Title: Re: RE B MID
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Let's all embrace Jan's desire for our
future student midwives nurturance and use our combined spirits and will's
to bring it to pass!!
Denise
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2002 5:41
AM
Subject: Re: RE B MID
Lear Tina and list
I am sure any
negativity will disappear as the new-age students begin to infiltrate the
workplace. There is no need to mention the words “direct entry” when
beginning. All students should be seen as new beginners with individual
needs seeking support and sharing of midwifery matters from their more
experienced colleagues. Each student will enter the clinical arena with her
own prior knowledge of pregnancy and birth, just as they do now. One would
hope that the 2002 students will also be prepared beforehand by their
universities in dealing with challenges when establishing new collegiate
relationships in the workplace.
There is a fine example of collegiate
sharing and cooperation currently underway at the St George Hospital, Kogarah.
A student from the Seattle Midwifery School (Marilyn, who often
contributes to this list) is working hard there to get her ‘catches’ and any
other experience she can with hospital managed births before she heads back to
Seattle to sit her final exams. She has integrated well with the other
students, is accepted by the registered staff and getting along with the
administration. The only negativity towards her has come from a couple of
midwives who are constantly bullying and putting down ALL students (she
understands that bullying is a continuing problem in this country and she is
dealing with the situation appropriately)
Most of the midwives working with
Maralyn would not be aware she comes from a background different to other
students gaining midwifery experience at the St George campus and they
interact with her as they would with all.
(A big round of applause for the
midwives of St George Hospital!)
The potential for fostering a stronger
profession, encouraging diversity in it’s portals of entry will be enhanced as
long as the hospitals become proactive and prepare their staff appropriately
to provide the type of support necessary for adult learners. There will be
educative programs set up between Universities and their clinical campuses to
this end, I’m sure.
I would hope that the student’s hospital clinical
experiences are organised so that they don’t occur until students have prior
experience working with midwives operating woman focused practices (e.g.
Natural Birth Centres, Community Midwifery Programs and Caseload practices).
They should then have the advantages of such models fixed in their
imaginations before being exposed to the hospital situation where midwives who
are often (operating under circumstances beyond their control) have to
focus on the immediate needs of their employer, their immediate managers, the
rosters, the visitors and their work-mates, allowing little time to spend
debriefing students and fostering efficient learning.
The optimal
learning environment will eventuate as case-load becomes the universal norm
for all clinicians and each student works with the same caseload as her
preceptoring midwife. I can’t wait to see that day!
Jan
Robinson
On 4/2/02 4:51 AM, "barbara glare & chris
bright" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Dear Macha and
Tina,
I was shocked when a friend of mine who is
a midwife reacted vehemently and negatively to the idea of B Mid. I
think her words were "It will undermine everything we have worked for - I
would never agree to work with a direct entry midwife in a hospital"
When I picked myself up off the floor and asked her about it, it
turned out that she really had no idea at all about what it was. After
I explained, she was a bit calmer about it.
Love
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