Friday
Instead of going to university today we had a directed study day based around the Morecambe Bay Investigation. It didn’t make for very pleasant reading. If you haven’t read it, I would encourage you to do so. It would be a fantastic thing to discuss in any interviews you may have. For me it reminded me of the importance of multidisciplinary working and effective communication. Professional relationships can be a tricky thing to negotiate, especially in the high pressure environment of the labour ward. The most important thing is to ensure the woman remains at the centre of everyone’s focus and this will hopefully ensure a positive outcome for everyone.
Saturday and Sunday
My weekend started with work; the final session of antenatal education. It was brilliant once again. I learnt so much about how a baby’s brain develops. For example, I didn’t realise that a baby could recognise its mother by smell from birth, by sound at 10 days old and by sight at 3 months.
After this, I made my way to the outskirts of London to spend a couple of days with an old friend. We watched some (terrible) films and drank lots of tea. She is 6 months pregnant so she had lots of questions and I was able to share with her what I had learnt in the morning. It was delightful.
Monday
Back to work, and I was in clinic all day. Back-to-back appointments can be quite draining but it also gave me an opportunity to practice my clinical skills in abdominal palpation, fetal heart auscultation, blood pressure reading and taking blood. I am getting to grips with planning care and what happens at each appointment, but there is a lot to remember.
I am so looking forward to the day that I have my own clinic. I have always felt most comfortable working in the community; I enjoy seeing the women throughout their pregnancy and building a rapport with them. It is also wonderful to have a cuddle with their new baby when they come home!
Tuesday
Another clinic today, but mostly for postnatal women which meant different clinical skills to practice. Newborn blood spot tests, infant checks, weighing and breastfeeding support to name just a few.
After work, I rushed back home to get changed and then met a friend to go to the cinema. We saw Will Smith’s new film- Focus. I really enjoyed it, and not just because of the numerous topless scenes!
Wednesday
Although I was on a late shift, my morning was filled with a course meeting. As I am set rep I have to go to various meetings from time to time. Today’s meeting was a forum for the set reps to bring any concerns or questions to the teaching team. It’s wonderful to have such an open interaction with the staff and to know they value our opinion so much.
The meeting ran a little late so I raced (whilst keeping to the speed limit of course) across town to meet my community mentor. I had the most amazing shift and it was the perfect ending to my community placement. I am looking forward to returning to delivery suite next week though, and getting my remaining 11 births!
Thursday
Finally, a day off! After sleeping in and cleaning my bathroom, I sat down to work quite a lot later than I had hoped. I am starting to make some headway with my dissertation but not enough to own up to my word count! I was very grateful for the fantastic library resources available at UoB today. My first literature search brought up over 6000 results!
This afternoon I popped into town to get a birthday card for my step-mum and have dinner with a friend before coming home and doing some revision for our interview preparation day tomorrow.
See you next week!
Instead of going to university today we had a directed study day based around the Morecambe Bay Investigation. It didn’t make for very pleasant reading. If you haven’t read it, I would encourage you to do so. It would be a fantastic thing to discuss in any interviews you may have. For me it reminded me of the importance of multidisciplinary working and effective communication. Professional relationships can be a tricky thing to negotiate, especially in the high pressure environment of the labour ward. The most important thing is to ensure the woman remains at the centre of everyone’s focus and this will hopefully ensure a positive outcome for everyone.
My weekend started with work; the final session of antenatal education. It was brilliant once again. I learnt so much about how a baby’s brain develops. For example, I didn’t realise that a baby could recognise its mother by smell from birth, by sound at 10 days old and by sight at 3 months.
After this, I made my way to the outskirts of London to spend a couple of days with an old friend. We watched some (terrible) films and drank lots of tea. She is 6 months pregnant so she had lots of questions and I was able to share with her what I had learnt in the morning. It was delightful.
Monday
Back to work, and I was in clinic all day. Back-to-back appointments can be quite draining but it also gave me an opportunity to practice my clinical skills in abdominal palpation, fetal heart auscultation, blood pressure reading and taking blood. I am getting to grips with planning care and what happens at each appointment, but there is a lot to remember.
I am so looking forward to the day that I have my own clinic. I have always felt most comfortable working in the community; I enjoy seeing the women throughout their pregnancy and building a rapport with them. It is also wonderful to have a cuddle with their new baby when they come home!
Tuesday Another clinic today, but mostly for postnatal women which meant different clinical skills to practice. Newborn blood spot tests, infant checks, weighing and breastfeeding support to name just a few.
After work, I rushed back home to get changed and then met a friend to go to the cinema. We saw Will Smith’s new film- Focus. I really enjoyed it, and not just because of the numerous topless scenes!
Wednesday
Although I was on a late shift, my morning was filled with a course meeting. As I am set rep I have to go to various meetings from time to time. Today’s meeting was a forum for the set reps to bring any concerns or questions to the teaching team. It’s wonderful to have such an open interaction with the staff and to know they value our opinion so much.
The meeting ran a little late so I raced (whilst keeping to the speed limit of course) across town to meet my community mentor. I had the most amazing shift and it was the perfect ending to my community placement. I am looking forward to returning to delivery suite next week though, and getting my remaining 11 births!
ThursdayFinally, a day off! After sleeping in and cleaning my bathroom, I sat down to work quite a lot later than I had hoped. I am starting to make some headway with my dissertation but not enough to own up to my word count! I was very grateful for the fantastic library resources available at UoB today. My first literature search brought up over 6000 results!
This afternoon I popped into town to get a birthday card for my step-mum and have dinner with a friend before coming home and doing some revision for our interview preparation day tomorrow.
See you next week!
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