Nights

I've been reading a lot of posts on NMM, blogs and a family member's facebook who has just started FY1 (Foundation Year 1 Doctor) about doing their first set of nights. We midwifery students don't get to escape nights and frequently do a run of at least 3 if not 4 nights. They're something I'm quite looking forward to not doing (compulsory) when I go to med school, but I think there a few places where I would volunteer to do nights like on A&E, and hadn't I done midwifery definitely Obs&Gynae- most babies are born at night, and we get a fair few deliveries on nights!!!

But there a few things I love about nights:

• We wear scrubs everywhere... not just on labour ward.
• There are none of the crappy 'politics' which some of my fellow cohort have had the misfortune of experiencing ie, we are actually allowed to sit and eat/drink tea/have our break with our mentor/other midwives and not be kicked out of the unit to the canteen (depending on who is on in charge ;) ).
• It's more relaxed, well before it hits 2/3am and everyone gets really tired and the red bull comes out.
• I have the opportunity to talk to doctors (esp FY1/2s and the ST1) about med school and being a junior doctor- which is great and some have even taught me their cannula techniques using a biro drawn blue line on a swab !
• I'm more likely to deliver a baby :)

Then there are the couple of things I don't like:

• It's scary in the hospital at night on the PN ward, ahhh don't like it!!!
• I travel 2 hours each way on the bus-train-busx2 so it's really tough, I get my minimal 8hours and literally get up have shower put clothes on and leave again, no time for eating a meal or even a quick bite at home, first bit of food will be about 2am, 7 hours since waking up.

Really don't want a set of nights on my last ever PN Ward placement which begins in 2 weeks :

The Year Ahead

As my 'final' year before qualifying is fast approaching, I've been thinking a lot about what is to come in the year ahead- specifically that this time next year I will have sat the UKCAT and will be finalising my personal statement and getting in any last minute experiences which will help my application. It's a scary thought, slightly dulled down by the reality that I will have to really push myself more this year, academically and physically, than previously.

Next semester brings double modules- my chosen degree module on top of the normal midwifery module- so an essay and exam, an OSCE and an incident report, all whilst I will be in the hospital on placement 'working' full time (the odd study day here and there, thankfully). The following semester ( if all goes well with the degree module) will be the exact same, only one module will be at honours level, and then there is my elective to fit in somewhere...
Study days will be rare, very rare.

My final, last ever semester prior to qualification is entirely placement, five days per week and not a single day of uni or a study day to ease our suffering. I feel this is going to be the hard one. It falls between May and August, so my application, PS and UKCAT will all have to be written/studied/practiced for on top of ANOTHER module ( for honours) which is the 'plan' to my research project... ahhhhh how lovely, I am soooo looking forward to this one*.

Work experience wise I'll already have my 3 years of placements- Labour ward, AN/PN ward, Community, Day Care&Early Pregnancy, Gynae Theatre (Loved it-made me want to be a surgeon), Gynae ward and I spent the day with an anaesthetist in the anaesthetic room which was really interesting.

Still, I want more 'doctorey' work experience so hopefully I will be able to spend some time at a GP surgery, one of the ODP's offered to let me go over to main theatre with her and see some surgery (so excited about this) and I'm going to try and shadow an F1/2 and an anaesthetist. I'd love to see a bit of A&E weekend action as well. The only prob is fitting it all in!



* denotes sarcasm :)