WORKING AS A COORDINATOR MIDWIFE IN A TERTIARY ...

Alice is in charge of the shift and reveals her lack of choice regarding having to take on a
caseload at times. Malloch and Porter-O’Grady (2005) write “the role of the leader is to
create a safe environment where people can adjust their patterns of work behaviours to fit
an ever changing context” (p.148). Alice’s story illustrates how challenging her role is.
As with Amiria’s story, Alice is multitasking and having to change her patterns of work
as well as those of the staff she is leading. She also masks her emotions as she ‘tries’ to
think positively about the privilege of caring for a labouring woman who should be her
focus of care but at the same time, as the leader, she is at the beck and call of colleagues.
This is the way it is. Alice is the coordinator and leads the shift because she has the
expertise. Like Amiria she uses the word ‘hopeless’; there is no choice. All Alice can do
is her best and in this way she role models to her colleagues how best to work under
duress to try and achieve safe practice in the unit.
Jane recalls a story:
Last Sunday night shift I had the Women’s Assessment Unit (WAU) triage phone.
The registrar went to theatre so I was given the pager and obstetric acute phone,
then the house surgeon gave me his pager. So, I end up with all these phones and
pagers in my pocket, trying to provide patient care because I have my own
workload, I am coordinating, then the office phone rings! And because I’m the
only one free I usually have to run from the far end of delivery suite to the office
to answer it and they hang up just as I get there!
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