Would love to come and work but the tyranny of distance may prove a
problem. My husband and I both work shift work and our kids have never
known any different. Every day they ask who is going to be home
tonight and I worked out long ago that they were not asking because
they were complaining but just sorting out in their minds what today
would be. I agree that to some ( who havent tried it) the concept of
being on call all the time seems over whelming but the professional
satisfaction of being with a woman whom you have got to know (rather
than one who has seen someone else and just ends up with you through
pot luck) is such that it more than makes up for any inconvenience.
When Mum is happy and satisfied then the whole family will benefit in
the long run.
Andrea
On 14/06/2005, at 5:18 PM, Carol Van Lochem wrote:
Hi Andrea,
The reason we have this model is because there were only 2 of us
willing to do straight case load. I thought that as midwives began to
develop a relationship with thier named women that they would be
happier with being called in...this is not the case for everyone
though it seems. I think the demands of home life add an extra
dimension to the directions in which women's lives are pulled. If
midwives are met with the comment "Are you going to work again" from
thier partner or children it adds a level of guilt which makes it more
difficult for them to go out when called.
Our model is actually quite flexible, in that we are able to provide
one-to-one care to women who require or desire it. However only 2 of
us offer this level of care. It is kind of difficult to describe our
model, as we've recently made some changes to try to keep the team
happy. We may have to tinker with it further if we get no applicants,
but we'll see. (How about you Andrea...heehee). I guess having more
flexible working arrangements is more difficult for some people to get
used to, and it certainly seems to me that it is an individual thing.
My main concern is for midwifery generally if we are going to "sell"
this type of model to our collegues around the state of Vic. and
hopefully the nation itself. These are some of the problems we are
experiencing here that I did not expect.
Thanks for taking the time to reply
Regards Carol
>From: Andrea Quanchi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Reply-To: ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au
>To: ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au
>Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] Problems With new Models
>Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2005 09:48:25 +1000
>
>Maybe you need to re look at your definition of continuity, It
>appears to me that what you are trying to sell to people is a type
>of team midwifery that you have modified to your own needs and as
>you are finding out team midwifery is not as easy to sell. The best
>part about true caseloading is that you are on call for women that
>you know and therefore are prepared to do it because you have
>developed a relationship with the woman and want to be there.
>Being on call for an organisation / hospital is a drag as anyone
>who had done it knows. You try to carry on your life but in the back
>of your mind is this thing that looms over you. On the other hand
>being on call for 'your' women is completely the opposite. They know
>me. The know what committments I have that are important to me
>(because I tell them) and together we seem to manage to co ordinate
>the whole thing without me or my family feeling like it is
>infringing on our lives.
>
>The other big advantage of changing to true caseloading is that you
>can sell midwives the idea of trying it in a proportion that suits
>their lives. Some midwives could take on a smaller number of women
>that would limit the number of times they will be called in. For
>example if you only have two women a month and partner with someone
>else who has two women a month then worse case scenario you will be
>called in four times in the month(if your partner was unavailable
>when both her women were in labour) but more likely only twice (for
>your own women). All you other work will be on days and times you
>decide to do it. Trying a small number is less scary and the
>satisfaction is such that they will soon be asking for more women
>each month.
>
>Ask someone who is doing it already to come and have a social
>interaction with the group and sell it for you. Would be worth the
>trouble as an situation they can think of will have been encountered
>and handled before.
>
>Andrea Quanchi
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