We're all going on a (belated) Easter holiday!

As you read this, I will be (hopefully) sunning myself by a pool in Germany because I am off on my hols!  Not that it will all be relaxing and sightseeing for 1) I have a chest infection and 2) I am taking my best friend 'Dissertation' with me.

Celebrate!

I am determined to be cheery though.  I have had my nails painted and I am going to spend two weeks thinking of anything other than the 10 births I have left to catch.

As a midwifery student, our terms don’t fall in line with the majority of the university.  There is no three month summer vacation for us!  It was most strange going to work as a second year on a Friday and then as a third year the following Monday last September.  I still haven’t got used to being referred to as a senior student. 

At university last week we were discussing labour ward management.  We had to imagine we were the coordinating midwife and had to assign our staff to the various women who needed care.  There were a few heated discussions as we all tried to decide who was best placed to go into each of the rooms – I heard phrases like, “well, we wouldn’t do it like that in our Trust”, “you can’t ask a student to do that!” coming from all the tables.  It was one of those annoying tasks where there is no right answer, as long as you can explain why you have done what you have.  It made me certain of one thing though – there is no way I want to be a senior midwife on labour ward!

One of my favourite things is to imagine where my friends will go with their careers.  There are some who are perfect for the wards, others more suited to labour ward.  There are a couple of people I can

I've often been likened to Miranda Hart

foresee specialising in a certain client group.  For me, community is where I have always wanted to be.  Although I love delivering babies, what I prefer is building a relationship with a woman and her family as she journeys through her pregnancy and then meeting their little bundle of joy when they get home.  It is always so rewarding to witness a woman as she grows in confidence and becomes a mother.

Throughout your training you will be able to witness the whole spectrum of midwifery; it's so exciting when you discover where you want to practice.

Bis bald!

Mentors

One of the biggest apprehensions I had when starting clinical practice, aside from my lack of clinical skills, was the relationship I would have with my mentor.  I didn’t identify this as a concern during the application and interview process.  It wasn’t until the first day of my course when we were discussing our hopes and fears in groups that it seemed to be a recurring theme. 

I hadn’t really considered it until this point.  Not that I was completely naive – at no point did I think I would be left alone to deliver a baby, I just didn’t then rationalise this would mean working with a midwife.  Or that there was a chance we wouldn’t get along. 

Mentors; guiding the way

Not to boast, but I am quite a likable person.  I have over 300 friends on Facebook I’ll have you know! Of course there are certain people who I would choose to spend my time with, but there aren’t many people I can’t have, at least a working relationship with.  So, you can probably understand why I was confused as to why all my new classmates were so worried about meeting their mentor.

As far as I was concerned, midwives have to be nice, right?  It's part of the job description surely.  Why was everyone so intimidated by them?  However, as the induction process continued, I started to get more and more fixated on this as yet faceless person who I would be shadowing. 

The lecturers made us aware that are mentors would be watching us from the very moment we started working with them.  If that sentiment isn’t enough to send shivers down your spine, I don’t know what is.  We heard phrases like assessment, grading, cause for concern, and very little about the nurturing and guiding relationships I have come to know from my mentors. 

For that is what mentorship is all about.  True, they are marking your performance and assessing you against set criteria, but they are also moulding and shaping you into a midwife of the future.  Each midwife works in a slightly different way, and as a student you have the unique opportunity to soak up all these styles and create your own from the best of each.  I know for a fact that I still carry out my postnatal checks in exactly the same way as my first community mentor.

Learn from them you will

It is also important to consider what it must be like for the midwife to be followed around by the questioning and scared novice you will undoubtedly be as a first year.  And still as a third year, come to think about it.  Everything that you do, they are accountable and responsible for.  That is a lot of trust for them to have in someone they have only just met.  Perhaps they should be more scared of the students than the students are of them!

As I am nearing graduation, I have been thinking a lot about the sort of mentor I will be.  I hope I am half as good as the mentors I have had throughout my training.  See you next week.

Happy Easter

Could this be any cuter?

I love this time of year. Not only is it my birthday next week (8th April in case you were wondering) but also because spring has finally sprung.  Or so I thought; judging by the wind and rain we have had over the last couple of days you would think it was still winter.  But no, the evenings are getting lighter, the daffodils and tulips are bringing some much needed colour to our gardens and there is blossom on the trees.  Despite crème eggs being available on Boxing Day, it has finally become acceptable to start devouring them.  And as they are eggs, it is only natural that you do this a dozen at a time!

I'll take my Diet Coke with a side of hunk!

Did you give anything up for lent?  I abstained from Diet Coke, so I already have a can chilling in the fridge to drink at 8 am on Sunday.  I’m not very good resisting temptation but I haven’t touched a drop of the carbonated nectar for a whole 40 days!  I am so proud of myself.

I’ve said it a thousand times this week, but I can’t believe it is April already!  Where is this year going?  There are only 159 days left of my course, and more worryingly, only 56 until the dreaded ‘D’ day.  Last week at university we had an interview preparation day…I was so nervous, it was almost like I was interviewing for a job there and then. 

As a midwife, interviews for jobs involve a range of activities.  Of course there are the usual “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?   What would you say are your biggest strengths and weaknesses are?” type questions.  There is also a maths test and an interpretation of fetal heart monitoring (a CTG), as well as neonatal resuscitation and an emergency scenario.  Everything that we have been learning over the past three years has been preparing us for these interviews, but looking around my classmates, I know there were thinking the same as me – “I’m not ready for this.  I don’t remember anything!”

Oh Michael Scott!

But of course we were ready.  As soon as we started running through the emergency situations or looked at the CTG we knew the answers.  Neonatal resuscitation felt like a muscle memory; like a dance learnt long ago.  What seems more daunting now is the question, “So, why should we choose you?”  Apparently my suggestion of “I can bake really nice cakes” won’t cut it.

So now all I have to do is get my CV and personal statement ready so I can upload them when the adverts are posted.  I have my NHSjobs email alerts all set up and have been filling my online baskets with an array of interview outfits.  Plenty of things to keep me from writing my dissertation; lovely!  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!

Learning from the students

For the past three weekends I have been attending the antenatal classes we offer in Luton.  The course explores all aspects of labour, birth and life with a new baby.  It has been fascinating meeting this group of women and their partners and learning from them. 

It is very easy to follow our own agenda as midwives; focusing on the advice we need to give and the clinical features we have to monitor.  It is far too easy to forget that the parents will have their own motives when accessing maternity services.  They come with their own unique experience, understanding, hopes, fears and questions.

Although, as I am coming to the end of my course, I have a solid knowledge base, talking to these parents I realise there is still a lot more to learn.  I had forgotten, for example, how difficult it can be to change a nappy on a squirming baby.  For some of the couples in the group, their child will be the first contact they have ever had with a newborn.  It must be an extremely daunting prospect knowing you are completely responsible for caring for this little human.

Being a midwife is so much more than delivering babies.  It is supporting a woman as she makes the exciting and terrifying journey into motherhood.  One of the simplest ways we can do this is through antenatal education classes.

It makes sense that the better prepared you are for something, the better the outcome will be.  For example, when you take an exam at school, you will often do a mock paper in advance and your

teacher will explain the format of the examination.  They can’t tell you what the questions will be, but they reduce the stress you feel by removing any other uncertainties you may have.  Imagine you had to sit your last ever A Level examination and you didn’t know where it was taking place or what you would have to do.  Understandably you would not do well.

The same applies for labour and birth.  Many women are scared of the prospect of giving birth because they don’t understand what will happen to them.  They may have watched One Born Every Minute and expect that their labour will neatly fit into the edited one hour programme they have seen on channel 4.  This is not the case.  They expect it to hurt and that they won’t be able to cope with that pain.  This is also not always true.  Usually when we are in pain, it is because we are not well and our body is telling us that something is wrong. In labour however, the body sends out hormones which act as a natural analgesia.  If the woman can understand the process her body is going through, instead of being scared of being in pain, she can embrace it and realise that it is helping her to meet her baby.  With the correct preparation and belief in her amazing body, a mother can do wondrous things.

I am so grateful for the opportunity of being a part of the journey for the couples I have met in antenatal classes and thank them for reminding me of the importance of the softer skills of midwifery.  See you next week!

Flat Pack Furniture and Flat Mates

Last weekend I moved once again.  In my 27, nearly 28, years of life, I have lived in 11 different houses, with 30 different people (not all at the same time).  I have lived with family members, strangers and friends and I can tell you this – you don’t really know someone until you live with them.

Student Village

My mum tells me when she dropped me off at university at the tender age of 18, she cried because she was scared I wouldn’t make any friends.  Hopefully, this isn’t because she thinks I am a social pariah but more because I didn’t know anyone.  I must admit, when I waved her goodbye I sat on my bed and wondered if I had made the right decision.  Then there was a flurry of knocks on my door and a second year student came bursting in. Her name was Katie and she soon became a close friend - which is fortunate, because we shared a bathroom. 

I loved living in student accommodation when I did my first degree.  I had an immediate group of friends, all doing different courses to me and whom I went on to live with out of halls.  So it felt only natural to do the same when I started at the University of Bedfordshire.  I wasn’t familiar with Luton so living in student accommodation right in the centre of town was extremely convenient whilst I was finding my feet.  I also didn’t drive at the time so was relived to discover the university, bus routes and shopping were all in easy walking distance.

One of my favourite passive aggressive notes

 There is a knack to sharing a house or halls of residence with other people as other people’s habits will drive you up the wall if you let them.  Door slamming, milk stealing, hair in plug holes, late night music blaring – I have lived with them all.  You have to remember, it is only temporary.  There are also massive positives; another person’s DVD collection to raid, someone to make you a cup of tea when you are hung-over, someone to help you put together your flat pack furniture as you try to make a room, a home.  As long as the benefits outweigh the negatives, stick with it.  If not, move on.

Flat mates are a staple of university life.  Hopefully you will be as lucky as me and make some life long friends.  See you next week.

Housemates for three years, friends forever

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.