Did you have a nice day at work?

It was a nightmare (as usual) we were short of midwives (again), I was just doing one delivery after the other, it was like heaven when my shift finished :)

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oh dear - that is not good! why did you run out of midwives?
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by dea_ex_machina on March 9th, 2009
We were short because half the midwives who should have been on shift rang in sick (this problem appears to be getting worse)which makes it hard for those of us at work. Labour ward is a very stressful environment and it really is a nightmare when you are not only doing your own job but also the job of others, also I don't think it is not fair on the patients as we do not have the time to spend with them which is not acceptable, as soon as we deliver them we are off to the next patient, it is so frustrating.
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by Dior on March 10th, 2009
is it that difficult to get cover staff to cover for the absentees?
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by dea_ex_machina on March 11th, 2009
It is very difficult to cover. The hospital will not employ new midwives and the powers that be have told us that we cannot get agency staff because there is no money to do so. Also when we are short on labour ward midwives are very reluctant to come off the ward area to work on labour ward because it is so stressful, trying to get them to come on labour ward is like pulling teeth (so to speak), and staff on days off will not come in to cover, and rightly so.
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by Dior on March 11th, 2009
ah - I see - but that is shortchanging the patients - as you said. And after all, the patients are the ones who are ultimately paying for the service (I see from your profile you are in England - so that is NHS, but we still pay taxes for the health service etc).
Of course, staff who have worked a shift should not come in to cover - that would increase their stress levels when doing extra shifts. I can see your frustration! Good luck!!!
(there are not many male midwives around - there was one in my local hospital - with a huge hooray of press coverage when he arrived - should you not have an alternative name? Midhusbands?)
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by dea_ex_machina on March 11th, 2009
Male midwives are still very much in the minority here in the UK, it was not until 1983 after a fierce legal battle that men were finally allowed to train and practice as midwives, I qualified in 1988, it was very hard back then to be a male midwife because even though men had legally won the right to become midwives the female midwives still fiercely fought it and as a student they gave me hell. A lot of people ask me why men are called midwife. The word midwife means ''with women'' so that is why both female and male are called midwife because it describes the people that we care for. When I qualified Princess Diana came to our graduation and told us that she thought it was great that men were becoming midwives...She also had both of her children at the hospital where I trained and worked as a midwife after qualification which was ST Mary's in London :)
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by Dior on March 12th, 2009
of course! *click as lightbulb illuminates above my head"- mid wyfe! Silly of me not to have connected that!
Well.. it does seem silly that men cannot be midwives, when they can be gynaecologists or obstetricians! My father was a male nurse in the 1950s - he was seen as an oddity then .
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by dea_ex_machina on March 12th, 2009
I can imagine that it must have been hard for your father back in the 50s, by the time I trained in the 80s attitudes towards male nurses had not changed much from that of the 50s, I trained as a nurse before doing midwifery and as a student many ward managers would refuse to allow me on their wards because I was male, thank God things have changed on the nursing front, however, the negative attitude towards male midwives by female midwives is still alive and well I have had to be very strong otherwise I would have been eaten alive, a lot of midwives still believe that there is no place in midwifery for men, and what makes the situation worse is that men appear to climb the management ladder more quickly than their female colleagues, the reasons for this are debateable.
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by Dior on March 13th, 2009
well, at least you can understand how females feel in some professions when they find it difficult to work in male dominated professions - there is a research project in there somewhere - sexism is alive and well, but in reverse.
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by dea_ex_machina on March 13th, 2009
Yes you are quite right about me knowing how women must feel in male dominated professions I often think of that and I thank God that I had the strength to make it, however, I still have to continue to prove myself to my colleagues that I am just as good as they are which can be stressful at times, I know that I shouldn't have to prove myself but I have just accepted it that it is just the way things are and will be so I won't fight it life is too short. If I had to do it all again I would run for my life, the very thought of it brings me out in a cold sweat :)
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by Dior on March 15th, 2009
really? you would not do it all again?
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by dea_ex_machina on March 16th, 2009
Honestly...no. I would never put myself through so much pain ever again, I was treated so badly that at one point in my life as a student nurse I became very depressed, those people tried everything in their power and beyond that to stop me qualifying as a nurse, and when I entered midwifery training I was treated even worse from people who supposed to be caring and to be honest it has left scars as I was still just a young man when I began training, I was eighteen years old and came from a very loving family so to come across such nasty people was a big shock to me because I never realized that people so nasty existed, I was just a naive young eighteen year old. So that is why I would not put myself through it again, even now although qualified for so many years I still have to be looking over my shoulder and I don't think anything is worth that much stress. I also have a bit of a problem in forgiving the people who treated me so badly, I know that I should but I cannot even after all these years.
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by Dior on March 16th, 2009
that is sad - in a "caring profession"
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by dea_ex_machina on March 17th, 2009
It is just awful, one good thing that came out of it is that I am very protective of the student midwives at work and treat them with respect as I know what it is like to be treated badly and could not treat another person whether inside or outside of work the way I was treated.
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by Dior on March 17th, 2009
i worked in the nhs for a while.. and must admit i would never do it again - and I was in management!
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by dea_ex_machina on March 17th, 2009
OH MY....the dreaded word management...lol. Why would you not do it again? I think that it is something that I would like to do in the future, the problem is that they are disliked so much...well where I work that appears to be the case anyway :)
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by Dior on March 18th, 2009
why did I hate it? too much backstabbing! - clambering over people to get to the top - and largely from people with a focus on their own egos rather than the nature of the business
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by dea_ex_machina on March 18th, 2009
OH YES....That sounds about right, well I can tell you for definate nothing has changed it is all exactly the same as when you left only difference is it is worse and it is all money orientated, greed has taken over, I can hardly recognize it as the NHS anymore and when I trained 20 years ago it absolutely was not like that it was very much different the people at the top did appear to care...but those were the days of when there were matrons who were firm but fair and really did care, a lot of them dedicated their lives to patient care.
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by Dior on March 19th, 2009
It was all about money even then - and money for one's own end, not for the patients - the Chief Executive and board members all had flashy cars and personalised plates whereas the nurses struggled to get the bus to and from work. Working lunches for some, but macaroni cheese for others - mind you, there is nothing wrong with institutional macaroni cheese - I used to love it!
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by dea_ex_machina on March 19th, 2009
Lol ''there is nothing wrong with institutional macaroni'' that is funny. I never realized that it was so bad even back then, however, I do remember the flashy cars and private number plates. Today one of the managers advised me that we were giving too many pads to our patients after they delivered so I asked him how on earth can we control how much a woman is going to bleed after they delivered their baby, he said that he didn't know but we should only give them two pads each and as I was a supervisor it was my job to save money....I soon told him what to do with his suggestion, all these people appear to care about is money and how much they can save to go in their own pockets, well I don't stand for any of it, I can honestly say that I am hated by the managers, which suits me just fine because like I tell them I am not there for them or to make friends, I am there for the patients and no one else, my manager told me the other day that I care too much....can you believe it!
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by Dior on March 23rd, 2009
and there is nothing wrong with institutional apple crumble and custard either!!!
*LOL*
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by dea_ex_machina on March 23rd, 2009
LOL...Had that on Saturday at work...I couldn't get enough of it...those managers don't know what they are missing...LOL :)
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by Dior on March 23rd, 2009
well... we managers used to eat in the staff canteen - got to show wiling! Mind you - the catering manager (who, incidentally, had his meal served to him hotel style on a tray in his office, with a little smoked salmon and a flower in a vase etc) decided to use sweetener instead of sugar in the custard - and frankly, it just does not work - it does not make as good a custard - so on Thursday (apple crumble day), they had to make me a special jug of custard! I must admit, I felt a bit of a cheat, as they were not going to such lengths for the other staff, but to be honest, it was not done for ME, but necause my direct boss was the direct boss of the catering manager!
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by dea_ex_machina on March 23rd, 2009
I remember back in the day the managers had a different canteen than us mere mortals and we were never allowed to enter it, even now the managers don't use the hospital canteen. What on earth made the manager use sweetner instead of sugar...yuk...I cannot see that working somehow. You were lucky that the kitchen made you a special jug of custard but as you say dosen't appear that they had much choice at the time..lol...I wonder what would happen if I pulled that one...lol...I think that they would would think that I was high on the drugs that we give to our patients during labour :)
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by Dior on March 23rd, 2009
I think the different canteens are endemic of different management systems - we always ate in the main canteen - even the chief executive ate there - it was one of those management ploys to give the impression that management were "approachable" - even consultants were seen eating there from time to time! So, although they were "approachable" noone ever approached them during meal times, or attempted to sit anywhere near them!
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by dea_ex_machina on March 24th, 2009
Yes I can see how eating in the main canteen is a could management ploy so staff think that they are ''approachable''. At the hospital where I now work the Consultants and other doctors that we work with will come to the canteen and eat with as we all have a really great relationship with them, however, the managers never ever eat in the canteen and I couldn't name one that is approachable, they are only approachable when they want you to do them a favour. I don't trust them as I have learnt not to over the years...I know that they don't like me because I am not a yes man but it does not bother me as I don't like them very much, and I have been told that I would not be a good manager because I am too emotional...lol...which again suits me just fine, as long as I am a excellent midwife to my patients that is what matters to me I have no ambitions to aspire to management :)
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by Dior on March 26th, 2009
stick at what you are good at! I am good at avoiding hospitals, and I stick with that where possible *L*
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by dea_ex_machina on March 26th, 2009

why on earth did they do that? Seems so childish!
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by dea_ex_machina on March 9th, 2009
I don't know why. I don't even care. I just want it to stop. Thx for your support!
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by Scifisuz on March 10th, 2009
you are welcome! - hope you get a good night's sleep tonight
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by dea_ex_machina on March 10th, 2009

yayyy! so what does a dirty ninja do on their day off?
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by dea_ex_machina on March 9th, 2009
You wouldn't like to know ;)
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by Gone. on March 10th, 2009
oh.. ok then *L*
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by dea_ex_machina on March 10th, 2009

I am soooo looking forward to the day when I can do that
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by dea_ex_machina on March 9th, 2009
You will love every minute.
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by Corgingus on March 10th, 2009
I will!!! Just imagine having the freedom to do laundry on a convenient dry day rather than hoping the weekend will be dry - and being able to watch day time telly, and go to art classes, and go shopping with a wicker basket on my arm etc.
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by dea_ex_machina on March 10th, 2009

that is nice to know!
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by dea_ex_machina on March 9th, 2009
thank you..hope you did (and do) too :D
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by CT on March 10th, 2009
I did, thanks for asking!
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by dea_ex_machina on March 10th, 2009
Wonderful :D
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by CT on March 10th, 2009

is there something special on the telly on Mondays? - is that why they are off? Well.. we know who shot Jr, so there cannot be anything too pressing on the telly
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by dea_ex_machina on March 9th, 2009

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Did you have a nice day at work?

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