Final Reflection Questions

1. While writing your paper, what did you learn about the research process?
a. During my research process, I realized that as soon as I began doing research about a career, I
would immediately want to switch what I was researching. Finally after changing my topic 3
times, the last of which being the day before the outline was due, I stuck with my topic. I also
learned how to distinguish a good research site from a bad one. This was the first research
project where I used NC Wise Owl instead of just regular google. Also when gathering this
information, I tried to only use .edu or .org sites, and I tried to sway away from .com. Because
lots of the sources I used were documents with hundreds of pages, I learned the process of
skimming a huge amount of text and pulling out important information. There was a lot of
unessential fluff in the sources, that would not have been relevant to my paper, so I was able to
disregard those points and only acquire the pieces of information that mattered. I also learned
how to properly create a works cited page and how to ensure that there is no plagiarism within a
paper.
2. How was the research related to your mentor hours?
a. Although, I could not find an actual midwife to be my mentor, I completed my mentor hours
with a physician’s assistant in an OB/GYN office. She completed essentially the same “nursing
education” as midwives and then she is also specialized in women’s health. Her focus is more on
the gynecology side as opposed to obstetrics but she still goes in for the appointments with the
pregnant women to check up on their pregnancies. This connected with my paper because I
discussed how midwives do tasks besides just delivering babies. I talked about how they also
take on the roles of nurses in OB/GYN offices and how they actually perform exams and
check-ups also. Although I would have liked to see the delivering babies side of midwifery, I still
really enjoyed getting to experience the other side of midwifery.
3. Summarize the mentor hours that you completed.
a. I shadowed Melissa Ranallo, who is a physician’s assistant at at OB/GYN office. Over the
course of 2 days, I experienced things like pap smears, breast exams, birth control consultations,
diagnosis of polycystic ovarian syndrome, fetal anatomy ultrasound scan, ovary ultrasound, and
measuring the fetus and checking the heartbeat. By far my favorite thing to sit in on were the
ultrasounds. The fetal anatomy scan was my favorite. The purpose of a fetal anatomy scan isto
make sure the fetus has the correct number of bones, chambers in the heart, 10 fingers and toes
etc. The scan also checks for signs of down syndrome and cleft palate. Fortunately the baby we
did an ultrasound of did not have any signs of either, but the ultrasound tech told me sometimes
babies are born with down syndrome even when had no fetal signs. One of the most common
appointments that I witnessed was a yearly exam. The yearly exam consists of a pap smear
which checks for cervical cancer and a breast exam which checks for tumors that could be
cancerous. During the appointment, the PA also goes over any concerns the woman has,
discusses medication, and gives advice on birth control or getting pregnant.
4. How did working with your mentor affect your understanding of the topic area and /or the
professional world?
a. If your mentor contributed to the development of the product, how were they involved?
i. Working with my mentor helped me learn a lot more about the OB/GYN side of
midwifery. I was able to observe Melissa going about her daily tasks which included
 exams, consultations, and charting. I learned from her that if you decide to work in a
doctor’s office or hospital setting, that charting is one of the most important parts of the
job. A quote that one of the nurses said was “if you don’t chart it, you didn’t do it”.
Basically in medical professions you have to keep records of everything the patient talks
about, everything you suggested, and all of the treatment plans and actions that will be
taken. Working with my mentor, I also learned about all of the “behind the scenes” of a
doctor’s office that a patient would never see. There are more people than you would
expect involved in testing, scheduling, and prescribing whether they work in the office,
affiliated hospital, or the lab. Because my mentor did not work in the exact field that I did
my project on, I decided not to reach out to her for help on my product. If she had worked
more in obstetrics, I may have consulted her on what exactly to put in my kits, but since
she works more on the gynecological side, I chose not to.
5. How did creating a product and completing the hours challenge you personally?
a. I was really challenged when it came to finding a mentor. I went out of my comfort zone a lot to
email multiple different people and facilities in search of a mentor. I really also struggled finding
an organization that was willing to accept my kits. I did hours of research about different
organizations and nonprofits that would potentially want them. Many of the organizations either
never replied to me or they denied what I wanted to do. Most of them only had it available for
me to donate money which would not really have been a product at all. Once I decided to go on a
mission trip to Kenya, the organization I will be traveling with told me that they would like the
kits for their medical mission team.
6. Do you feel prepared academically and emotionally for the presentation?
a. If not, why? What challenges do you still face to feel prepared?
i. For the most part, I think I do feel prepared for the presentation academically. I know that
I have worked extremely hard on this project and I have put a lot of time and effort into
it. I know that I have done everything I can when it comes to research, writing the paper,
and creating the product. I really don’t have any concerns about the academic side. I will
say that I am very nervous for the presentation. I’m worried about remembering
everything and leaving a major section out. I’m also worried about having to go 4 days
earlier than other people and being the only person the judges see that day. My other
worry is just because I am talking about a kind of personal and quite frankly gross topic
and it may be a little awkward when I have to describe pap smears and such.
7. How did the entire process “stretch” you as a learner and as an individual?
a. I really struggled coming up with a product idea, because I really did not want to just make a
video like a lot of people do. I really wanted to create a product that would accomplish
something and address a problem. I finally stumbled upon the idea of packaging birthing kits but
I had a hard time finding a place to send the kits. After spending hours on researching
organizations and getting shot down by all of them, I felt like I was going to have to change my
product because this one seemed impossible. Luckily, the organization Start With One Kenya,
that I am going to Kenya with this summer, told me that they would like my kits so they can use
them with their medical mission team that will be working in rural health clinics in mid-March. I
also put a lot of time and effort into research the best items to include in the kits and I had to
choose between some. For example, most places recommend including a razor blade in the kits
to cut the umbilical cord with, but because my kits would be traveling through customs with
people in the airport, I did not want to risk my kits being suspended because of a razor blade so I
decided to include string that can be used to tie off the umbilical cord.
8. Other than time management, describe an obstacle you encountered and how you overcame it.
a. One of my main obstacles was finding solid research about my topic. The field of midwifery is
very differing when it comes to education. For example, CPMs really don’t have any formal
education beyond the bachelor's degree yet they have to complete an apprenticeship. Whereas
 certified nurse midwives go through a much more formal education by getting a masters degree.
I overcame this by looking at tons of websites and sources in order to really be able to
differentiate the types of midwives.
9. What “life skills” did you acquire and how will they help you in the future?
a. I think that one of the biggest life skills that I have acquired from this entire project is simply the
ability to write a research paper. This was the first time I have ever written a paper of this length.
I think that because I wrote and prepares so much for this paper, I will have an easier time in
college when I have to write research papers of this length. I also think having to develop a
product and having to comg up with a creative idea has inspired me to be more creative and think
of ideas that can help people and address need which is what I would like to do in a career.
10. If you had to go back and do parts of the project again, what would you do differently?
a. I think I would have chosen a broader topic, perhaps nursing in general. Midwifery is a little
more abstract of a career and specific education comes in different required levels. It can vary
from a masters degree, to a certification, to just the completion of an apprenticeship which made
it a little more difficult to include information about education. If I would have chosen nursing, I
could have included all of the different types and the education for nurses is a bit more
straightforward. I then could have focused on a type of nursing when developing my product.
11. Based on the entire Pride Project experience, do you plan to pursue this field as a career or college
area of study? If so, why? If not, why? Please be specific.
a. I do not plan to pursue this career. I think that this career is a little more hands on than I think I
would like. I don’t think I would enjoy being a midwife, and at this point, I think it’s gross. After
looking up the actual delivery and what the midwife has to do, I think it’s actually pretty
uncomfortable. Currently I plan on either planning on majoring in Public Health or Nursing
along with a minor in International Studies, as I still would like to work in Global Health,
focusing on developing countries, but I think I would like to do broader task such as addressing
the water crisis, HIV/AIDS prevention, and perhaps developing better medical techniques to be
used during deliveries in developing countries in order to reduce the risk of death for mother and
baby, as opposed to actually delivering the babies.