talking it out
Diapers are in the wash, Charlotte went to bed early, and so did Jack. I don't need to feel guilty about spending the rest of the evening with my laptop ;-)
I went through the course syllabi for my remaining "lab" classes to see what skills I need to finish them. It will be tricky to get some of them, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I've already done. I really don't want to quit now. I just want to learn, I want to find someone who is willing to show me how to do the skills I need to know. I want to be a good midwife; competent, confident, skilled.
I also spent some time browsing information about midwifery in Manitoba. I don't know why Brandon came to mind, but I have been thinking about the pros for considering a move to Brandon, in comparison to Edmonton/Alberta:
* Brandon is a nice sized city - not too big, not too small. Edmonton is really big (not totally a bad thing, but...)
* in Brandon, midwifery is implemented the same as it will be here - publicly funded, hired through health regions. If/when I came back to SK it would be easy to adjust since the systems are so similar. In Alberta, the midwives are independant practitioners and are not employed through the health regions or funded by the government.
* I could do my clinical work with midwives who do home and hospital births. The Edmonton midwives tend to do almost all home births and I could use some hospital experience. I'd like to have a good balance of both.
* I could go through the entire PLEA process in Manitoba without having to relocate. Instead of finishing my clinical, then coming back to SK, then going back to AB to do the PLEA exams, etc.
* The College of Midwives of Manitoba are *way* easier to communicate with than the registrar in Alberta. More professional, more organized, and they are actually midwives as opposed to the non-midwife, government employee who manages things in Alberta.
* Manitoba is desperate for midwives so finding a job there shouldn't be a problem. In Alberta, midwifery services are in demand, but I would be self employed and would have to set up my own practice. My wage would depend on how many clients I was able to book at any time.
* Winnipeg is the same distance from Brandon as I am now from Saskatoon. Do-able distance for shopping, workshops, day trips etc. Edmonton is an 8 hour return trip from here, and Calgary is about 10 hours return.
* I could avoid all the stress and frustration of midwifery implementation that is going on here in SK now. It's absolutely maddening and there is so very little I can do. And Sask Health/College of Midwives has made it pretty clear that they want nothing to do with me until I'm registered and ready to go.
* Manitoba does the clinical and emergency skills exams for PLEA every year, whereas Alberta only does it every two years or when they have enough people who need to do it.
I really don't know why this came to mind but I just needed to 'talk' it out. If the nanny + apartment + Stony Plain hospital births + Barb's home births doesn't pan out, I'll be placing a call to Brandon. It can't hurt to ask, right? Oh wait, yes it can. The thought of asking for *another* clinical opportunity makes me want to go to bed and stay there.
I went through the course syllabi for my remaining "lab" classes to see what skills I need to finish them. It will be tricky to get some of them, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I've already done. I really don't want to quit now. I just want to learn, I want to find someone who is willing to show me how to do the skills I need to know. I want to be a good midwife; competent, confident, skilled.
I also spent some time browsing information about midwifery in Manitoba. I don't know why Brandon came to mind, but I have been thinking about the pros for considering a move to Brandon, in comparison to Edmonton/Alberta:
* Brandon is a nice sized city - not too big, not too small. Edmonton is really big (not totally a bad thing, but...)
* in Brandon, midwifery is implemented the same as it will be here - publicly funded, hired through health regions. If/when I came back to SK it would be easy to adjust since the systems are so similar. In Alberta, the midwives are independant practitioners and are not employed through the health regions or funded by the government.
* I could do my clinical work with midwives who do home and hospital births. The Edmonton midwives tend to do almost all home births and I could use some hospital experience. I'd like to have a good balance of both.
* I could go through the entire PLEA process in Manitoba without having to relocate. Instead of finishing my clinical, then coming back to SK, then going back to AB to do the PLEA exams, etc.
* The College of Midwives of Manitoba are *way* easier to communicate with than the registrar in Alberta. More professional, more organized, and they are actually midwives as opposed to the non-midwife, government employee who manages things in Alberta.
* Manitoba is desperate for midwives so finding a job there shouldn't be a problem. In Alberta, midwifery services are in demand, but I would be self employed and would have to set up my own practice. My wage would depend on how many clients I was able to book at any time.
* Winnipeg is the same distance from Brandon as I am now from Saskatoon. Do-able distance for shopping, workshops, day trips etc. Edmonton is an 8 hour return trip from here, and Calgary is about 10 hours return.
* I could avoid all the stress and frustration of midwifery implementation that is going on here in SK now. It's absolutely maddening and there is so very little I can do. And Sask Health/College of Midwives has made it pretty clear that they want nothing to do with me until I'm registered and ready to go.
* Manitoba does the clinical and emergency skills exams for PLEA every year, whereas Alberta only does it every two years or when they have enough people who need to do it.
I really don't know why this came to mind but I just needed to 'talk' it out. If the nanny + apartment + Stony Plain hospital births + Barb's home births doesn't pan out, I'll be placing a call to Brandon. It can't hurt to ask, right? Oh wait, yes it can. The thought of asking for *another* clinical opportunity makes me want to go to bed and stay there.