Scared Sh*tless

Guys, I have started my grad school application. I am nervous beyond belief. The priority deadline was Feb 1, and I missed that by a couple days by the time I was looking seriously at the program. However, I have been emailing the program director and she has been very encouraging. I'm just not certain how straight forward they are being with me.

I want to know how many people are applying, how many get in, what my chances are for getting into the program with only a year of NICU experience, and all of the other questions swirling around in my head. Oh gosh, this is nerve wracking!

For the application only being $50, it's not that bad. However, do I have what it takes? I'm just a baby nurse with a passion for NICU, but I have this burning desire to go further in school and start getting changes started nation wide, or at least in whatever vicinity I'm in. If I could have been here practicing as a midwife, I could have saved lives! I could have saved babies and their mamas from having the terrible home births that ended up killing one or both of them. I'm not saying that home births are bad. I'm just saying home births with a midwife who has never been formally trained is dangerous and asking for trouble.

I want to change the way midwifery is seen in the US. I want to save the lives of moms and babies by preventing too many medical interventions while simultaneously having the training and supplies to provide necessary interventions to keep everyone safe.

Ugh, I feel so helpless.

I am presently terrified.

I am currently in need of another change. I feel like I could actually make a difference.

Oh L-rd, direct me in the ways you want me to go! Make my path straight and show me what it is I'm supposed to be doing!



Probably doesn't help that I've rewatched Call the Midwife on Netflix...

The Irony

Have you ever had life experiences where all you can think is "that's ironic!"? Most of my life is that way. A while ago a guy I had had a crush on for four or five years started dating a girl that I don't believe liked me much. We were all from the same small little church and it's just weird that of all the people that they could have started dating, they choose each other. Just like it's odd that my best friend, C, from middle school started dating one of my friends after I didn't share in his romantic understanding of our relationship. Now he is married, with a kid, that could have been me... And while I still love him as a very dear friend, I am glad it was not me that he married and I am even more glad he did not break my heart. I also find it slightly ironic that I now live in a town my family has despised all my life because my dad grew up near here. I did not want to come to this town, but now that I am here, it's not so bad. There are plenty of other examples of my life's irony, but I shan't bore you too much today.

In other news, I found an entire section of my university's library devoted to nursing, midwifery, obstetrics and all the stuff I want to do!!! Guys you have no idea how excited I was when I found it. I almost screamed and cried for joy at the sight of those beautiful books explaining the processes of labor and delivery and such like material. Well, not really, but my heart did get happy that my school has this section of books. Now I can go and learn on my own about material way above the actual material I need to know currently.

Spring break is three days away and I have so much I have to do. I have a paper due on thursday, I took my Chem test today and break is going to be spent reading research books for my next paper and studying. Unfortunately, HESI studying will be focused on during my spring break. Then Anatomy, Chem and Psych studying... school never ends. But when I come back there will only be 6 weeks separating me from no longer being a college freshman.

Have any of you heard of/listened to Francesca Battistelli? If you haven't, you should look her up. I love her voice and most of her music is upbeat and about normal, everyday life. It has become my Pandora station of choice during homework, leading to procrastination, but I love her music.

Do you have any fun plans for spring break?

Daily Thanksgiving: I am finished with my chem test, my anatomy tests, my psych test and on Thursday I will be done with my English paper. I am so close to being on spring break I can taste it and I do actually get to spend time with my friends for some of the time. I am so very thankful that I get to go home for spring break because I haven't been home for about a month, which is a very long time for me.

Midwifery Movies

So, I mentioned in my last post or a few posts ago (I forget) that I had watched some movies about midwifery. They are actually documentaries and very interesting. I found both of them on Netflix, hopefully they are still there. My favorite one is "The Business of Being Born" and the other is "Born In America". Both of them are great and I think the first is my favorite because I watched it first and tend to be biased towards my "original" discoveries.

*Disclaimer: These movies are inappropriate for children (and even some adults) because they do actually show women in birth... as they are. Yes, this means full-on birthday suits galore.

These movies taught me a lot about the processes of birth and how our perception of birth has evolved. I encourage you to watch them and form your own opinion. These documentaries are great, not only for showing what midwifery is, but also to get the audience (hopefully you) to think about how healthcare has evolved and if it has really evolved for the better.

Another Blog

So this is a blog from a CNM (certified nurse-midwife) that is no longer being written, but is still funny just to read when you get a chance. Check out A Midwife's Tale.