RE: [ozmidwifery] Post cs support

[Kate Reynolds]

In WA now the med students (student doctors) in their training attend a SPEC (student pelvic examination clinic) supervised by midwives but the teaching is done by volunteer women (teaching associates) who not only teach the students as they perform  the taking of a history, breast, abdo, pelvic exam and pap smear for the women, they also very gently instruct them on the subtleties of obtaining patient consent and on the appropriate language to use during such examinations (they provide further feedback to the students after the exam). It is very interesting to oversee as the students  (albeit it nervously) often say things such as “Ok, could you just spread your legs now”  or “I’m just going to have a feel around in here now” to which the women will say to them “Did you just hear what you asked me to do?’ and the students will always rephrase it until the women is happy – usually to something like “Are you comfortable to let your knees fall apart now?” or  “ Is it OK for me to check you ovaries now?”. Already nurses and midwives are seeing a big turnaround in the bedside manners of our sensitive new age doctors (and are very grateful to UWA for using more and more midwives and nurses in the design of their teaching programs). Cheers, Kate