Midwifery is catching

Today was orientation day. Instead of o’week, I had a day. Woo. And it wasn’t even for my course - it was for about 200 nursing students as well. Most of them were fresh out of school so I’m going to share a bit of advice with them…

If you get to class early, SIT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROW. Cause otherwise people who arrive later have to (and will) clamber over you, and if they have a hard wooden parasol they may just "accidentally" hit you with it.

Also, if you are late, don’t make the whole freaking theatre rearrange itself so you can sit with your friends. And - DON’T TALK. Especially not in another language, which is just as irritating as if you were whisperng in English. And turn off your mobile phone before class. Or at least put it on silent. Do not, under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, think that covering your mouth with your hand makes your conversation quiet. It doesn’t.

Lecturers - mind you Ps especially into a microphone!! You don’t have to shout if you have one of those in fact… but loud Ps hurt the ears! If you are a career counsellor, please note that SPECIALISM is NOT A WORD.

Third years students must wear black it seems - all 9 people on the panel had black on. First and second year students must wear teeny shorts and pale coloured singlets. Unless you’re me and then you wear polkadots.

Lastly - midwifery is NOT THE SAME as nursing. It is just simply not. It is a genre of nursing and one that I’m proud to be a part of but it’s a different program, a different industry and different subjects. So please don’t pretend I am the same as the nursing students and we need the same information… like being told our placements start at the end of semester 1 in 2nd year, when in fact they start in 8 weeks.

Oh and perhaps the fact that the panel discussion was dominated by midwifery students indicates that they have lots of students and your average nursing student doesn’t because more information has been given to the nursing students… so a SEPARATE induction would have been good.

Wow I obviously needed to get that out. I just went and bought $300 worth of textbooks and will hopefully get another $100 worth tonight. I have:

• Student nurses clinical survival guide
• Midwifery Guide to Antenatal Investigation
• Ramsay Midwifery Pack
• Mayes Midwifery

and the books collectively weighed a tonne! I have my first tutorial on Monday hopefully - another timetable mishap that I’m HOPING will be sorted out!