inPractice - Fall 2019 - 7

TRACKS

MAKING THE ROUNDS

with Two Three-Year BSN Students
in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Between the second and third years of their
education, students in the Three-Year BSN
program complete an intensive internship
over about five weeks, during which they
are paired with a full-time nurse. Over the
summer, Tori Kilgore and Monica Brubaker
were both paired with nurses in the NICU
at Women & Babies Hospital in Lancaster.

A Mentor's Reflection

Top Choice

Carrier says it was her own experience as a
nursing student that inspired her to apply to
be a clinical coach. "When I was in nursing
school, I built an independent study from
scratch so I could have experience in the
NICU, and I couldn't have done that without
the nurses who guided me along the way,"
she says. "So I wanted to be that person for
someone else."

Over the night shift, Brubaker worked with
her clinical coach, Cheng Ly. After receiving
report from the outgoing nurse, the shift
started with a thorough cleaning, followed by
assessing each patient. Brubaker, who herself
actually "graduated" from the NICU as an
infant, listed this rotation as her first choice
when requesting her placement for the
internship. "I had hoped I would like it
as much as I do!" she says.

Family-Centered Care
Love at First Sight
During the day shift, Kilgore was paired with
Clinical Coach Jessica Carrier, MSN '17.
Kilgore, right, helped assess while Carrier,
left, and the baby girl's mother, center,
observed. Kilgore loved the NICU
experience right from the start. "I think it
was the first week, and I hadn't even done
anything other than watch Jess. I was talking
to Dr. M. [ Program Director Dee
Minchhoff, DNP] and I remember telling
her, 'I love it! I've learned so much that
my brain feels like it's going to explode,
but I just want to keep learning!'"

Hands-On Experience
The internship offered valuable experience
that wouldn't normally be part of a student's
education. "Normally, you get one day of
shadowing in the NICU, and you can't do
anything hands-on. With this experience,
I started out observing Jess and eventually
got to the point where I was providing
hands-on care-assessing the babies, feeding
the babies, that kind of thing," says Kilgore.
Adds Carrier, "By the end, she was pretty
much doing the experience by herself, with
me hovering."

After assessments, Brubaker helped prepare
breast milk for evening feedings. Assisting
new moms with breastfeeding is a vital part
of working in the NICU. It's an important
way moms can contribute to their baby's
healing and growth, even if it's just a few
drops. "From working in the NICU, I've
realized that you're not just caring for a
baby-it's the full family that you really
have to care for," says Brubaker. "It's really
nice to meet the parents, meet the family
and see that you're taking care of more
than just one patient." n
PA College / Fall 2019

7
inPractice - Fall 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of inPractice - Fall 2019
