By Haley Yates
Standing in the corner of a delivery room at Richardson Methodist Hospital, the smell of burning flesh filled senior Maddie Barnett’s nose as doctors cauterized the pregnant belly of a patient. In the middle of a group of health science magnet students, she stared at the doctors using tools to get through the different levels of flesh and into the uterus.
A year later, it became routine for Maddie to stand in on c-section births during her internship at Presbyterian Hospital. Maddie said she has seen 10 c-sections and vaginal births all together.
“Vaginal deliveries are a lot louder because the mom is screaming, but it’s a whole different experience, because you get to see the mom actually pushing the baby out, and watch how the baby kind of already knows what to do,” Maddie said. “I honestly had a smile on my face the entire time. It’s really cool seeing a life being born.
Hoping to pursue a career in the medical field, Maddie has taken advantage of hands-on opportunities during her Professional Internship Program.
“A lot of the time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), it’s very ‘see no touch,’ but I remember I was really excited to change one of the diapers one day,” Maddie said. “Even though it was just a diaper, I still got to do something. Small stuff like that is still getting my feet in the water and doing what the nurses do.”
Maddie spent a month and a half at Presbyterian in the labor and delivery department, mostly shadowing the nurses. Nurse Erin Smith acted as a mentor, showing her how to log new patients into the system and answering her questions.
“Our hope is that interns will be exposed to something new and get a feel for the day-to-day events that occur inside a working hospital,” Smith said.
Maddie was Smith’s first non-licensed intern. She has trained several other licensed RNs throughout her career, but Maddie was the first high school student she worked with.
“Going into my internship, I knew since it was medical I wouldn’t be doing much,” She said. “It’s mostly strictly observing. But then, the first vaginal delivery I saw, I helped hold the mother’s legs back.”
Maddie said her favorite moments in the hospital are when a mother gets to hold their baby for the first time.
“Sometimes the dads are supposed to be taking pictures, but all they can do is look at the baby, and the mom keeps yelling ‘take the picture!’” she said.
With the arrival of the first U.S. case of Ebola at Presbyterian Hospital, Maddie’s internship was relocated to Richardson Methodist Hospital.
“Everyone was very removed from it,” Maddie said. “Obviously the nurses were talking about it, but they were very professional and they did their job like they normally would.”
At the new hospital, Maddie spent less time in the labor and delivery room, and more time in the NICU.
“It’s almost sadder,” she said. “In labor and delivery it’s joyful because the baby is being born, but in the NICU you’re constantly around these kids fighting to stay alive.”
The hospital transferred all of their student interns while they tried to get back on their feet.
“I really enjoyed my mentor that I got to follow around, so it’s a little upsetting that I had to leave,” Maddie said. “On the upside, at Methodist I get opportunities to be in other departments like the NICU and the nursery and whatnot.”
Maddie works with premature and sickly babies in the NICU, making sure they meet healthy weight standards.
“A few of the babies have been there since I started at Methodist, and I get to see them go home,” Maddie said. “I’m really happy for them. It’s like a little graduation”
Any time she got the chance, Maddie would sit and talk with the nurses about their careers.
“I really connected with my mentor at Presby,” she said. “I remember one of the OBGYNs telling me ‘make sure this is what you want.’”
Next year, Maddie will begin premed courses and further explore nursing, while deciding whether to pursue Obstetrics and Gynecology, or neonatology.
“This internship gave me a lot of experience because I’ve already been in the environment, Maddie said. “I know what I can handle, and I know how things work.”