Okay, so as of today, December 21, 2010, I'm not a CNM yet. I'm an SNM - student nurse-midwife, planning to finish my master's in nursing this spring. I hope to keep this blog as I finish up midwifery school, apply for jobs, and start my new career.
A little bit about me - I'm not a young-'un. I was a teacher for 13 years before I went back to school to become a midwife. I went to a reputable nursing school, and earned a BSN in 14 months. Then I continued immediately to my master's degree in nursing to complete my midwifery education at the same university. The master' s program is 2 years . . . I'm more than halfway through as I begin this blog.
My goal for this blog is to tell you a little bit about what it's like to be starting a new career. I hope to share many stories here, so in the interests of privacy, please know that I will not give more information about where I am working than necessary. Names, if used, will be changed. More will be introduced or explained as I go!
To begin, here is a review of my past year (2011), focusing on my clinical rotations:
Last winter, for my first clinical rotation in gynecology, I worked with a wonderful Family Nurse Practitioner who has a focus on Women's Health. She broke me in as a care-provider, helping me learn the ropes when dealing with patient care. With her I did well-woman exams, including figuring out how to interview a patient to learn their health history, and practiced doing Pap smears, STD checks, breast exams, and more. (I know that some of you would rather get your teeth pulled than either have or do a pelvic exam, but I love it!!!!) The best things about her were seeing how much her patients LOVED her, and her comfort level asking patients about their sex lives – important when you’re their gynecologic (and sometimes only) care provider. She was a great role model for me in many ways, and I appreciate what she taught me.
April through September, I spent with a midwife who has a solo private practice, with her clinic in her home. With her I learned to do pre-natal visits, including belly checks – just what I’ve been waiting all this time to do! Measuring bellies and feeling the baby move around inside as I poke around is so much fun! With her, I also began to learn how to “catch babies.” I caught my first baby on April 10, 2010 – on the mom’s due date (rare!). It was amazing! During that rotation, I caught 13 babies, including 4 at their homes, and one of a set of twins! She taught me so many things, including how to be patient with the birth process, and that babies can be delivered without us ever touching them (the dad was the first one to ever touch his son!), and how important and rewarding it is to establish a good relationship with each and every client.
This Fall took me to a military hospital which has been wonderful, and opened my eyes to an aspect of the military that I never considered – the sense of community and camaraderie there. I work with 5 different midwives there, which is allowing me to learn many perspectives on how best to manage the care of my patients, during their pregnancies, labors, and postpartum. As I watch each of them, and build on what I learned from my other preceptors, I’m slowly creating my own style. This quarter, I caught 6 more babies, and am feeling much more confident in my abilities and techniques. This hospital also has a Residency program, so I’m working alongside new doctors, which is a great learning experience for me! We swap information, ideas, stories, and ask each other “dumb” questions in order to grow as providers. I also benefit from their daily meetings, when they make case presentations, and discuss aspects of patient care, or even when they take quizzes, and let me participate and learn from the discussion. My experience there will continue through mid-March, and I’m looking forward to learning even more in 2011!
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