I had something completely different planned for this week but I just couldn't wait to get this post up.
The Secret Community For Midwives In The Making is a Facebook group with just over 9,000 members. I started it thinking it would be a small project, but two years on I'm proud of the support it provides and the broad spectrum of members.
Yesterday, a big group conversation on the topic 'midwifery survival guide' was started by a member called Sammi and it really took off. I've done my best to capture and curate the best tips for you in this post.
25 Midwifery Survival Guide Tips
1. Ask for help early. Midwifery is a hugely demanding course, emotionally, physically and financially. Ask those you love, tutors and friends for advice and support.
2. Take care of yourself. You'll spend a lot of time being tired, simply because you'll be trying to learn and work on shift simultaneously. Exercise, eat healthily and meal plan. Invest in yourself.
3. Batch cook. Especially if your placement has reheating facilities, it's brilliant to have meals stored in the freezer that you can defrost and take in. Slow cooker meals are also a winner. You'll be strapped for time, this stuff needs planning out.
4. Take snacks like fruit, nuts, biscuits, cereal bars etc. with you to placement. Then you won't be distracted by hunger if you don't get a break.
5. Shift work is a ditch. (Ok, in the original thread this isn't what was written, but it rhymed with it!) Spread your assignments out into manageable chunks. Do 100-500 words at a time. Keep a document with references or use the referencing software your uni provides. Then when you're balancing shiftwork and essays you can simply slot your work together before submission rather than tackling a whole essay in one sitting.
6. Concentrate on the women in your care. It's all about them.
7. Debrief about placements with other students. This is great for support, but also placements offer varied experiences depending on the women who come in and the setting (birth centre, hospital, community, etc.) Your student colleagues will, therefore, know more about certain topics than you, and you can swap stories and information.
8. There’s no shame in tossing pretty pants to one side and wearing massive comfy pants for a 13 hour shift!
9. In the same vein, soft crop bras with hidden support are great under a white tunic (I’m told Marks and Spencers is the place to shop for these)
10. Have a spare pair of underwear and socks in your bag in case of exploding liquor. Sometimes waters can go unexpectedly and under pressure! Also changing your socks can just be nice on a 13-hour shift. That new sock feeling can get you through.
11. Ask. Ask about anything you're not sure on.
12. Read the maternity hospital guidelines. These will give you a practical guide on what's likely to happen in any given clinical situation.
13. Don't feel you have to buy lots of books. You certainly don't need every textbook. Go to the library instead. Also, don't feel you have to know everything from the outset, the idea is you're there to learn!
14. Have a small notebook in your pocket. Write down new things you've learned, staff names, keycodes and so on.
15. Even if you're nervous, keep saying yes to new experiences on placement. (I love this one - the students that are most able to confront their fears will become confident and competent the fastest.)
16. If you have time, reading for a few minutes on the subject of that days' lecture is very useful – perhaps over your breakfast cuppa?
17. Especially if you're not sure or are underconfident, ask for clarification and help (are you spotting a theme in this post?)
18. Don’t be afraid to challenge what’s unsafe. Better to challenge and be given a rationale than to have something hanging over your head.
19. You'll often be surprised by who will pitch in and help on shift if the workload is unmanageable. This goes for working as a newly qualified midwife and being a senior student. Multitasking and exhaustion make mistakes a lot more likely, so ask for help where possible.
20. Make use of your uni resources and services. If a traumatic shift is on your mind, go and access counselling services. They’ll understand. Even if you just sit and have a cry. Study support at the library, link lecturers, and the uni's financial advice team are all brilliant places to get extra help. You're not expected to do it all on your own.
21. Even if you have a not so nice mentor, remember they’re only human and have their own stresses. It’s not personal, even if it feels that way.
22. A thank you card at the end of a placement can go a long way. Remember mentors need feedback from you to improve their teaching skills.
23. Have your skill book to hand and ask to have things signed off. Don't leave it all to the last minute on placement.
24. Time management is essential, so remember that often 'done is better than good'. Stick to the clock, don't sacrifice your down time in search of perfection.
25. Be proud of your achievements. Progress will keep you smiling and improving. There's no better feeling than when a Mum tells you she thought you were the midwife, not the student!
Now it's your turn, please add your own tips in the comments below!
P.S.
Huge thanks to The Secret Community For Midwives In The Making, in particular, Sammi (see her 'deaf student midwife page' and story here) - I'm not at liberty to list everyone who was involved in this conversation but if one of these tips is yours thanks for adding to this resource for future midwives!
The Secret Community is one my favourite places for midwifery support online. Everyone is welcome, no matter whether you're an aspiring, student, newly qualified or highly qualified midwife.
The ethos we aim for in the Secret Community is based on a quote from J.B. Priestley: 'Always be kinder than necessary, everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about.'
It is a real community, debates happen, but we do try our hardest to keep things supportive. We have an amazing moderator team who range from aspiring midwives, to students, to postnatal depression volunteers, to midwives who are also nurses, and an infant feeding specialist (I can't thank them enough, they're amazing!).
We do interview support, we have Q and A evenings - in fact, author and independent midwife Virginia Howes will be joining us at 7pm tonight to talk about UK independent midwifery, how exciting is that?! Join us by clicking here.
Hope to see you there,
Ellie x
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee my thread 😀
Saying “I’ll just find somebody who can help” goes a lot further than “I don’t know”!
Haha, is indeed Sammi! Yes, that’s true 🙂 In less pressured situations ‘I’ll learn how to do this if you show me’ is a good one too x
Absolutely love this!
I’d say throw yourself into it whole heartedly regardless of personal problems. During placement I found it hard to leave my worries about childcare and school runs etc at the door but as soon as I did I noticed a myriad of things going on around me that I hadn’t before. That’s actually how I learnt the most things, being distracted by my own thoughts was stopping me from noticing little things in other people’s practice like tone of voice or touch of the hand, stuff that isn’t in the syllabus but takes you from a good midwife to an excellent one. X
Make friends with the support staff…..they can help you out massively with the bits that you might feel silly on asking your mentor….such as how to make a bed or where certain bits and bobs are kept….
Don’t come to placement to tick off your book…whilst number crunching is important to pass the course…being with women and their partners is the crux to becoming a great midwife. Cherish their antenatal visits, labours and postnatal moments just like the women and partners do. Every time you have the privilege to work with a couple focus on building a rapport by way of listening to their aspirations for their pregnancy, birthing and parenting journey…do this and you’ll learn how to facilitate a care plan for each couple’s individual needs.
I love this comment 🙂
What a wonderful site! Even experienced midwives need to learn, be inspired and mentored. Finding colleagues who share your passion will keep you going during the difficult times. my mantra is ….help make it the best day ever (no matter what is going on for her) and ….one woman(family) at a time
What a wonderful mantra, thank you!
Find positive role models, and stay close to them (not physically). Tell them why you appreciate their midwifery approach/skills, as it will support them too!
Fantastic, great advice Sheena! Thanks for your comment – and for your work, we often discuss how much of an impact you’ve had on the wellbeing of future midwives and women, over in the Secret Community! 🙂
My tip is never leave the shift if someone else is left behind – two pairs of hands halve one persons workload – the more you help others the more they will help you when you need them . Never talk about colleagues in a negative way and never feel you must ‘ join in to fit in ‘ being different might mean that you possibly encourage someone else to ‘think’ before they act or speak .
Share new stuff with junior doctors as their focus is more about cure than prevention – the brew trolley is the best medicine for a busy shift when staff can get a drink quick but don’t forget the ones who haven’t got chance to get to the office – take them milk and sugar separately so they can have their drink just as they like it – spoil them ??
If you are promoting good ‘Bladder care’ to women you must practice what you preach – don’t find yourself visiting the loo for the first time all day at the end of a shift.
Ellie thank you – your blog is just fabulous – I’m going to print it out and share at work . With YOUR NAME on it of course
Much love Jenny The M xxxx
Thanks Jenny, that means the world to me! GREAT tips as well – courage and commitment are clearly two ‘Cs’ you have! For anyone reading this comment make sure you check out Jenny’s blog here xxx
Hi Ellie! I have a confession to make- I’m a quiet sort of stalker, and don’t usually comment. HOWEVER- I’ve been following your blog for some time now, and I wanted to tell you how much I’ve enjoyed reading your posts. I’m making plans to enter midwifery school in 2017, so here’s hoping!
I’ve got a question for you- what is your opinion on childless midwives? I was just curious, because I just got off the phone with a midwife who said she wouldn’t take on a childless apprentice. Obviously, I want to do it anyway, and still think I can provide every bit of compassion and care. But I thought it might make a good question to be answered, and thought of you.
Cheers,
Madelyn
Madelyn, I don’t think having children makes you a better or worse midwife. If you had cancer you wouldn’t expect the doctor who treated you to have had cancer too. It’s all about your personality and communication skills, being compassionate and caring about women and their experiences – the skills you learn, but you must also think holistically and give choice irrespective of your views as you are a facilitator of someone else’s journey. If you have the passion then go for it – I believe midwifery is a calling. Good luck! xx
On nights shifts some midwives use their break to sleep in the staff room where the microwave is or out on community there are sometimes no reheating facilities. I found that a food flask for a few pounds enabled me to eat a warm home made meal without having to disturb anyone or hunt down a microwave and spend 10 + mins of my 30 min break doing so and reheating. I use it at uni too and overall it’s saved me a lot of money compared to buying meals.
Great tips for surviving the midwife experience. More people should check this list out.
Hello, brilliant post Ellie, thanks for the read!
May I gain your permission to share this with our new starters in September?
Please do Kerry!
Of course, please do Kerry!