The University of Salford Midwifery Society Magazine Semester 3

Starting University During
A Pandemic!!
1st year student Shoshona Lewisreflects upon
begining her midwifery journey during a global
pandemic.
Coronavirus, lockdown, pandemic, quarantine and social distancing
were some of the global buzzwords of 2020. In contrast, my confirmed
place at the University of Salford altered my vocabulary to include
words associated with university, remote learning, and of course,
all things midwifery. So, whilst 2020/2021 will be remembered as
the year of the pandemic, I will always remember it as the year I
embarked on my journey to becoming a midwife.
The prospect of starting university can be scary, but starting a three-year
degree in the midst of a pandemic presents a whole new set of challenges.
During our online induction, it was announced that the majority of
teaching in the first semester would be taking place on Collaborate.
Consequently, I faced the reality of attempting to get to know my tutors
and the rest of the cohort, via a videocall. Moreover, I had to learn to
navigate Blackboard quickly, ensuring I didn’t accidentally miss any
lectures or important announcements. Of course, that was not the only
challenge. It became apparent when teaching began at the
end of September that connectivity issues were going to be
an ongoing issue. The sight of a message proclaiming ‘WIFI
issues’ became very familiar during lectures. Admittedly,
my motivation was significantly threatened when my own internet
connection failed. Watching the futile attempts my laptop was making
to reconnect was agonising. Fortunately, every Collaborate lecture was
recorded, so it was easy to catch up when these obstacles arose.