Down to the last two visits to BCU and I am dreading Wednesday. I have had such a blast learning from the many speakers we have had the privilege to listen to. They have given me so much to think about and consider when it comes to nursing. We started our day like always walking to BCU for our lesson. My brain did not want me to walk there today. It was like my subconscious knows that this is trip is almost over. We started with a lesson in the skills lab with the high tech Anatomage table. This table can simulate child birth and seeing the body in several layers. It was really cool because Chenenye talked about the importance of understanding child birth. When a baby has the cord wrapped around their neck during delivery, we have to worry about placenta abruption. This can lead to hemorrhaging, so we have to make sure we cut the cord as soon as possible. I did ask about delayed cord cutting because I know it has become a rising thing that moms are asking for. She said that it does have benefits, but the baby is at risk for jaundice. This can happen very quickly or within the first 5 days. The benefits do not outweigh the risks in this case. She talked about the different positions of childbirth they recommend. A squatting position in the pool is more comfortable for the mother than on their back. If a mother feels they need to defecate, that means she is ready to deliver and should not use the restroom. She has possibility of delivering a baby in the toilet and we need to prevent that.

Today was our International Nurses Day convention , where will be presenting our PowerPoints based on the 5 topics we chose. My group did Women’s reproductive rights in the US and UK. This topic is quite important considering the political climate surrounding abortion and sex education in the States. Being from Florida, I have a front row seat to how my rights have gone down the toilet. My right to an abortion is limited to 6 weeks and most women do not know they are pregnant by then. If you have an irregular period, you may not get one every month or it comes on a different day. For most of my life, my periods lasted 2 days longer than average (usually 5- 7 days). It only became regular when I started taking birth control. Unfortunately, Florida has decided to start doing sex education in the 6th grade and it is a disservice for younger kids. I started learning about sex education in the 4th or 5th grade and it was the basics. Understanding our body and what can happen during puberty. Then 5th and 6th grade it was a little more in depth and by 8th we were carrying around baby dolls. I was 13 when I got mine and thankfully I understood what it was, but I cannot imagine the new generation feeling prepared. My sister is 6 years younger (20 yrs old) than I am (26 yrs old) and she still doesn’t understand certain things about our bodies. I had to explain to her what side effects come with certain birth control and why she has cysts on her ovaries because of it. These are things that should have been taught in school, but we as a country refuse to agree on how it should be taught.

I really enjoyed seeing everyone’s presentations polished and finalized. It really shows the progression of how we started our first presentation to our final presentation here in country. I am glad that this part is over because we all stressed making sure that it was perfect. I am proud of all of us for doing our part to understand the differences. There are so many things we should advocate for that should be implemented. The system does not give up on patients that are struggling with mental health. I have a family friend that struggles to receive adequate care for his schizophrenia. He is put into 72 hour hold because he is a danger to himself and others when off medication. Then released to be by himself and navigating his health with no to help. He does need an inpatient facility to help him and get him back on track, but there is only so much our system is prepared for. If we had more conversations about implementation and how we can adopt a lot of their systems for health. I do think we would see an improvement.