WORKING AS A COORDINATOR MIDWIFE IN A TERTIARY ...

I work, the difficulty is the staffing shortages and when the puzzle just doesn’t fit
together.
Sally enjoys being in charge, being “in control” and being a decision maker. This is not
‘just’ a puzzle; rather it is “a great big puzzle” for Sally which highlights just how
challenging her puzzles can be. Fixing a puzzle takes resoluteness, patience,
determination and persistency. It is only at the end of her shift that she is able to reflect
and feel the satisfaction of fixing the puzzle, in the knowledge her achievements directly
relate to safe practice for staff and safe delivery of care for clients. These puzzles are not
easy, she does not complain, rather she reflects on the ‘difficulty’ she faces when the
puzzle does not fit. Something that is difficult to fix is not necessarily impossible and that
is the enjoyment factor for Sally.
Experiencing ‘the plop, plop, plop of a good day’
Within the phenomenon of lived space for coordinators, Alice describes how it feels on a
good day:
A good day is when you’ve come away feeling good. When there have been lots of
deliveries, they’ve all been normal, there’s been lots of midwife led deliveries
around the place and it’s all just been straight forward, plop, plop, plop and the
midwives are all happy because they’ve had nice midwifery care. It’s not been too
busy so everyone’s had a chance to sit in the coffee room and have a laugh and a
cup of tea which is important. When things have flowed, there have been lots of
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