PE 9

Community Connections (HCE)

~ emilys2017 ~ 1 Comment

Image result for nicu
Image result for stethoscope

Image result for monitor heart doctor

For COL I was asked to be in contact with someone who’s job may interest you one day, I was was in touch with my aunt, who is a Neonatal Intensive care nurse at BC Women’s hospital.

 

Her time at BC women’s hospital:

She has been doing this job for 19 years, what she does everyday is she cares for critically ill newborn babies. She cares for newborns up to 17 weeks premature. Some of them are born at term but with a condition that needs medication or surgery, they may also have a critical event happen to them at birth, which makes them critically ill. Most of the babies get well enough to go home, but some of them pass away from their critical illness.

 

Question 1: 

Why are you passionate about your job?

”I am passionate about my job because I love helping babies and their families. I love that every baby is different, and we always need to adjust their care to meet their individual needs. The technology is always changing, and so are the medications and the treatment options, so my job is always changing, and I am always learning new ways of doing things. The thing I love the most is helping babies get better and start to do “normal baby things” that make them ready to go home.”

 

Question 2:

What obstacles have you faced to get you where you are today? 

 ”One of the obstacles I have faced, which is also what keeps me interested in my job, is that almost everything about my job is always changing. The equipment we use ( IV pumps, monitors, ventilators, and many other life saving equipment) is always changing, and there are always new things to try, to improve the care we give to babies. Also, the medication we use, the way we perform our care, even the type of unit that we work in, are constantly changing. This means I have to do a lot of extra training to keep up to date with the most current ways of providing care. This can be overwhelming, particularly if I have been away from work for a while (like on maternity leave) and have to learn a lot of new things all at once. ”
”Another obstacle I have faced is learning to work in such a busy environment. The pressure of being responsible for the life of such a critically ill baby can be very overwhelming, and it can be very stressful knowing that any mistake I make could make the baby sicker, or even result in death! There are many times that we are working short-staffed, and do not get breaks to eat, or even go to the bathroom. The work is much more stressful and exhausting than I ever imagined.”
”I also have had to learn ways to help cope with the emotional stress of the job. A huge part of my job is helping parents through the hardest time in their life, watching their sick baby fight for life, and sometimes supporting them when their baby dies. This is very traumatic for them, and we get very attached to the babies and their families, and feel a huge amount of sadness when babies die. Sometimes we are faced with very ethically challenging situations, that make doing our job very stressful, and it can be hard to go to work, and hard to turn off the feelings of sadness and frustration when we go home to our families.”
”Another obstacle I have faced is balancing looking after my family, with working permanent night shifts. It can be exhausting doing all the things at home like helping with homework, cooking, cleaning, laundry, and trying to get enough sleep during the day (which is very hard to do when it is light out and there is noise around) I don’t think I ever understood how tiring working nights would be until I actually started doing them!”
Question 3:

What advice would you pass on to someone interested in what you are doing?

”The advice I would pass on to someone interested in what I am doing, is DO IT! We desperately need nurses who love what they do, and are willing to work hard and want to help babies and families! There is also a huge opportunity to work as a NICU nurse all over the world, so there is lots of opportunity to travel and do a job you love. Do not be frightened by the challenges I have faced, because the good days and miraculous stories far outweigh the sad ones!”
Question 4:

Would you be open to further contact from Riverside students and if so, how can someone contact you?

”I am always happy to talk about what I do, as I am very passionate about it! I can be contacted by email at:  the_schleckers@shaw.ca ”
Question 5:
Are their any similarities between your work life and your home life and if so what are they?
”I have faced some similarities in my home life, as in my work life. Many of the families we see have struggled with infertility issues, and it has been a challenge for them to get pregnant. My husband and I have also struggled with infertility, and despite a lot of trying numerous different methods, were not able to conceive. Instead, we chose to adopt our children, and have 3 amazing children from Korea!”
”We have also experienced losing a baby, as our first baby was only with us for 22 days before we had to say goodbye. I think that experience has helped me be a better to nurse to families who lose their babies.”
Question 6:
If you could pick the best thing about your job what would it be, and why?
 ”I think the best thing about my job is the amazing families I get to know. This type of work is very personal, and many of the families are in our unit for a long time (sometimes more than a year). There are quite a few families that I still keep in touch with, even 18 years later. Some of these families got to take their babies home, and some did not, but I was privileged to be a part of their lives while they were in our unit. While the type of work I do is very technical, and fast paced, and I find that exciting, it is the personal relationships that have kept me doing the job I do for almost 20 years!”
Why did I choose to interview my aunt?
I chose her because she is he only person I know that has a job in the medical field, which is what I would like to do in the future
What I learned from this interview
I learned that it takes a very strong person do do what she does, and that it really interests me and there is a good chance that I would like to pursue this in the future.
Bibliography:
1st picture- picture of my aunt taken at her work
2nd photo- https://www.tesco-baby.com/baby/premature-baby/what-is-nicu/
3rd photo- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stethoscope
4th photo- https://www.pinterest.com/pin/241083386280420188/