蜜桃直播淲e tend to work on projects linked to a national demand for knowledge or wider themes in the workforce,蜜桃直播� says Angela Cartwright, member of the RCN蜜桃直播檚 Midwifery Forum. 蜜桃直播淏ut we also link in with other forums to better understand where our roles overlap.蜜桃直播�
Being actively involved with a forum gives members access to a diverse group of professionals, adds Francesca Steyn, Chair of the RCN Fertility Nursing Forum. 蜜桃直播淏y having that access, we have insight into what information members might need,蜜桃直播� she says.
Together, Angela and Francesca project-led the RCN蜜桃直播檚 Transition from Fertility to Maternity Care guidance, which aims to raise awareness of possible care pathways for pregnant people, their partners and support networks, as they travel through fertility treatment and on to maternity care.
Identifying need
Pregnancy following fertility treatment can be an exciting and challenging time for expectant parents.
Health care professionals may not always have detailed knowledge of the processes people have gone through to become pregnant, including surrogacy and the use of donor gametes.
蜜桃直播淭here isn't any type of handover from fertility care into maternity services,蜜桃直播� Francesca explains. 蜜桃直播淥ften, fertility patients will have gone through a very physically and emotionally demanding process and then if they do finally conceive, they can be quite anxious.
蜜桃直播淚t can also sometimes be a long wait. We typically discharge fertility patients at around seven weeks gestation, and they may not see their midwife until 12 weeks, which is a long time.蜜桃直播�
We don蜜桃直播檛 want to assume that they蜜桃直播檙e the same as everyone else
Fertility services are excellent in their area of expertise, but once someone is pregnant, staff don蜜桃直播檛 always have comprehensive understanding of the care pathway that follows. It can be hard for them to explain to patients what the next steps will be.
蜜桃直播淪imilarly, as maternity staff, we sometimes don蜜桃直播檛 know what the patient has already experienced in terms of their care,蜜桃直播� says Angela. 蜜桃直播淲e may be caring for people who may or may not disclose if they have had fertility treatment and we might not know the effect that experience has had on them.
蜜桃直播淲e don蜜桃直播檛 want to assume that because they蜜桃直播檙e pregnant, they蜜桃直播檙e the same as everyone else.蜜桃直播�
Publication process
蜜桃直播淭here has always been a gap in care when fertility patients leave our services and enter maternity care,蜜桃直播� says Francesca. 蜜桃直播淲e wanted to collaborate with our midwifery and early pregnancy colleagues to look at how we can bridge that gap.蜜桃直播�
While different, but similar, nursing specialties often sit together within the RCN蜜桃直播檚 forum structure (such as women蜜桃直播檚 health), members aren蜜桃直播檛 necessarily aware of the different expertise and skillsets each person has. Having open conversations has been essential to bring the guidance to life.
蜜桃直播淥nce we identified a gap in our resources, we pulled together a project group to help finalise the key themes,蜜桃直播� says Angela.
蜜桃直播淲e divided the work between us, from fertility to early pregnancy and then maternity. Then our professional lead guided us in how to compile the resource.蜜桃直播�
Once the information was collected as a document it was reviewed by an extensive group of external stakeholders and the project team, then the RCN publications and design team took over to make the final product.
Up to the task
Angela understands that most members are stretched for time, but her forum work takes up approximately one day a month. Other forum members were also more than happy to get involved and share the workload.
Angela learned a lot from the process, improving her knowledge to feed back into her clinical role. However, initially she was daunted.
蜜桃直播淚 have imposter syndrome,蜜桃直播� she says. 蜜桃直播淚 always think everybody else knows more than I do, so actually joining the forum was a huge step for me.蜜桃直播�
While being involved in a forum is positive for continuing professional development, it can also be very fulfilling, as well as an opportunity to get involved with the wider profession.
蜜桃直播淒on蜜桃直播檛 steer away from work you don蜜桃直播檛 recognise,蜜桃直播� Angela adds. 蜜桃直播淚t蜜桃直播檚 an excellent opportunity to do some research and learn more. If you don蜜桃直播檛 have the expertise, forum work allows you to get the expertise in the room with you.蜜桃直播�
Francesca also found the process rewarding, and she represents the forum at events and on other projects such as guideline committees and stakeholder groups.
She says: 蜜桃直播淚t's a fantastic opportunity to have my finger on the pulse of what is going on in my sector and the wider nursing profession.蜜桃直播�
