WORKING AS A COORDINATOR MIDWIFE IN A TERTIARY ...

Similarly, Amiria feels she is letting her colleagues down in the absence of time to
support them:
You want to grow a good solid midwife and sometimes you think you’re lacking,
because you can’t give them as much support and talk through. For example the
doctor’s made a decision and you weren’t happy with it, or there’s an emergency
and you don’t get enough time to talk about it. Sometimes I feel I’ve let them
down and haven’t been able to help them out.
Isa., et al (2002) highlight one of the responsibilities of DHB midwives – that is, as a
teacher who “in a day will teach students, nurture new practitioners, encourage people
that need upskilling” (p.6). Time passes with opportunities for learning lost because of
time constraints in the delivery suite setting. Learning incorporates kinesthetic ‘hands on’
learning, combined with what is already known, what is observed, what is said, what is
heard and what is taught. A positive learning environment is vital for effective learning
where midwives can learn ‘in their own time’ and gain confidence in the workplace.
Time is not their own in delivery suite, and Amiria reveals her awareness that the
hurriedness and busyness of the unit is detrimental to learning opportunities for
midwives. Time flies by and opportunities are missed.
Sally shares her story:
We were quite busy that night and the new grad LMC said to me “I’m going to
need help with this lady.” I asked “Who have you got as backup to support
you?” Their exam results come out in December and I recall this was the
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