Emma is a senior midwife who tells us all about her journey to becoming a CUH staff member
Emma, tell us about your role?
I am currently the lead midwife for Infant Feeding but have just been appointed as the senior midwife & Lady Mary ward manager
What do you enjoy most about your role?
The thing I enjoy most about my role is that every day is different. Being a midwife is not a job in my eyes, it’s an honour to be accepted and trusted by someone to provide care for them in such a pivotal moment in their lives.
There is never a day where I wake up and think I don’t want to go to work today. I absolutely love everything about it.
The one thing that is guaranteed every day is being able to work with the most amazing colleagues to support people and their families through their journey to parenthood.
Tell us a bit about your CUH journey – when did you join?
I qualified as a midwife in February 2020 at the ripe old age of 40. My entire journey so far as a qualified midwife has not known anything other than Covid-19. After 6 months of qualifying and completing my preceptorship, I joined CUH in January 2021, as a fertility midwife at Cambridge IVF.
Where did you work before and what made you change careers?
Previous to becoming a midwife I was the general manager for a heavy plant construction training company where I worked for 10 years.
I was focused on my career and had seen my future there. The excellent care I received during my pregnancy and birth changed my whole outlook and I applied to be a midwife when my daughter was just 12 weeks old.
That’s incredible. What positions have you held at CUH since joining and why do you like working here?
As part of my professional development I wanted to gain more understanding about the physical and emotional journey that people and their families went through before they would meet me as their midwife in the delivery room. Despite gaining knowledge of this sector to support people, it did not provide me with the autonomy of the practice I wanted to achieve as a midwife. So in July 2021, I made the move to a more fast paced and high pressured environment of being a delivery unit midwife. I loved it! In January 2022 I became a rotation midwife, working in all clinical areas. In January 2023, I started my first role as a band 7 midwife. I’ve always been ambitious so when a secondment for a band 7 role came up In Infant Feeding I applied and was successful in being appointed. I have worked really hard to improve training compliance and the visibility of the team and supporting women with feeding their babies. I have very much enjoyed this role but as a secondment it was never going to last forever. So after receiving a lot of encouragement from my fellow colleagues, I applied and was appointed as the new senior midwife and Lady Mary ward manager in May 2023.
I have just revalidated and cannot believe what a whirlwind my first 3 years as a qualified midwife has been. I’m a true believer in setting your sights high and working hard for what you want and with the continued support of everyone at CUH I have achieved good things.
What does a usual day look like?
I start my shift at 7:30am Monday to Friday. That’s where the normality ends. Every day is different all driven by the needs of the people we care for. Typically my mornings will consist of making a pot of tea for the night staff. Answering emails. Analysing training compliance and implementing strategies to ensure compliance. Attending meetings. Presenting audit data at various meetings. 1-2-1 care and support with more complex feeding issues. Ensuring the team is okay and well supported when communicating and helping people with infant feeding. No one day is the same. I am sure there will be A LOT more when I step into the Ward Manager role.
How do you feel your role benefits our patients?
I believe that being an approachable manager and person in general enables me to engage in conversations at all levels with staff and patients to draw out valuable feedback, good and bad in my role. I analyse the feedback I receive and try to come up with suggestions for service improvement to not only enhance the care we provide to people and their families but to also provide staff with support and satisfaction in the workplace.