Officially a CNA....soon to be an OB tech!

Well, as most of you all know, I have completed my CNA (certified nursing assistant) course and have passed the state tests! I accepted a job on an OB floor in London, KY about 45 minutes from where I live now! I was hired on as a CNA and through training/orientation, I will become an OB tech in the next few months. This entails assisting the surgeon with c-sections and a slight pay raise. All of this experience is going to be perfect for my application to midwifery school!

Things have been crazy ever since I returned to KY from visiting home for a few days. I am working full time at the hospital for orientation until classes start in late August, as well as working full time for AmeriCorps to make sure that I have all my required hours needed to complete my full turn! Things right now are all over the place. But I wouldn't change it for the world!

I have now attended 6 births, 3 of them being c-sections and 3 being vaginal. I am training in the areas of post partum, nursery, labor and delivery, and the OR. What do all these include? (I haven't learned everything involved with the positions yet, but this is what i know thus far)

Post partum:

• taking vitals
• passing water
• changing beds
• changing dressing
• passing linens and towels
• checking on mom's well being
• Charting

Nursery:

• Taking care of baby
• Rounding up the little ones for the pediatrician
• Taking baby vitals
• Changing diapers
• Bathing the babies
• Recording feedings/outputs
• Helping with circumcisions 
• Helping moms with breastfeeding
• Recording info in many books
• Charting

Labor & Delivery:

• Set up for deliveries
• Assist the doctor with labor
• Help mom push, hold leg etc.
• Receive baby from nurse
• Check baby vitals
• Weigh, measure, clean off baby & mother
• Clean up after delivery

OR:

• Prepping the c-section room
• Scrubbing in
• Opening all instruments
• Assist surgeon
• Hold skin, hand instruments, suction etc. 
• Assist suturing
• Clean up room

I have passed the post partum stage and now on to labor and delivery. I think that this is the area I will like most! The area in which i am working is considered underserved/not everyone has all the resources etc. I hope that i can make an impact! The hospital is brand new so i will be able to grow with it too. I am going to see what can be done with my brochures and if I am able to pass them out to mothers. I feel that they would benefit from them!

I am so excited and very grateful for the opportunity that the hospital has provided me! The chance to be a part of births and babies is mind blowing. It gives me a look into what my future will entail! I can't wait for that moment when I get to catch the baby and pass the new bundle of joy to his/her parents!

Official Kentucky Resident/The Next Step

Well, it's official. I am a legal Kentucky resident! No more MI license, which she took when i got my KY license, not happy about that at all. The best part.....i am getting in-state tuition for nursing school! I couldn't be happier. It relieves a little stress on the "how am I going to pay for this" situation. I am hoping that everything will work out! Everything points me in this direction of midwifery and going to do all that i can to achieve this passion and goal. This coming April, i am taking a month long night course that will, after passing a state test, certify me as a CNA (certified nursing assistant)! Thanks Mom, I couldn't have done it with out you! It's the next step into getting my foot in the medical field! A great person told me that i should continue keeping a foot in the door as to what i want to follow! I needed to have some kind of continuation of what i would be pursuing because it would show others my passion and drive. I have been volunteering at a local hospital ever since i moved here and previously worked in a hospital over the summer and past summers. The reason i wanted to volunteer in the hospital in the first place was to give the women i would be working with a heads up/tour/what to expect advice. Owhhhh AmeriCorps, you have shown me my way, and i will always be grateful for that! In the next few month, I hopefully will get to work a day or two in an area hospital!  A plus, no more A.B.'s. I tried it and it's def. not for me. But i will miss the people i met there.  I just need to remind myself that being a CNA is going to be different than being a nurse-midwife. I have to start somewhere and this is the best way to start. I was reading experiences online of CNA's online and how their jobs pan out, wow, i hope i can handle everything! I will be looking for a weekend job in the nursery, labor and delivery hall, or ob floor. It will be interesting where this next step will take me!