Saying goodbye to Blackie

Today has been one of the most difficult days of my life because today was the day I had my cat, Blackie, put down. This is the first time I have ever had to do this with a beloved family pet, and those of you who have faced similar decisions know how painful it is.

I know Blackie was only a cat, but she was my first proper (not counting guinea pigs!) family pet. We had her for nearly 21 years, so my kids cannot really remember life without her.

She was practically feral when we got her as a 3 month old kitten. When we got her home, she disappeared and I thought she'd escaped from the house and we'd lost her. But she had managed to find a small crack behind a wall and hid in that for days until eventually she plucked up courage to come out.

She became the most affectionate animal, and I know my husband will really miss her because as soon as he came home from work, she would call him and cling on to him for grim death. As for me, she would curl up with me when I was on night duty and keep me warm when I was sleeping during the day.

Blackie traveled the world with us. She came over to New Zealand when we moved from the UK. It cost more to bring her over than it did the two kids put together! Another fond (but stressful) memory was driving her down from Gisborne to Dunedin in the car, when we moved house. We had the four of us squashed into the car, with Blackie, and Angel the dog, plus I don't know how many suitcases. It took three days to drive down. We didn't have a cat box because there wasn't room, so we kept Blackie on a lead and took her for walks whenever we stopped for a break. In all our moves over the years, she never made a fuss.

 In the last couple of years, she became more frail and didn't move much from her electric blanket. She had occasional fits and I thought she was going to die over a year ago. I think she was trying to reach the world record for longest living cat, which is 24 years - at nearly 21, she almost made it. I also think she had lost a lot of her sight.

Over the last couple of weeks she has got to the stage where she really needed someone to keep an eye on her most the time. Whilst she was happy in herself, she wasn't managing to use her litter box properly, and needed help with finding her food. Sadly, I am now living in Australia and my hubby spends long hours at work, so we felt it was the right time to let her go. However, the decision to have her euthanised was the most difficult decision of my life. My head told me it was the right thing to do, but my heart found it very hard.

In the end, she went very easily - it seemed to me that she was ready to go.

We will all miss Blackie very much - she really was one of the family. She has gone from our lives but not from our hearts.

Media release: Social Media Unites International Midwives - 22/4/2013

 
Social Media Unites International Midwives - 22/4/2013  Hundreds of midwives from around the world will gather online for the 5th Annual Virtual International Day of the Midwife. This free, and open online conference, lasting 24 hours, will celebrate International Day of the Midwife, starting on 5th May at 10am, New Zealand time. Frances Day-Stirk, President of the International Confederation of Midwives, will be opening the event. This is an opportunity for midwives from around the world to gather and discuss new research, and meet colleagues from different countries and time zones. "This virtual midwifery event is the only one of its kind in the world,” says Sarah Stewart, Facilitator and midwife, Australia. “It is a truly unique experience because it provides people with the opportunity to network, and have around the clock live discussions with midwifery professionals, researchers and educators they might never meet in real life. This makes it very easy and quick to disseminate and share knowledge and research."

Now in its 5th year, this international conference is drawing speakers and participants from countries as diverse as Kenya, Bolivia, Australia, UK, Spain, USA, Denmark, Tanzania, Haiti, Canada, and India."Meeting colleagues from around the world in a virtual environment will allow us to discuss issues such as safe motherhood, and the continued negative discussion around women's choice and homebirth, and also allow us to stay connected and continue conversations in an online world, past the end of the conference" says Stewart. Other discussions will include midwifery in under-resourced countries, preparing fathers for birth, working with women who have been sexually abused, reducing excessive weight gain in pregnancy, and breech (bottom-first) birth.

"There is so much in the press about the harm that social media can do. In this case, we are using social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and blogs and wiki, in a positive way to bring about international collaboration”, remarks Stewart.

This event is open to midwives, students and anyone with an interest in childbirth, labour and midwifery processes. For further information about the 5th Annual Virtual International Day of the Midwife, please visit the website: http://vidm.org

                                                                         -ENDS-

 For more information please contact:

Australia		UK		Denmark		Canada		New Zealand
Sarah Stewart admin@vidm.org Ph: +61 420 714031 Twitter: @SarahStewart		Linda Wylie admin@vidm.org Ph: +44 1292 316596		Annette Dalsgaard Vilain admin@vidm.org Ph: +45 5116 5553		Lorraine Mockford admin@vidm.org Ph: +1 902 765 8842		Sarah Bandaskak admin@vidm.org

 Notes to editors:
1. Photos are available
2. The Virtual International Day of the Midwife organizing committee are a group of international volunteers who are passionate about supporting midwives around the world and facilitating open and free access to learning opportunities, especially for midwives in developing countries:
Sarah Stewart, Professional Development Officer, Australian College of Midwives, Australia Deborah Davis, Professor of Midwifery, University of Canberra, Australia Mary Sidebotham, Senior Lecturer and Program Coordinator, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia Chris Woodhouse, Facilitator/Consultant, UK Lorraine Mockford, Instructional Designer, Nova Scotia Community College, Canada Sarah Bandasak, Student Midwife, CPIT, New Zealand Annette Dalsgaard Vilain, Senior Lecturer and Consultant, University College Lillebælt, Denmark Linda Wylie, Midwifery Lecturer, University of the West of Scotland, UK

WHO and competencies for midwife educators

The World Health Organisation is in the process of developing a set of ‘Core Competencies for Midwifery Educators’. At a global consultation in Geneva in December 2012 a set of draft competencies necessary for all midwifery educators were discussed and further developed. Following this a Technical Review Group was established to further this work.

These competencies are now ready for a wider global consultation.  And so midwives and midwife educators are invited to fill out a brief survey which seeks feedback on the draft competencies: https://atrial.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3F9ZYoaifVwow73

What I am not sure about is the relationship between these proposed competencies and the ICM work in this area, including the ICM standards for midwifery education: http://www.internationalmidwives.org/what-we-do/global-standards-competencies-and-tools.html

What do you think should be the core competencies of a midwifery educator/lecturer? 

Image: 'New Delhi Family'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/95572727@N00/2002931359
Found on flickrcc.net

What to think about if you are an association or non-profit getting started with social media

The other day I facilitated a discussion for the Australian Associations Forum about how to get started with social media. I am not sure if the audience was disappointed because instead of talking about tools and technology, I took them right back to basics and asked them to think about some basic issues before launching into setting up a Facebook account etc:

• What is working and not working at the moment? 
• What do your membership want? 
• How can you use social media to build your membership? 
• What needs to change in your organisation to make social networking work?

Here is the presentation I gave.

Associations and social media from Sarah Stewart

http://www.slideshare.net/sarahs/associations-and-social-media

What other issues do you think associations and non-profits should think about when they start up with social media?

Program confirmed for the 2013 Virtual International Day of the Midwife

I am delighted to be able to say that this year's program for the Virtual International Day of the Midwife is up and running and can be accessed here: http://vidm.wikispaces.com/International+Day+of+the+Midwife+2013

I don't think there is quite the geographical range of speakers that we had last year, but none the less, we have a number of  under-resourced countries and indigenous midwifery programs represented, such as Tanzania, Bolivia and India, which is very exciting. And we also have some real midwifery stars taking part, including Hannah Dahlen, Gloria LeMay and Mavis Kirkham.

The main problem we had this year is that we had too many EOIs, so we had to decline some wonderful speakers and topics. At the same time, we did not quite have enough speakers to run concurrent sessions.

It is really difficult to know what to do. On the one hand, it is fabulous to know that we're getting bigger and more credible in the midwifery world. It may well be that next year we have enough speakers to run concurrent sessions. On the other hand, the bigger we get, the more problems we are likely to have, especially with technology. And, of course, with more speakers comes the challenge of finding more facilitators.

Personally, I would rather offer a well-run event that is limited in numbers, than a bigger event that is riddled with problems and does not provide a quailty experience to participants.

What sessions do you think you will attend?

How to Bring the Virtual International Day of the Midwife 2014 to your Hospital, Facility or Organisation

Here's a few thoughts and tips about how to hook up to the Virtual International Day of the Midwife on 5th May 2014 in the hospital and facility where you work, so that midwives can dip in and out of sessions when it suits them.

Adobe Connect
The conference is being held in Adobe Connect - click here to be taken to the conference room. The meeting room has been kindly donated by the University College Lillebaelt. Here is information about how to set up Adobe Connect and what to do when you join the conference. My advice is to talk to your IT support in plenty of time if you do have problems setting up your computer.

Internet access
Adobe  Connect even runs on dial up internet connection, although it can take longer load up. Here are some instructions on how to set the correct connection for your computer when you are in the conference room.

Speakers
If there is only one or two of you sitting around a computer, you should be able to hear adequately. But if there is going to be a few people, I would recommend that you plug speakers into your computer so you all can hear the presentations.

Projector
If you work in a bigger hospital and have a conference room with a computer linked to the internet, you will be able to get more people to see what's going on if you project the sessions onto the wall or a screen.

Microphone
If you do not have a microphone, you will be able to hear what's going on, and you will be able to communicate with other participants using the 'chat' text box. However, if you wish to speak and join in with audio, you will need a microphone.

You can buy very cheap headsets with microphones. If you are sharing a computer with a number of people, all you need to do is plug the mic into the computer and share it around when someone wants to speak. But don't plug in the speaker lead of the headset because no one will be able to hear the audio.

Setting up the audio and microphone
Once you are in the meeting room, you will need to check that you can hear and that your microphone works - click here for information on how to use the audio wizard that will walk you though how to set up your audio and mic.

Having a play
My advice is that you have a 'play' and try out Adobe Connect before the 5th May, so you can make sure everything is working beforehand. The VIDM practice room is always open for you to try it out - click here to go to the meeting room. There will be some facilitated practice sessions in the couple of weeks running up the the 5th May, so feel free to join one of those sessions, especially if you have any questions about how to use it.

Advertising the Virtual International Day of the Midwife 2014
Here is a link to a poster that you can download, print off and post up around your organisation.

If you have any further queries about how to use Adobe Connect, or would like to meet someone in the meeting room to test things out, please let us know: info@vidm.org

Social media and associations

I have been asked to talk to the Australian Associations Forum in Canberra tomorrow about the use of social media by associations - the associations that will be represented in the audience will be anything from the Association of Social Workers to Australian Forest Growers. I will be looking at questions such as:

• Why associations should have a social media prescence?
• What should go into a social media policy?
• How can social media be used effectively, yet professionally?
• What tools best suit associations? 

Having recently moved from education to working for the Australian College of Midwives which is a non-profit association, I have been reflecting on how my message to associations will be different to the message I used to give teachers about social media in education. The answer I think is fundamentally "no".

The reason for this is however you use social media, the key engaging people be they students, members or customers is that social media is about two-way communication. It's about conversation....collaboration...sharing...feedback....honesty...transparency...

So I am thinking that my take-home message is that associations need to make a start with social media by thinking about the way they do business and want to interact with members and community before they launch into technology, and the ins and outs of Facebook. What do you think?

Image: 'in Spire Jump'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73491156@N00/3809742516
Found on flickrcc.net

Moving office

The Australian College of Midwives has just moved office, from one of the Canberra suburbs to right in the middle of the city next to the shopping mall. I am delighted with the move for a couple of reasons.

Breast-feeding space
Firstly, we have made a baby-friendly space in the office which will be available for mums to use as a breast-feeding space when they are out and about shopping. This move also makes us a lot more accessible to women who want to know more about midwifery options  - I hope our new location will make it a lot easier for women to drop in and talk to us.

Drop-in for midwives
I am also hoping that the local midwives will start to see us as a place that they can drop in and have a chat. And maybe, they will start to use us as a place for disseminating information to women about local midwifery services.

Meeting room
We have a fabulous meeting space that can be used as a meeting room cum training room which will be available to small groups to use, such as ante natal classes. I already have my eye on it for a blogging workshop in April.

My own office
I am also enjoying my own personal space in an office I have to myself. And as you can see from the photo, one of the walls is painted a lovely rusty orange colour which is very inspiring. I know there are advantages to working in an open-plan office, but at the same time, it is good to have a space where I can close the door when I want some private time to think, and do more focused writing. I have lots of space where I can "entertain", so if you are ever in Canberra, I'm always open for visitors.
 
Temptation
The only snag with this move is that we are now right above a cup-cake shop which provides a daily temptation to me, and is going to be very hard to resist. The up side to that is my gym is only one block away, so if I succumb to temptation, I can go and work off the cup cake in my lunch break!

Tips for student midwives on how to use social media and stay out of trouble!

I was delighted to be asked to speak to a group of midwifery students the other day at the University of Canberra about the professional use of social media. It was really fascinating to talk to them about their use of social media, and I must admit I got a couple of surprises.

It came as no surprise that most of them had a Facebook account. But what did surprise me was very few of them used other social media channels, and hardly any of them used social media for professional uses. I thought it would be because of their concerns about privacy etc, but this was not the case. Rather, it was because they felt they got all the support, access to resources and information, and networking that they needed through their university channels. They also said they did not have the time for social media, and they felt very strongly about keeping their personal lives separate from their professional lives.

My response to these concerns is that when students move into practice, they will not have the access to resources and information, or even networking, that they have as students. So it is very important that they work out ways of keeping informed, and staying connected to the profession at all levels; local, national and international, and I believe that social networking can help midwives do that.

Here is the presentation I gave the students - what additional comments or tips would you add?

Legal and ethical use of social media from Sarah Stewart

http://www.slideshare.net/sarahs/legal-and-ethical-use-of-social-media

Reflecting on "The Big Issue"

One of the things I have been introduced to in Canberra is "The Big Issue". This is a magazine that deals with issues around homelessness. It is sold by homeless people as a way of earning money.

I came across "The Big Issue" in the UK but never bought it because I thought it was another form of begging - I am somewhat embarrassed to admit to how uninformed I was back in those days. I cannot say I know much more about homelessness these days, but I think I am a little less prejudiced than when I was in my early 20s.

Since moving to Canberra, I have started buying "The Big Issue". The Canberra vendors stand right outside the main shopping mall so you cannot miss them. I have to admit that I started buying the magazine as a way to contribute to a cause, but now I buy it because I enjoy reading it. 

One of the things I enjoy reading is the stories of  individual vendors.
 
Judith is featured in this year's Big Issue calender. What caught my eye was that she used to be a midwife. Circumstances totally outside her control led to her being abandoned. However, she now works for Big Issue and has completed a Certificate III in Business.

It was the story of Judith that really got me thinking that it is only the grace of God that keeps me in the privileged position I am in now. There isn't a day that goes by that I am not grateful for that.


Image: 'Homeless woman with dogs'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78425154@N00/256934977
Found on flickrcc.net

What do we want to know about the effectiveness of the Virtual International Day of the Midwife 2013 for CPD?

I am in the throes of sorting out an evaluation survey for the Virtual International Day of the Midwife 2013. I am keen to ask the same questions as we did last year so we can do a comparison this year. However, there may be additional questions that are worth asking, or questions that we asked last year that have no relevance in 2013. 

Here are the questions from last year's survey. What would you add, and what would you leave out this year?

1. What is your MAIN occupation or role? (Click only one answer)

• Student midwife
• Clinical midwife
• Midwifery manager
• Midwifery educator
• Midwifery researcher
• Other midwifery role
• Parent or expecting parent
• Other health professional
• Other educator
• Other:

2. What country do you live in?

3. How old are you?

• 15 - 19 years old
• 20 - 29 years old
• 30 - 39 years old
• 40 - 49 years old
• 50 - 59 years old
• 60 - 69 years old
• 70+

4. What is your gender?

• Male
• Female

5. How did you hear about the Virtual International Day of the Midwife? (Click as many answers as you like)

• Email group
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Blog
• Wiki
• Midwifery forum
• Personal email
• Text message
• Face-to-face message
• Other:

6. Did you attend a session during the Virtual International Day of the Midwife 2012?

• Yes
• No (Go to Q. 13)

7. Where were you when you joined the Virtual International Day of the Midwife?

• Home
• Clinical facility (eg hospital, birth unit)
• University or college
• Library
• Internet cafe
• Other:

8. What electronic gadget were you using when you joined the Virtual International Day of the Midwife?

• Personal computer
• Lap top
• Notebook
• Smartphone
• Tablet (eg iPad)
• Other [ comment box ]

9. How easy was the technology to use?

• Very easy
• Easy
• Not very easy
• Very hard

10. What sessions or events during the Virtual International Day of the Midwife? (Click as many answers as you like)

• Midwife

11. Overall, how would you rate the sessions you attended?

• Very good
• Good
• Poor
• Very poor

12. What was the highlight of the Virtual International Day of the Midwife?

13. If you didn't attend any sessions, what were the reasons? (Choose as many as you like)

• Did not find out about it in time
• Was working
• Was unable to attend for other reasons
• Nothing in the program interested me
• Do not have access to a computer
• Do not have access to the Internet
• My computer skills are only very basic
• Was not allowed to access the Internet at work
• English is not my first language so could not understand the presenters
• Not enough information about how to use the technology
• Not enough support to work the technology
• My computer would not support the technology
• My internet connection would not support the technology
• I only like to go to face-to-face events
• Other:

14. What do you need to be able to join online events like the Virtual International Day of the Midwife?

15. How can the Virtual International Day of the Midwife be improved next year?

• Email newsletter
• Frequent reminders via Facebook
• Frequent reminders via Twitter
• Frequent reminders via email
• Frequent reminders via phone text message
• Use different web conference technology
• Greater choice of sessions to attend
• Improved information about the Virtual International Day of the Midwife on the website
• Improved information about how to use the technology on the website
• Information about how to use technology on smart phone
• Other:

16. Any other comments or feedback:

6 tips for midwives on writing for publication

I was really pleased to hear the other day that I have had a paper about ePortfolio accepted for publication in a midwifery journal called "Women and Birth". It took nearly two years to write the paper and get it accepted, which has left me reflecting on my experience as an author over the last few years and come up with a few tips that you might want to consider if you're thinking of submitting a paper for publication. 


1. Start with something small and non-academic
Even now I remember the very first time I had something printed, and that was a letter to the editor of the Nursing Times in the UK. It was quick and easy to write, and the thrill I got from seeing my name in print was enough to motivate me to write more. If you are a midwife in Australia, send a short article to Midwifery News, which is the Australian College of Midwives' magazine - the editor, Rachel Smith is always happy to receive articles of about 500 words on any topic relevant to midwives. If you're not sure you can do that, then start off writing a considered comment on a blog or Facebook page...anything that will give you experience of putting some words together.

Why bother? The reason for that is because I think it is vital that midwives get their thoughts and work out into the public arena because it raises the profile of midwifery, and enhances our credibility with government and other organizations that we work with. The more visible we are, the more likely it is that we will be heard.

2. Find a mentor or critical friend
One thing I really wish I could do is "whip up" a paper in half a day and get it accepted in a top journal without as much as getting a hair out of place. Sadly for me, I find formal writing very difficult - I am prone to huge generalizations....take 50 words to say something that I could say in 5....and can never quite get to the theoretical depth that editors expect in academic journal articles. So I find it invaluable to have a mentor or critical friend who will critique my work, ask questions that helps me refine what I am saying and provide editorial support. I was blessed to have Maxine Alterio help me with my ePortfolio paper. We went back and forth a number of times before the paper was ready for submission. Her feedback was challenging at times, but I knew it was worth responding because I would have a better product in the end.

3. Co-publish with another author who already has writing experience and has published articles 
I have written a number of articles with co-authors and benefited from their expertise and shared motivation and planning. I find it is particularly useful to work with others when I have a mental block, because usually the other writer has the clarity that I lack. However, it is worth negotiating boundaries, roles and even the order that the names appear on the article before you start writing, in order to prevent petty jealousies and academic rivalries getting in the way of the writing.

4. Have patience
Most academics you talk to these days will agree that the process of getting a paper published can be a lengthy one. Even if you are an established author you can expect to be asked to make alterations to your paper before it is accepted for publication. Sometimes, you even have to submit to two or three journals before you find one that will accept your paper. It is worth being patient and responding to editors' feedback, and don't take it personally when you are asked to make changes to your paper.


5. Know when to quit
I have a paper about eMentoring that I have been trying to publish since 2009, and the truth is that it is rubbish. After sending it to half a dozen (or so it seems) journals, and getting the same feedback...that it is rubbish...I have now given up and hit the delete button. Sometimes all you need to do is re-frame an article but other times, you just have to let go, and start again from scratch.

6. Volunteer to be a journal reviewer
One of the most useful things I have done that has helped me develop my writing skills is to be a reviewer for a journal. Being a reviewer helps you recognize what works and what doesn't work with other people's writing, which you are able to implement in your own writing.  Journals are always looking for reviewers - check out journals websites for information on how to apply.

If you want more information about writing for publication or a few tips and resources, have a look at the "How to write a paper in 6 weeks" project that I developed a couple of years ago.

Have you ever written an article or paper for publication? What tips would you pass on to new authors?

Image: 'Be seeing you'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/19487674@N00/58499153
Found on flickrcc.net

Looking for a virtual meeting room for the Virtual International Day of the Midwife 2013

This year is the fifth year of the free, online conference that I facilitate for midwives, the Virtual International Day of the Midwife. Up to now, Otago Polytechnic has kindly supported us and provided the virtual meeting room.  Last year we used Adobe Connect, and Otago Polytechnic has offered the room to us again this year. Unfortunately, we have become victims of our own success because this room does not have enough seats - the room has 100 seats and last year we had more than 100 people trying to attend sessions.

So...long story short...we're looking for someone to provide us with access to a virtual meeting room which we can use on the 5th May for 24 hours; have administration right so that we can organise the speakers; be able to access the room in the run up to the conference so we can support the speakers and participants to set up their technology, and practice using the room.

If you can help by providing us with the free use of a virtual meeting room, or know someone who can help us, please let me know. In return, we are extremely happy to advertise logos on all our resources and information materials, such as our website: http://internationaldayofthemidwife.wikispaces.com.