FAMILY BIRTH CENTER
LINK DESCRIPTION
LINK internships is a three week opportunity where juniors are able to choose a career path they might be interested and then contact potential places and mentors, either local or not. It is very self driven and such an amazing opportunity for young adults like us to have in order to figure out what really interests us. We were each paired with a mentor and we are able to shadow them and go through their daily experiences with them.
LINK 1.0
Who? Juniors from AHS paired with mentors who are professionals in their fields
What? A three-week long internship (30-40 hours a week) that promotes community involvement and connects classroom learning to the outside world, students do not attend classes in order to focus all their attention on the internship
Where? Businesses and organizations in Durango and beyond
When? Three weeks in spring, exact dates each year can be found on the AHS School Calendar
Why? LINK supports students in lifelong skills such as:
• thriving in a professional setting
• refining college and career goals
• application of what they learn in our classrooms
• making positive contributions to the community
• developing a strong sense of self
LINK 1.0
Who? Juniors from AHS paired with mentors who are professionals in their fields
What? A three-week long internship (30-40 hours a week) that promotes community involvement and connects classroom learning to the outside world, students do not attend classes in order to focus all their attention on the internship
Where? Businesses and organizations in Durango and beyond
When? Three weeks in spring, exact dates each year can be found on the AHS School Calendar
Why? LINK supports students in lifelong skills such as:
• thriving in a professional setting
• refining college and career goals
• application of what they learn in our classrooms
• making positive contributions to the community
• developing a strong sense of self
BUISNESS DESCRIPTION
The Family Birth Center is a unit in the hospital where moms come to have their babies and also learn about childbirth. There is a great individualized care team in the FBC and a great nursery as well. It has every person and recourse that any mom would need when they are giving birth. It even has breastfeeding classes and childbirth education classes. There are twelve room in the FBC all perfectly comfortable and private. There are usually two techs and about six or seven nurses every night and day. Each nurse has to do twelve hour shift up to three days a week. Each person has a very effective job and it is really such a balanced and wonderful team.
LINK ANTICIPATION AND PREPERATION
Initially, I had my ind set on doing my internship at the Children's Hospital in Denver CO, but after talking with someone at Children's for a while we came to the conclusion that it was not going to work. I was pretty bummed when I discovered that was not going to be able to do my internship at the Children's Hospital and that was definitely my biggest challenge throughout this process. Luckily, the LINK coordinator came to my rescue. I told her what my issue was and that I didn't know what I was going to do. She was super helpful and suggested Mercy Regional Medical Center, and it sounded great. She helped get me into the Family Birth Center. I am so lucky that I was placed in that unit. My process was not that difficult once I decided that Mercy was going to be the right choice. I prepared for this internship by learning a little bit about the FBC unit at Mercy through there website. I did not know a lot about the process of childbirth I just knew that I was interested in nursing and the FBC was going to be a great first look at nursing. The Family Birth Center is mostly happy because it is new life! I am still young and there is a lot that I don't know about nursing and I know that it can be very sad at times, so I am glad that I could be in a unit that was mostly happy.
LINK REFLECTION
I gained a ton of new insight on what it's like to be a nurse and this internship just made me even more excited to go into nursing. I know that it is something I am serious about and the internship showed me that. Going into this internship, I knew very little about nursing and about childbirth, now I know more about that field and the unit. Coming into the internship I already had good social skills and I already knew that enjoyed helping people, those were good skills to carry throughout the internship. I was pretty challenged with a lot of the things that I did not know or understand but I did tell one of the nurses that and she told me about how that all spent a lot of time learning the things that know. I am so pleased with the way that my internship turned out. I was able to witness more than I was expecting and I enjoyed pretty much every minute I was there. I learned a ton about what comes with being a nurse and all the responsibility. I got to assist the nurses, help the techs set up for surgery and check patients blood pressure and temperature and I would grab waters and food orders, things like that. Before the internship I had the thought to go into nursing but I was not totally sure about it. This internship was super reassuring and I think that nursing is something I want to pursue. The most exciting part for me during the internship was when Britt Blazedell, who is the art teacher here, came in to have her baby. I was able to be part an amazing day for her and her husband and it was so great to witness. I was able to watch one vaginal delivery and two c-sections while I was in the FBC. I wasn't sure how I was going to react while watching the deliveries, but I was totally fine and I never had to leave the room, I was happy to be there. I actually even cried for one mom that I didn’t even know. It is such an incredible thing and I am so pleased that I was able to do my internship in the FBC.
My Link Project:
Description: After talking to some of the women in the FBC about project ideas they suggested that I research Gestational Diabetes, I decided to go with that! It is a disease that only pregnant women can have.
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