I was talking the other day about midwifery blogs and promised I would point out some blogs written by midwifery students. So if you are a midwifery student, you may find it really useful to hook up with fellow students who are going through the same agony...I mean joys... as you are.I have found it absolutely fascinating to read about the experiences of student midwives in other countries, both in terms of their curriculum and their personal stories. It has given me a greater appreciation of the program we provide at Otago Polytechnic as well as some ideas for my own teaching.
As for students, the advantages of blogging for you is that you get to meet students who live and work in different places/contexts who can share ideas and knowledge, which can be especially useful as you get a sense of the midwifery profession both at home and internationally. Midwifery is a surprisingly small world, so links and friendships you make now will stand you in good stead for years to come.
Minority Midwifery Student is a black student working her way through a program that is run in the USA. Her blog is very interesting as she works through issues of race and midwifery, which should particularly resonate with Maori midwives here in New Zealand. Emory Student Midwife is another American student.
Lil is a student in Brisbane who has just started her midwifery diploma. Lil is already a nurse so it will be interesting to see how she finds midwifery compared to nursing. I had to laugh at one of her posts in which she lists her budget - I have just been through the same exercise with my daughter who is just about to start university.
Midwifery is catching is also an Australian student who has very clear ideas about being a midwife in a medicalised world. She is very challenging of so-called 'routine' midwifery and medical procedures which I am really enjoying.
More blogs are ornery dandelion and Student Midwife, UK who has even more links to student blogs such as Births are for women and Polly in New Zealand.
Good luck to these students and every other student midwife. If you know of any other blogs written by student midwives, please let me know.
Image: 'Coming Back from Midwifery School'
www.flickr.com/photos/82312837@N00/555194979
20 comments:
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for stopping by my blog. First day of uni went great - I'm so glad to have finally started studying, and am just so excited!! I really believe this is my vocation, and I just know its going to live up to my expectations and more. Your blog looks great - I will definitely be stopping by to read :)
Luv Lil xox
Hi Sarah
I love student midwife blogs! Reading them is a good way to prepare myself. I have a couple - The other side of the world - and Rites of passage - theyre both international students in NZ and write BEAUTIFLY.
http://butterchickensoup.blogspot.com/
Here is another one ofr you Sarah. A student just started at AUT Auckland it seems.
Hi Sarah
Thanks for your comments. They came at a great time as I have just finished my first day as a 'real' student midwife. That was just the nudge I needed to get onto another entry.
Thanks for pointing me out. I do challenge the hospital-training I am getting, and I do try to be polite about it but sometimes that passion burns through. Your blog is lovely and a refreshing view on the teaching of midwifery which is a change from my view being taught.
Lil: thanks for that.
Hannah: thanks for these links which did not come up when I did my Goggle search.
Rites of passage: http://kkmidwife.blogspot.com
The other side of the world:
http://durafemina.blogspot.com
Polly: look forward to seeing how you get on. Good luck.
Midwifery is catching: I really enjoy your posts and love the way you do 'challenge'. This is particularly satisfying for lecturers because we want our students to 'question' and keeps us on our toes. Although, I must admit there are times when I think 'it's because I say so!'
Thanks for your comment on my birth blog recently. I stopped by and was pleasantly surprised to see you've linked to Lil (my friend!) and Amie (in the comments section - who is my little sister!).
I've added you to my RSS.
Thanks for dropping by, Kate-its certainly a small blogging world!
What a lovely surprise! Just what I needed as I reach the 1/2 way point on a block of 7 nights!
It's about time we were all introduced to each other :)
Thanks Sarah.
Great to hear from you, Agatha.
There is also a section of the MIDIRS web site that is dedicated to students which also has a list of blogs, students and midwives, but I do not think there is anyone there that I have not already mentioned.
My fellow midwifery student has a great blog, www.mamamidwifemadness.blogspot.com
She is going to be a phenomenal midwife someday.
Great to hear from you midwife-to-be and thank you for the link you provided.
Mmm hmmm, MIDIRS is a fab resource, so is the Student Midwives Sanctuary - I can be found on both sites!
Thanks for that, Agatha. The URL of Student Midwives Sanctuary is: http://www.studentmidwives.co.uk
I did review the site years ago for the NZ College of Midwives Journal. I was intrigued that the site owner had posted students essays there. It comes as no surprise that she has removed them because of plagiarism problems.
Thanks for this list of lovely blogs. It's been a while since you posted it, and I see Emory Student Midwife's blog has since been taken down, as well as Student Midwife UK's blog.
I'm South African and will soon be travelling to the US to begin my midwifery studies. Wanted to learn the direct-entry way, which is impossible in my home country (nursing school is compulsory for would-be midwives). I have started my own blog to document my experiences. It's at www.studentmidwifetales.blogspot.com
Hope you can come take a look! There's only a handful of entries so far, but I'm blogging regularly and it'll get more exciting when I actually arrive in the States and begin my course.
Thanks for dropping by, Student Midwife - good luck with your new journey.
It's interesting that you've made the comment about student midwives' blogs closing down. I have been talking about that recently. It's such a shame that students are being forced to close their blogs. On the other hand, I feel that some students are not being careful enough about what they write with regard to clinical experiences. So be mindful of that as you continue with your blogging. All the best, Sarah
Wow this is an great list! There's also a 'group' blog from students on studentmidwife.net - They get about 5 blogs or more a day from what i can tell.
Not sure if you need to be registered to see it or not but here's the link http://www.studentmidwife.net/blogs/recent-entries/
Just to let you know that the Student Midwives Sanctuary has now closed and has been reincaranated as The Midwifery Sanctuary you can find it here - www.themidwiferysanctuary.com
What I have noticed recently is a lot of discussion happening on Facebook. I wonder if FB is a more popular for students to hang out compared to specifically developed platforms?
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