Title: Research Check & Library Experience

Going to the library really benefited me because I have a difficult topic. When I did google searches I was unable to find any really good articles on many topic, most of what I found were just blog posts made by random people on the internet. After going to the library yesterday and learning how to properly look up what I need in the Cal Poly Library, I was able to find thousands of great articles from reliable sources on my topic. Having the librarian there helped a lot too because he was able to come over to me and give me one on one help. Using the library to search up articles and books will really help me for my research check.

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

1. I plan on interviewing Simona Istrate because she is a very well known nurse-midwife and has been in the field for over 20 years. She is accredited by the American College of Nurse-Midwives and is licensed by the California Board of Registered Nursing. Simona is also a Registered Nurse First Assist certified by UCLA, and is the Senior Vice President and Director of Midwifery Services for University Physicians Medical Group. She is also the founder and CEO of the Natural Birth Center and Women's Wellness. I think that interviewing her would really benefit my research because she is a professional who has a wide knowledge on midwifery and can provide me with accurate information.  

2. Questions I plan to ask:

• How, when, and why did you decide that you were going to be a midwife?
• How did you decide what school you wanted to go to and how long did you have to be in school to be a CNM?
• Why did you choose to open your own birth center instead of working for hospitals or any other birth center?
• What do you feel you have to do in order to give your patients a good overall experience with you from before birth to postpartum?
•  How many births have you attended and how do you feel every time you bring a new child into this world?

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Working EQ

1. Midwifery

2. EQ: What is a midwife expected to know/ do in order to give their patient all the assistance they need before, during, and after pregnancy?

Summer Mentorship Component

1. Summer Mentorship Log

2.  Natural Birth Center and Women's Wellness
     Simona Istrate, CEO and Certified Nurse-Midwife
     Phone number: (562)696-2313 or (562)282-6364

3.  Questions that raised up:

• Do I still want to attend San Diego State University or should I take a look at the pathways the midwives at the birth center took?
• Is this a career that I truly want to pursue because midwives have no work schedule they are on call 24/7?
• Would I enjoy being a midwife at big hospital or would I want to start my own office like Simona?
• Would I enjoy focusing on hospital births or water/ at home births?
• Do I want to be a midwife or a doula?

4. The most important thing I gained from the mentorship at the birth center was the first hand insight. I was able to see how the working enviroment for midwives is and the different things they do. I was able to get a better understanding of how things work in the women's wellness department.

5. My senior topic is going to be Midwifery. Doing my summer mentorship at the birth center helped me determine this because I has able to work closely with midwives and learn more about what a midwife is and does. The birth center helped me by giving me the first hand experience and I really enjoyed it.