would still consider the ER and ICU my favorite units because of the type of medicine that is being practiced, but the nurses in the Post Patrum area were my favorite by far. I do not want to work in Post Partum, but I adored the nurses and would love to talk with them again.