Running head: EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED REFLECTION

Expect The Unexpected Reflection

Todd Shumway
Kapiolani Community College

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Expect The Unexpected
Kapiolani Medical Centers Teaming Up for Hawaiis Future: 11th Annual Collaborative
Nurses Conference, Expect the Unexpected: When Things Dont Go As Planned was so
wonderful. Having this being my first conference, I didnt really know what to expect, besides
breakfast and lunch. The topics they discussed were Medical Response to Major Emergencies
and Disasters in Hawaii, Emerging Infections, Home Birth, Stay Calm, Cool and Collected,
Perfusion, Transfusion and Confusion, Managing the Difficult Airway, and Posttraumatic Stress
From Disasters. Of these highly informative and well-presented topics, I will focus on Medical
Response to Major Emergencies and Disasters in Hawaii, Home Birth, and Posttraumatic Stress
from Disasters.
Once the conference went underway, they started their discussion with Medical Response
to Major Emergencies and Disasters in Hawaii. This topic was a great eye opener to the possible
disasters our islands could face. I learned that I am not prepared at all. Given the limited number
of hospitals, short supply of food, water, and necessities, and high statistical unpreparedness that
our islands face in a possible disaster is quite scary. With only 25 percent being very prepared
is terrifying and unacceptable. It was nice to hear speaker Toby Clairmont really put perspective
to the unexpected. I think I will go stock up on water and food soon. With the second speaker
Peter J. Di Rocco, I really enjoyed his compassion that he has for children. His advocacy and
concern for these smaller adults was evident as he expressed that they can be easily overlooked
in disaster situations. Being aware of your support system, their needs psychologically and
physiologically, and overall being prepared, is really important to the welfare during disastrous
situations.

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For the Home Birth lecture, the enthusiasm and passion from Eiko Cusick and Lea
Minton was well presented and highly informational. Having little to no knowledge in home
births, I didnt realize all the planning, risks, complications, benefits, and duties that a mother
and midwife go through during the maternity process. In my head, I pictured a midwife as being
more of a support companion rather than a professional caregiver, as they sit in a beautifully
majestic field and birth a picturesque baby that comes out with a flower head band with the sun
glistening off the top of his/her head. But in reality there is so much more; from the different
levels/certifications of midwives, the amount of planning, education, and consent that must be
established, and the level of trust that must be placed into a midwife. Ethically speaking, there is
a lot of factors to consider while planning a birth from the changes and techniques during
antepartum, to the birthing process, and to emergent situations. I really enjoyed listening to Lea
Minton really advocate for her patients, being knowledgeable about her abilities and the level of
care that a mother would need, especially during an unplanned or emergent delivery, and how
she really emphasized the little things that health care workers can do that makes the quality of
the maternal process better. As simple as saying, I am glad that you are here, we are going to
take great care of you, makes all the difference.
Ending with the lecture on Posttraumatic Stress from Disasters: Dealing with Family and
Caregivers by speakers Bart Pillen and Roshni Koli, was a simple reminder on how we really
influence, impact, and have the power to really make a difference in patients lives. We see people
at their worst, and it is our responsibility to always uphold our core values of providing the
highest quality of care possible. Learning about the reality and impact of posttraumatic stress on
the patients psychosocial, cognition, and physical state was immense. The tools and resources
that we have in and out of the hospital should also always be utilized. As simple as using

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therapeutic communication can have the biggest impact. It was nice ending the day on a soft note
of self-care. In this chaotic filed of nursing, nurturing ourselves is important in creating a
positive foundation to work off of. Healthy, happy nurses, produces higher quality of care for our
patients.
As for the booths that they had available, the most exciting one that I got to learn about
was Hawaii Life Flight. They are available 24/7, transporting all different ages of patients,
specialty needs, and for various procedures across the islands of Hawaii. They fly from Kauai,
Molokai, Oahu, and Big Island. As a nurse on the Life Flight, you need a minimum of 3 years in
emergency/critical or ICU care, and various other certifications like ACLS, PALS, NRP, and be
enrolled in continuing education programs. The exciting field of nursing keeps getting better and
better. I can definitely see myself in this type of exciting career one day.
With the huge amount of health care workers that were attending the conference, I was
able to speak to quite a few. One person that stood out was a supervising nurse at Kapiolani who
works on the maternity ward. I actually had a chance to meet her during our first clinical
rotation. I was surprised she remembered me. She asked how I liked their floor so far, about how
I enjoyed observing the twin C-section the day before, and if I could see myself working their
one-day. Her warm welcoming was something that I havent really experienced from any other
nurse that I have worked with during other clinical rotations or even at my own place of work. I
could really get a sense of passion that she has for her field of work. Our conversation not only
let me reflect on my new experiences, but also really think about what field I want to pursue
when I graduate, and honestly, so far maternity has been pretty sweet!
Overall I learned quite a whole lot. Not only did this tie into a lot of the material that we
are studying, but it encompassed a lot in the foundation of our student learning outcomes. Two

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SLOs that I find applicable were reflecting on nursing practice in managing care for groups of
patients (Therapeutic Communication), and applying the ANA Code of Ethics to care of families
including client rights, dilemmas between individual rights and the common good, identification
of choices and possible consequences (Home Birth). I felt that a lot of the topics that we covered
definitely embodied these outcomes from the home birth lecture, the environmental disaster
portion, the therapeutic portion, and to the blood administration section. This whole conference
not only furthered my education as a nursing student, but also motivates me to really take a
proactive approach in this field. From being open to different perspectives, always continuing my
education, and having a good foundation and reminder of why I am in this field, I felt I gained an
immense amount of information and appreciation for what we do. I cant wait to attend more of
these conferences as I go about my journey.