Made using www.wordle.net
Throughout an episode I recently watched of One Born Every Minute on Box of Broadcasts, I noticed the professionalism that took place by the midwives and the doctors in the wards.
From the diagram above, almost every word on it relates to midwives and doctors in their jobs. The words I thought were most applicable to this type of job were teamwork, supportive, considerate, listening, friendly, and helpful. During the programme, one of the nurses identified that midwifery is more than just a job, proving their professional and personal commitment. All of the staff who helped to deliver the babies were very aware of the language they were using towards the patients. In a job like that, you really need to be conscious of other people’s feeling and emotions and maintain a level of awareness for others.
The hospital staff all conducted a very high level of professionalism during the programme. Firstly, I want to make it clear that I am not against this in any way. You need to be able to enjoy your job and in the programme it was very obvious that the midwives were making this possible for each other. But, If I was to make any criticism towards their professionalism it would be that they were fooling around in the staff room. The reason that I do not have an issue with the staff having a bit of fun is because patients don’t really see into the staff room. As long as the staff are acting appropriately and professionally in front of the patients and visitors in the hospital then that is fine. The only reason I thought it was relevant to bring this up was because in some jobs that would be unacceptable and you need to be aware of the boundaries when it comes to your professional career.
The midwives in the ward had such a great way of working with the patients. I noticed that they made the women feel comfortable and at ease, which is definitely something you would want whilst giving birth. They used their sense of humour to do so and tried making jokes to relax the patient. They created a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere for the patient.
Dress code is very important when it comes to acting professionally. Your appearance is the first impression you give someone, and if the first thing someone notices about you is the fact that you aren’t dressed appropriately, it will have a long lasting effect and majority of the time, a negative one. By dressing appropriately, you are off to a good start towards being a professional. NHS staff are required to wear uniform at all times simply for the reason of hygiene. However, it does also show that they are all part of a team and portrays their professionalism. The midwives wore their NHS tunics and all had their hair tied up. The doctor wore a shirt and dress trousers which looks very professional and conveys a sense of importance.
If I were the one who was designing and developing a degree in Midwifery for students, I think a mixture of learning methods would be the best option. Everybody learns in different ways, and it would be unfair if the assignments were all written, in the case where there is one student who loves writing and one who hates it, and perhaps prefers to give presentations, as it puts the person who hates it at an automatic disadvantage. They should be given the chance to excel in something they enjoy doing as the chances are they will do better in something they have enjoyed doing.
It would be necessary to attend all lectures, do background reading and self-study throughout the course to develop their knowledge and understanding of the content of midwifery. However, it would also be necessary for them to attend practical training sessions and professional practice as does this not only reinforce knowledge they have learnt as they see it in a real life scenario, but does it show them how to act professionally. They will be able to see the staff during their placement, for example, and know what is appropriate and what isn’t in being a professional in the health care industry. Their time should be spread equally between all of these learning methods.
I feel that this episode of One Born Every Minute has shown that the skills that are required to be a professional in the teaching industry are also very applicable to other types of professional careers. I have learnt from this episode that sometimes the ability to calm and relax people is necessary in teaching, for example in a child who has anger issues. However, at the same time nursing and midwifery are totally different jobs (both very rewarding and appreciated) and the things that take place in the hospital don’t tend to happen in the classroom. Therefore this means that I can only take some basic skills, e.g. the ability to be helpful, from the programme and apply it to my own professional development.
