So this past week I’ve been back in Community! I’ve not been in community since my first placement of 1st Year (I worked it out, the last time I was there was November 2016!) and I have been really looking forward to going back to it – seeing how different it is knowing what I know now, and seeing what I make of it now I’m 2.5 years more experienced – and the conclusion? I’m really enjoying it!
I love the routine that you get going with clinics and being able to individualise the care and advice you give to each woman, I love the variety in each day – seeing women who are newly pregnant for the first time, all the way through to seeing women who are post-dates coming for a sweep, as well as seeing women postnatally at home – it’s really lovely!
I also really like the way that the day runs; a 9 hour day makes such a difference compared to 12.5 hours, and the day is nicely broken up with a guaranteed lunch break (shock horror!) between clinics or visits – it’s a bit more independent and I like it!
The only thing I think would get to me long term is not being involved in too much intrapartum care, but the teams also go to home births and spend the odd night shift on the birth centre ready to go to home births at night, so they are still getting the chance, which is good.
I do think community midwifery is something I would look into once we’ve got kids – I want to get settled as a qualified midwife in the hospital and establish my career first, but I can imagine it fitting really well with childcare – much better than proper shift work!
This week I’ve done 4 days, all of which were in different clinics. I’ve done several booking appointments, making sure I remember to gather all the information needed from the women at their first appointment. I’ve carried out a sweep on a lady who was post-dates and frankly, really really ready to not be pregnant any more! I’ve done clinic appointments for women at all different gestations, giving them information and support for quitting smoking, mental health issues, pelvic girdle pain, concerns about movements and so much more.
Honestly, my first day I was just trying to remember everything – there is so much stuff that is just second nature once you’ve been doing it for a few days, but remembering all the details when you’ve not been there for a while, it’s just a case of reminding yourself of everything you need to tell the women, and what advice to give.
Thankfully, I’ve had a fab mentor who was really supportive and helpful, reminding me of all the information whilst allowing me to carry out most of the appointments, building my confidence again – it’s been fab!
I’ve got one more week on Community – it all feel a bit like a countdown now; a few weeks here, a few weeks there, and then it’s the final countdown – and I’ve only got one skill to get signed off in my practice assessment document and it’ll be done! The paperwork has always been a bit of a rush last minute in previous years so it’s a nice feeling to be nearly finished with it all! Eek!
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