My Definite Mentor

             I finally have a mentor for senior project that is willing to help me the entire year. Her name is Deborah Nakielski and she is a certified nurse-midwife for Kaiser Permanente. She is also a clinical preceptor at Georgetown University and Cal State Fullerton University. I found Debbie through an iPoly alumni who happened to be her son. After finding out that she worked at Kaiser in Baldwin Park I went to kaiser to request to speak to her but she wasn't there that day so I had to leave her a written message. Debbie was nice enough to get in touch with me within two days and agreed to be my mentor. Her son had just graduated so she was very familiar with the senior project and its functions. I was relieved to have found a midwife who was willing to be my mentor and already had so much knowledge on the project.
           I recently met with Debbie this saturday for the first time in person to discuss what we would be doing throughout the year. When she spoke about midwifery, she spoke in a very passionate and enthusiastic matter that made me excited about my project. I like to think of Debbie as a representation of me in the future because I too want to be a midwife. I am very happy that I will be able to work with her throughout the year because it will benefit both my senior project and career decisions.

Blog 6- Interview Preparation

1. My mentor is Deborah Nakielski and she is a certified nurse-midwife at Kaiser Permanente in Baldwin Park, Ca.

2. Five questions I plan on asking my mentor:

• Where did you attend school and how long did it take you to become a certified nurse-midwife?
• How has this field/ position evolved over the years and/or ever since you began working in it?
• Why did you chose to work at a bigger hospital such as Kaiser? What do you enjoy most about working in a hospital such as kaiser rather than at a smaller clinic or birth center?
• What does a typical day at work look like for you? What attributes does someone need to have in order to be successful in this career? 

Blog 5- Mentorship Reflection

1. My mentor is Deborah Nakielski, I  found my mentor through a previous iPoly student, his mom happens to be Debbie who is a midwife and recommended that she be my mentor. It was really hard to get a hold of this student because he would never respond to me or when he did he would just say to me, "Ok let me try and look for her email," and then would never respond. It wasn't until I spoke to Seanna that she told me that I could probably get a hold of her by going to Kaiser and trying to speak her in person. I finally went to Kaiser and I was able to find her office but she happened to be out that day so I left her a note explaining my situation and asked if she could be my mentor. Fortunately, she texted me two days later and agreed to be my mentor. I've been working with her since then.

2. The most important article I have read so far is, "The primacy of the good midwife in midwifery services: an evolving theory of professionalism in midwifery."Its been very important because this article talks about what makes a good midwife. It explains that a midwives professionalism is what empowers a women through their pregnancy. This piece of information is really important because it addresses my essential question (What is a midwife expected to know/ do in order to give their patient all the assistance they need before, during, and after pregnancy?).