Shadowing placement at the RCM

By Rosie Jenks, newly qualified midwife on 26 September 2019 Global midwifery RCM Education Conference RCM i-Learn Newly Qualified Midwives

In August I was privileged enough to undertake a two day 'shadowing' placement with Tara Shoham, Global Projects Officer, at the RCM headquarters in London. I was really interested in the work of the Global Team, having briefly chatted to Joy Kemp, Professional Advisor, at the RCM Education Conference and completed the i-learn global development modules.

Tara had put together an amazing programme for me, including spending a morning with her being introduced to her and Joy's work (Joy was in Uganda at the time), and then having a general introduction to the broader work of the RCM, where I met with various heads of departments and leaders within the organisation.

As soon as I arrived at the RCM I was greeted with a warm welcome from Tara, which set the tone for the day. She chatted to me about the global twinning projects, which have been run in Uganda, Bangladesh, Nepal and Cambodia, and about some of the successes and struggles the projects have seen. It was amazing to hear of the fantastic work the RCM has done internationally, but also appreciate that the learning was two ways, with the RCM volunteers and workers developing their skills, as well as imparting teaching from the UK.

Throughout the two days, I had the opportunity to meet people from the education, leadership and communications teams, and learn about the wider roles the RCM plays in the training of new midwives and career development of those who have already established their careers. Definite highlights of the week included attending the Education Team meeting and speaking to Lia Brigante and Zeenath Uddin from the Quality and Standards Team. Everyone I met was happy to explain their roles to me and answer any questions I had.

I left the two days excited about the beginning of my own career as a midwife, the different career paths I could undertake and with a renewed awe and respect for all the amazing work the RCM does. I would thoroughly recommend arranging a short placement to anyone with an interest in the broader context of midwifery, I learnt so much in just two days!