No Title, It Just Is.

Uni has been great, haven't really done much in the way of specific Midwifery learning in the last couple of weeks as the timetables have worked out with easter etc which is cool but Im itching to get back into it. We had our CPR assessment on Wednesday which was excellent but hard. The CPR itself wasn't hard, although I did have a bit of trouble getting my mouth to seal around the dummy's mouth, lol. The hard bit was thinking about what it all means. Our instructor was really blunt with us (in a good way) saying things like be aggressive, they are already technically dead, you can't do anymore damage even if you break a rib or two, what you are doing is their only shot (unless you happen to have a defibrillator near by). It really made me think about a heart attack that I witnessed a year or so ago at work and I sincerely hope that I never see another one, although I know I'm bound to. But I still don't want to. I know I am going to see a lot of things that make me uncomfortable and push my boundaries but I guess thats all part of learning and growing. Still I am going to be lucky enough to witness many many wonderful things as well which I hope will also push my boundaries. Ahhh...... breathe in.... breathe out....ahhhh...... so much ahead of me.

On a disappointing note, some of the ladies at Uni still haven't got the formula right and are still being really awful to some of the younger girls. For instance, this afternoon we were in a COMMUNICATION paper tutorial type thing where we have been put into groups to complete a group project. The project is all about how we communicate with others etc and today we had the opportunity to get together in our groups and have a wee chat. Well a wee chat is what my friend got. She happens to be 18 and the two 'adult ladies' that had a chat with her are both in their thirties. Anyway these ladies promptly decided to tell her that they didn't need to do this assignment or paper as thirty year olds know how to communicate unlike eighteen year olds with no life experience!!! WTF!!! Excuse me but I think it is glaringly obvious who needs the communication lesson there. I sincerely hope these ladies are not going to go out into the community alienating people like that. How are they going to treat any clients they may get who do not fit into their boxes eg teen Mums. It really makes my blood boil. I just don't understand the need for this behaviour. I know its cheesey but why can't we just get along, we are all going to need to support each other when we really get into this.

Birth Stories

I just love to read Birth Stories! My Sister has started a blog of birth stories from around the world and today I re-discovered my own. How cool is it that twenty something years later I can read my own birth story. What a legacy for your children. Go you birth-story-writing Mums!! Keep them coming.

Just a Quickie

We had our first assessment today! It was great fun as we weren't graded or anything, just had to turn up and do it and we passed. The assessment was hand-washing and sterile gloving so it was nice and easy as far as the assessments go. We had to rub some stuff (can't remember what it was called) on our hands first, let it dry, then go and wash them following procedure. We then went into this dark room and had a UV light shone on our hands which showed up white on any bits we had missed. I thought the stuff would be really cool if you were going to a dance party or something so you could paint crazy patterns on your body which would reflect the UV light! Hehehehe. Then we were shown how to put on sterile gloves which was a bit awkward but I'm sure will become second nature very quickly.
OK well lots more work today now so thank goodness I have the afternoon off :)

I LOVE IT!

Ok so three weeks down and I love it! Absolutely love it!
We are starting to really get into it now which is great (I still think that the first two weeks could have been done in two days though, I mean really, do we need to come all the way in for an hour or so each day to introduce ourselves etc)
Today the third years came in to talk to us which was great to hear how the course is from a student perspective, it all sounds rather challenging and even more exciting as the course progresses. They also made the comment that we are going to need to rely on our class mates for support as they are going through the same stuff as us so its important not to fall into the trap of pettyness, bitchyness, and competitiveness. This really stood out for me as I have noticed that even within three weeks little cliques have already formed and cattyness has already ensued. It always knocks me out of step when I see how quickly girls can become awful when hunting in a pack, when on the other hand, when you get the formula right we can be the most amazing, supportive and compassionate of beings! I wonder what the formula is?? I can't quite work it out. What I also found surprising and a little bit disturbing is that this is largely being instigated by 'older' and 'wiser' ladies with children (by the by, a lot of theses older and wiser ladies with children are the same age as me). So what is it that makes us revert to school yard behaviour, I mean come on! Honeslty! I hope that is not the way they are going to behave with their clients.

On the other hand there are a lot of amazing and lovely ladies of all ages, shapes, sizes and colours in my class which is just great and I hope to get to know them all a lot better in the next three years.

Also all they lecturers that I have had so far seem great, especially the midwifery ones. I can't tell you what a difference it makes to have lecturers who actually want to be there sharing their knowledge with you, and who actually enjoy it!

I even almost love doing my 'homework', hehehehe :) Especially pestering everyone I know to let me take their blood pressure!
We have an assesment on hand washing and sterile gloving, and even that sounds fun!

One Week Old

Well one week down and I am loving it! We haven't really learnt anything yet as such as well still have had a lot of admin and intro stuff etc, however, come Monday I have a feeling that that is all about to change (I have a lot of reading to do this weekend in prep for Monday, and thats just Monday, gah!). I had a few anxiety issues on the first day, I wasn't worried about forgetting to put on my underwear of not being able to find my way around, you know the typical first day stuff. I was more nervous that perhaps I was in the wrong place and had chosen the wrong course, to be honest I was scared that someone would stop me and say 'you can't be a midwife', or something to that effect. I felt very vulnerable and exposed which made me think hard about why I was there. And you know what, on the second day I knew for sure that this is where I am meant to be. It is a very empowering thought from a personal development perspective, now I just need to work on owning it, and trust that I can/am allowed to/ cable of doing it. Bah! Ramble ramble! :)
ALSO! I now own my very own Stethoscope and Sphygmomanometer, lol, thats hard to say AND write! Anyway my lovely sister is letting me practice on her, very exciting!

New Header

Ok so credits go to my uber talented sister for the new blog header, thanks Kate, I LOVE IT! Link above :)

First Day!

Ok well yesterday was my first day of Midwifery school and boy did it take me back to the first day of high school, not in the horribleness, but in the sense of adventure and unease. I must admit I got a bit of a shock when I first rocked up as in my naivety I had assumed that I would be in a younger minority in the group. How wrong was I! There was probably only a 1/4 or a 1/5 of students say over the thirty mark. This may sound like a random thing to remark on but some of my hesitancy in applying was that for some reason I thought midwifery was a profession for older people with more 'life experience'. I was again proved wrong in my arrogance here as talking to some of the girls my age and that live in my area we had all pretty much done another degree before deciding to do this instead. I guess as the course goes on my eyes are going to be opened like that a lot! Bring it on!
On the course content front it was a pretty standard introduction day. Our main lecturers seem pretty good, they have a good style, and the Head of the department doesn't seem to take any nonsense which is excellent.
I can't wait to get my hands dirty and really get into this!