Memories

What do midwives actually do?

My final year has gone by in a flash.  Back in September, the year stretched ahead of me; a dissertation to write and 26 babies to ‘catch’.  Now that I am near the finish line (dissertation handed in, only 5 babies left) I find myself reflecting on the year that has gone and considering everything I have experienced.  This year has been about consolidation of our training so far, but I have also realised how much I still have left to learn.  Being a final year student is a balancing act between becoming an independent practitioner and not running before you can walk.  Whilst it is vital that you learn the clinical skills necessary to give excellent care, it is equally important to discover who you

Although there have been times and situations which challenge me, I have also had the most incredible year.  I was privileged enough to be present at a homebirth - an event which reaffirmed for me that all the hard work and stress is worth it.  It is such an honour to be present when a couple become a family for the first time, and this was even more poignant when it is in their own home.
are as a midwife and this has been something we have focused on this year.

See if you can spot me on TV!

I was also asked to represent the student midwives when the hospital Trust where invited to the live recording of Sunday Night at the Palladium.  It was a great night, full of singers, dancers, comedians and variety acts hosted by Jimmy Carr.  My favourite was the cast of Beautiful who performed some songs from the musical.

Another massive and humbling honour was being nominated for ‘Student Midwife of the Year’ at our Trust.  I am still struggling to think what I have done to deserve the nomination but it is something I will always treasure.

My final highlight is something which every final year student relishes – handing in the dissertation!  I never thought I had 10,000 words in me!  I must say, it looked very professional once it was printed and bound, I was almost sad it just drop it into the assignment box  Almost.

There is no rest for the wicked however; I still have a few assignments and assessments to go before I breathe a real sigh of relief and can put my feet up.  I think this has been one of the biggest challenges for this year, maintaining stamina.  There is so much to juggle when you are a student midwife, I look forward to the day when I can go to work and not come home to write an essay!  All I will have to think about then is the massive responsibility I have as a midwife.  That’s ‘all’!  It’s a good thing I have such an amazing support network of friends, family and colleagues around me.  And pictures like this to make me smile....

I lol'd for approx 10 minutes!

See you next week!

Almost there!

Where is this man's oscar?!

Well the ‘D-day’ has finally arrived. Would you believe it, I was actually ready, despite pouring a fresh cup of tea over my laptop three days before the deadline!  Final word count; 10 997 words (30, 744 if you include all the appendices).  Now all I can do is wait for the results…something no student enjoys. 

Now my dissertation is out of the way, I can concentrate on filling in the gaps of my clinical skills.   I have eight babies to catch (but having two on one shift was a bonus), about 50 learning points, 7 clinical assessments, a presentation. Writing it like that makes it seem like a lot, but is hard to see anything as a challenge on the same day as you submit your dissertation.  I could probably climb Mount Everest today.  Probably. Maybe not.  I do feel like Jack from Titanic though….the “I’m the king of the world!” moment, not the freezing to death that is. 

Probably not the train she was thinking of

 One of our lecturers described our training as a train journey; in the first year you are leaving the station, excited about the trip, wanting it to gather speed so you can reach your destination.  Second year you go into a tunnel called ‘general placements’.  It goes dark and you feel like it will never end.  You start to wonder why you even started the journey in the first place. And then finally, third year; you start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  But then it seems to be hurling towards you and you start to question whether you want to leave the comfort of your carriage.

Then there is small matter of getting a job.  My stomach lurches every time I get an alert from NHS jobs.  It makes the last three years of training very real and although sometimes I can’t wait to write RM after my name, at other times I think I would like to stay in my white student uniform for ever.

Interview tips; I must remember to shave

I have my first interview in mid June, so have been brushing up on obstetric emergencies and neonatal resuscitation. I have found running through these with a group of my friends on the course has been the most successful way of doing this.  Interviews for midwifery jobs also include a maths test so I have been practising my mental arithmetic.  I also have to choose an interview outfit.  A very important decision there!

I will let you know how I get on in my interview and my dissertation.  I’m now off to my cousin’s wedding, what a lovely end to a successful week!  See you next week!
 

Two weeks to go!

My face when I realised the time!

Today’s blog is very late, I apologise.  I have succumbed to the dissertation and was completely distracted.  As time tends to do when you need more of it, this week has slipped through my fingers.

As the title suggests, there is only a fortnight before the big ‘D’ day deadline. But of course, there are a number of other things to juggle alongside the small matter of 10,000 words.  Many of the third years, myself included, have been placed back on delivery suite in order to ‘catch’ our remaining babies.  Out of the 40 personal deliveries we need to qualify, I am currently on 30.  We all gather in the office at handover, working out who has priority, batting back the keen first and second years.  Every day, we look just a little more desperate!

International Nurses Day was also this week.  We celebrated at our hospital by having a nursing and midwifery conference and awards ceremony.  I was shortlisted for Student Midwife of the Year and

Because loser doesn't look as good

received runner up to my very deserving friend…and housemate (that wasn’t awkward over the breakfast table)!

One of the speakers at the conference discussed end of life care, which I listened to keenly as it is a subject similar to that of my dissertation.  He told us ‘The Starfish Story’ adapted from a story by Loren Eiseley.  For me, the story completely described my philosophy of care. Sometimes, the enormity of the role I am about to undertake is too much – there is too much responsibility, too much paperwork, too much pain.  How can I make a difference, have any influence?  But as the story below beautifully expresses, even the smallest act, for just one person can make an immense difference.

My new favourite story

We are going to be looking at our philosophy of care a lot more over the coming weeks at university.  It is important to remember why we want to be in this challenging and demanding role, as well who we are doing it for.  Although I originally applied for this course because I thought I had the right personal qualities to be a midwife and I was interested in the subject, I have come to respect what an honour it is and strive to do my best for the women who have given me the privilege to support and travel with them though their pregnancy and journey into motherhood.

Just a short one this week because, unfortunately – my dissertation hasn’t yet learnt how to write itself. See you next week!

A week in the life of a student midwife

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!

Wanted: more time

I would like to borrow Bernard's watch!

I can’t quite believe we are in March already.  I’m sure time travels quicker the older I become!  I have been told many times that my final year will go past in a blink of an eye, and I am starting to realise the truth in this cliché.

According to the countdown app on my phone, I have 187 days left of my degree.  This fact terrifies and excites me in equal measure.  I am also reliably informed that there are 84 days until my dissertation deadline.  *Please excuse me for a moment of mad panic.*

I have been considering my dissertation topic since I first put in my UCAS application.  At that time, I was interested in choice of birth place as my nephew had recently been born at home.  Then when I started my course, and especially after being a patient myself, I become fascinated by communication within healthcare, particularly between clinician and service user.  As it turns out, I am doing neither of these topics for my dissertation. 

Everyone has moments which completely change their perspective on life.  For me, one of these was the first time I cared for someone whose baby had died.  I remember feeling completely inadequate and ever since then bereavement care has become a passion of mine.  It seemed only natural therefore for this to be the topic for my (mini) tome.

Grumpy Cat feels my pain

My biggest stumbling block when it comes to writing is that I am a perfectionist.  If something doesn’t flow flawlessly, I delete it. This makes the thought of writing 10,000 words extremely daunting. Consequently, I have spent a lot of time formatting my title page and searching for literature.  Now, I need to put pen, or curser, to paper. 

By no means do I have all the answers when it comes to writing an essay, but 6 years of academic writing has taught me a few lessons;

Read the question thoroughly
Highlight the important words in the question – this will give you focus in your writing.

Dissertation = an excuse for new stationary

Start with a detailed plan
Write down all your ideas and start to put it in an order.  This will probably change as you start writing but it will ensure you don’t forget anything you wanted to say.

Begin early
It is possible to pull an all-nighter and write a 2000 word essay the day before the deadline but it is not advisable.  It will never be your best work.

Leave time for proof reading
There will come a point when you can’t see the mistakes any more.  When this happens, you will need a set of fresh eyes in the form of a friend or family member.

No doubt I will discuss my dissertation in a future blog post.  Hopefully I will have made more of a dent in the word count when I do!  Until then, see you next week.