Hello! It has been a stupid amount of time since my last
blog so I do apologise! I have been so busy with 2nd year placements
and assignments that this blog, along with my social life, have sadly been
neglected.
I will begin with my placement on Fetal Assessment Unit
(FAU). It was probably one of my favourite placements so far. It is essentially
an assessment centre where women can attend if there are concerns over maternal
and/or fetal wellbeing. They can self-refer or be sent up to the unit by
community midwives if observations detect a deviation from normality. Cases
that I came across mainly consisted of reduced fetal movements, abdominal pain,
itching and high blood pressure, but you can be presented with anything and
everything.
Over the course of the week I became much more confident in
undertaking assessments. I needed some prompting at the start, and I was quite
weary of getting anything wrong so I was always asking the midwives to check things!
However, by mid-week I was starting to take more initiative. When women
presented with symptoms, for the most part I could identify the associated
conditions, risks and procedures. It was a lot of blood tests and CTGs! Even
though I am probably the shakiest person you will ever meet, I’ve always had
the knack of venepuncture. I had to take blood from most of the women I saw, so
it was a great opportunity to increase my confidence. Some ladies required
special measures to obtain a sample, so I learnt how to take blood using a
butterfly needle and syringes which I had never done before. A definite
highlight of the week was when I managed to take blood from a client who
claimed no midwife had ever successfully obtained a sample, and apparently even
the anaesthetists had struggled in the past! Probably a lucky shot, but I was
happy all the same.
Although I was only there for a week, I developed great
relationships with the midwives working there. They were friendly, approachable
and extremely knowledgeable which is all you can ask for in a mentor. I was
working alongside another student midwife from my cohort too, and we get along
really well. It is always good to have another student on placement, you can
help each other out! I even grew close with clients- some women experiencing
more complex conditions attended the unit up to three times that week.
Now that I think about it, it was a week of firsts for me. I
performed my first membranes sweeps, a procedure I’ve been asking mentors to
let me do for ages. They can be really difficult, especially on primiparous
women. Fortunately I have long fingers which certainly helps! Following one
sweep, I asked a client to give me feedback and she wrote the loveliest things
in my pad! I also tried my best at a couple of speculum examinations. I found
it really fiddly but I’m starting to get the hang of it (especially now that
I’ve had more practice in Triage placement).
I could go on for so long about how much I learnt on FAU but
this blog would be 1000s of words! My next placement was on Neonatal Unit,
which I had been looking forward to. It’s safe to say I’m glad I went down the
path of midwifery instead of paediatrics- it just wasn’t for me. The nurses and
doctors were lovely, and I am happy I was given the opportunity to see how the
‘other side’ works. However, as cute as those babies were- I prefer to be able
to have a conversation with my clients!
I then had a week on triage- this was similar in ways to
FAU. Many women attended reporting the same problems (aches, pains, movements)
if it was the night shift as the fetal assessment unit closes in the evening.
There were many women with query SROM (waters breaking) and contracting, so I
got lots of vaginal examinations and speculums in. Surprisingly, I managed to
get the majority of exams correct- which I was over the moon about. Except for
one where I assessed someone as 4cm and they turned out to be 8. I have no idea
what happened there.
Triage consisted of liasing with lots of different people-
from paramedics to mental health services. A lot of the time we acted as a
signpost, assessing clients and then transferring them to the appropriate ward.
Women at various points in labour were often in the unit, and so much of the
time my guesses of progress from outwards appearance were proved entirely wrong
on internal examination. One was so close to delivering that I ended up facilitating
the birth seconds after her admission to labour ward!
My latest placement was with a specialist community
midwifery team who caseload clients in need of extra support. The midwives’
caseloads differed depending on their own specialism and interests, however the
cases mostly comprised of women with mental health problems, teenage
pregnancies, and those with social care involvement. I found this placement
enlightening, and I was inspired by the commitment that the midwives had for
their women. I was happy to see a model of community midwifery as it probably
should be- continuous care, a named midwife, and no appointments. The
specialist midwives each had their own weekly drop-in clinics, during which
their clients could visit at any point in their pregnancy. They were so well
supported, I know that I would love to have that standard of care for my
pregnancy.
I am now very near to the end of my second year. I am in
shock that I have made it this far. I am starting to see clients who I have
cared for in their previous pregnancies which is so weird! I’ll find myself
looking at their toddlers thinking ‘I felt you when you were in your mummy’s
tummy!’
Just one week left of placement now on the ward. I have a
lot of competencies to get signed off so I am feeling a bit stressed at the
moment. At least I know that I will obtain a range of experiences caring for antenatal
and postnatal clients on the ward, so hopefully I will be all signed off for
year 2 practice in a matter of days.
