WORKING AS A COORDINATOR MIDWIFE IN A TERTIARY ...

Lived time
In the face of the ‘unknown’, coordinators are regularly thrown into situations where they
have to multi task and bring together a team of doctors, midwives, nurses, neonatal
practitioners, anaesthetists and anaesthetic technicians with no forewarning. Such
situations are often emergencies where every second counts. The reality is that time lost
could compromise the quality of life for a mother and/or her baby forever.
Within the tertiary setting, the coordinator is working with colleagues who each have
their own agenda and their own focus. With no warning, these colleagues are required to
work together as a team at speed, with all the tensions accompanying such situations
when time is critical. The coordinator leads her team by weaving in and out of their life
worlds to bring everything together calmly, yet with urgency.
Members of the team may panic, or feel they are beyond their ability to cope. Whatever
the coordinator may be feeling, she is the only person with a ‘helicopter view’ of the
situation. She knows the numbers of staff on duty; she knows what else is happening
within the unit and what could happen in addition to the current emergency. She knows
the skill mix of the staff she is working with and what needs to be done in a safe, timely
manner.
There is always the ‘unknowing’ of the outside call regarding an admission to the unit, a
regional retrieval request or an emergency transfer from a ward to delivery suite. It is up
to the coordinator to lead, to direct and to use time to best advantage for all concerned
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