An extraordinary year:

As the end of the year sets and the New Year dawns we often think of the year gone by…at least I do…it seems to me that the years are getting busier and time is flying bye…this could be a reflection that I am getting older however I don’t feel older, but sure as hell my body keeps reminding that I am….

As this has been a humongous year in line with my recent trip to Tanzania I am going to list the 10 highs and lows of the year: it is so handy having a blog to look back on to jog the memory when so much happens in a year.

Top 15 highlights for 2010 – the order is not significant

Meeting the Prime Minister (K Rudd) & Health Minister
Listening to proceedings in Parliament and hearing the words 'midwife' 'midwifery' continuity of care' spoken so many times and in a positive light
Teaching in Singapore / Meeting up with friends in Sydney
Putting in Submissions / politically lobbying
24hr Virtual IMD Celebrations (Sarah Stewart)
Linda’s Holiday – Perth to Carnarvon – (being a Skype Midwife)
Sitting on Uluru….breathing in the atmosphere
Making a decision about my study – starting a new degree
News of a new Grandchild (April 2011)
Medicare Provider Number for Midwives
Gaining Eligibility
Starting Centred Midwifery Group Practice Inc (CeMGP)
My Tanzanian experience
Family, friends & some great work colleagues

The Grandchildren

Jasmine started Yr 1, Dylan Pre-Primary, Jessica Kindy
Talia coming into her own, starting to stand up for herself,
Sam, Isabella and Logan all going through the terrible two’s

Top 11 Disappointments:

The division over collaborative arrangements and the Determination 2010
Homebirth debate / Insurance issues
Miscarriage in the family
Election dirty politics
Factions within Midwifery
Lack of team work and loss of integrity from esteemed colleagues
Bullying issues
Muffin passed away
A better disciplinary process (Hospital) for midwives using their piers
son-in-law having a back operation
Seeking & acting on legal advice for defamation

As you can see the highs thankfully outweigh the disappointments….and my lists are not exactly 10…. See you have to be adaptable in life…best laid plans of mice and men...lol.
Wishing everyone that reads my blog a happy, peaceful, safe and successful 2011:

Reflections of March

Wow this month has flown by and what a month, I feel I have been plane hopping all month: as I look back it has been action packed and some of it I will reflect in more detail, a quick synopsis of the month will give you some idea of the places I have been and what I have been up to.

The new semester started at the end of February, I was on the back foot as I was still marking tri-semester work from Singapore (Dec – Feb), which in effect creates a greater work load. The beginning of semester is always hectic and exciting, having revamped your course work and set new assessments it’s always a challenge then seeing the student’s progress through their course gives me a great sense of satisfaction.

Singapore was the first trip of the year, again exciting, challenging and rewarding we start the first session with what are the students expectations of me over the three day teaching period…… if I do not do this I feel that there could be a danger of just vomiting the course information to the all students – my style of teaching is quite animated and I use a lot of case examples to illustrate the use of legal and ethical points and the students seem to respond to this format of teaching…….. I really love it….. And the feedback is always good. Each time I visit Singapore I have my favorite places I like to visit such as Borders & Kinokuniya Bookshops.


I also like to visit somewhere different. This time I went to Sentosa Island to see the new casino and Universal Studios…. However the studio will not be opened until after I leave so I will have to return. Never the less I did manage to find a new bookshop called Page One and I bought Ian a book about his beloved Leeds. I never mind travelling alone, as I can please myself as to where and what I see and if you have a vivid imagination you would be surprised as to how you never feel alone…….but I do miss sharing those special moments with my husband….. “like when I finished teaching and feel on cloud nine because it went really well”. Next trip to Singapore will be August….. so watch this space….


On a personal level we took a weekend out and went to a family friends wedding which was held at Rivendell Winery Yallingup. I worked on the Friday night and enabled a woman to have a wonderful normal birth of a healthy beautiful little girl, so we left early Saturday morning and drove down …….. It was a brilliant wedding……Kate looked enchanting and deliriously happy everyone had a wonderful time……the company, weather, food and wine was divine, what more could you ask for…… but Monday came around all too fast and the working week began again….

The following week was the ACM Board and Strategic meeting…. In Canberra………leaving on Wednesday evening and returning on Sunday night…. It has been three days of intensive meetings, brain storming, networking and sharing with some incredible, talented, wonderful people…. I am so inspired this will have to be another blog…


Beyond Q Books, Curtin ACT

However today we that being Tracy and I did get into a bit of bother with the Federal Police at Capital Hill… We decided to visit Parliament House so we could take the obligatory photo out the front…… however not realizing we had parked at the back entrance….. Which I did think this looks different to the last time I visited…… however we continued…. Walked up the path and took as usual a multitude of pictures….. What would we do without out digital cameras……. We were laughing joking and admiring the building and the beautiful fauna….. Walked around the building and into an alcove which had a very tall gate…. Behind the gate were the most beautiful climbing wisteria bushes I had seen….. And so proceeded to take the pictures beyond the gate….. We then walked back to the car…… as we reached the stairs…. I noticed several police officers and did wonder why all of a sudden there were three of them….two of which were on bicycles and the other had come in a car….. The one on the stairs approached us and said “good morning, nice day” I responded and said “yes’’….. Carefully looking at his uniform making sure they were Police and not security….. The officer then asked me if I had been taking photos of the building……. I did think carefully before answering as I did consider saying ‘no’ however I decided that honesty was the best policy in this instance…..as we live In Australia and it’s a free country in terms of taking photos….. And I needed to be at the airport within the next 2hrs so now was not them time to be difficult. The officer then informed us that we had set of the silent alarm when we entered the alcove and took photos beyond the gate….. This was illegal. I then informed the officer that I had not seen any notices to let me know that 1 – I could not enter the alcove and 2 – I could not take any photos…..to which he responded…. “No there isn’t”….. “we have bought this up before and the powers to be think that the signs would spoil the image or ascetics of the building”. He then asked to examine our cameras and proceeded to delete three photos that were illegal…. From both our cameras…. The officers were very polite and friendly and said it was an honest mistake on our part…… which of course it was…. However I do feel that there should be warnings for the general public not to take photos or enter the restricted area….. To prevent this from happening……I not appreciate my photos being examined and deleted….. However the alternative was not good either…..missing my flight…. On a positive note it is good to see that security is at a premium and that our Parliament House is well protected…. My estimate was that the officers were there within 5 mins of us taking the photos….. So a job well done by the diligent Federal Police and I am grateful to know they are doing their job.



Flying home from Canberra can be tiresome, three hours time difference and several airports to navigate…… I managed to do some shopping at the Melbourne airport during my stopover and of course now I have my 6 hour battery for my Acer laptop I can get some blogs, emailing and work done…… I am looking forward to being home…… have missed everyone…. I am hoping to have a quieter time for Apri, to catch up on some work, blogging etc…. As I have not had a weekend at home for the whole of March…….I just want to sit and chill………………….

Watch for the next blogs. ACM Strategic meeting summary, Group Midwifery Practice plans..... I am so inspired...... its time to move and make it happen......

My Reflections of 2009

Another year is coming to a close... in fact it is the last day of the year....it has been a very busy year....I often forget how busy the year was... until I look back at my diary and see all the entries and everything I have done and wonder how the hell I fit it all in and remain sane.... when I review my blog for the year I have 53 entries as compared with 57 last year..and my viewer rate has increased but my viewer comments have declined...I am not sure how to interpret these results..to say that I blog out of interest and to widen the scope of information for women. An objective for next year will be to blog more often and tempt more reader comments....any tips on how to do this are welcome...

Highlights this year... making Isabella's christening gown, Ian's 60th birthday in Malaysia & getting a par, Ben & Peta's wedding - Bali, presenting at the Adelaide ACM Conference, then having a Midnight snack at McDonald's with Heather...getting the house to myself (daughter moved out)....more romantic time with my husband...getting an iphone...
Low points: Ian not being well....damaging my iphone....not having enough time to myself....

Work has been challenging but exciting and next year proves to be even more so challenging with a new project a foot the 'iportfolio'. This will mean engaging the nursing & midwifery students to move to an electronic portfolio and the introduction of a new curriculum, so lots of work ahead. I am also looking at the Second Life birth unit in more depth so as to engage the midwifery students, I am hoping to get some help from Sarah Stewart who is the expert in this area.
I hope to continue working one day a week clinically, however with my teaching commitments sometimes this is difficult and I really do not want to eat into my weekends.

Big changes for our profession in 2010 with National Registration and Accreditation Scheme -National Registration due in July and also MBS & PBS changes later in the year ....it is very important for all Nurses and Midwives.... I will be keeping this blog up to date on all these issues....definitely watch this space

The biggest decision I have to make is whether or not to continue with my PhD which has been on hold this year... whilst I completed the Graduate Certificate of Tertiary Teaching which I have now done.....yeah.... I ask myself do I want to keep studying and strangely when I don't study I get withdrawals I crave more knowledge and get bored from not studying....but do I have the devotion of a three year lonely road of a PhD? I am not sure.... will have to ponder on this further..... so watch this space....

On a personal level, the three eldest grandchildren are at Kindy, pre-school and school this year where do the years go..... it will be no surprise to find that we may be expecting to be grandparents again for the 8th time. Dylan will be going to have his tonsils out in January.... so that will be traumatic....thankfully only for a short period. As for my husband I am hoping that we both win the battle of the bulge this year and work hard at losing weight and reaping the results of lowering our blood pressure and being healthier....so lots more physical exercise in 2010....

For me 2010 is already looking busy and travel plans are being made.... with in the first 6 months.... it will be Sydney, Singapore, a friends wedding in Margaret River, and Alice Springs ACM Breathing New Life into Maternity Care 2010.... and of course my major highlight is saving for the ICM 29th Triennial Congress Durban, South Africa 19 - 23 June 2011, so I am hoping not to do to much travelling in 2010 and not to spend too much money this year....

"How to weigh yourself and get the most accurate result. I can't believe I have been doing it wrong all these years".

Ref picture:http://getguid.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/diet-scales.jpg

My Key Aims: Be more healthy... walk 5 out of 7 days for 30 mins. Find some quiet time each day: laugh every day, and eat smaller portions...... the rest I will make up as I go.....Enjoy & be thankful in 2010.... Be Happy and Safe.

Sudden Death...... unexpected death.... when it happens to someone you know...

Death is final... yes we all know this, but when it happens suddenly and unexpectedly it rocks you to your core.... I am shocked, saddened, devastated that a young soul is lost in such tragic circumstances... a former graduate midwife of mine passed away yesterday....I just can't believe it, taken in the prime of her life.. the first I heard was on 'Facebook'..... this raises the question for me, is this appropriate?

I have to say all the comments were dignified and professional.... however not 24hrs had passed.... for me this was to short a period of time... it is not a criticism but an observation... that with this new medium of communication that is instantaneous...and very public.... sometimes we do not have time to contemplate... its there in your 'face'. I wondered if all her family and friends knew before seeing it on Facebook? I am sure her direct family would know but as for all your friends that's a different story....

Death is always hard to understand... but a sudden death is very painful, it seems inexplicable....you are constantly questioning, wondering, thinking, reliving and speculating is there anything that could of been done to prevent it... but alas there are no answers.. it is time to unite and support each other and be thankful for the life you have...Communication is very important in these situtations to stop speculation and rummors... but that also needs time... time for investigating and reflecting.... This time of year makes it worse... Christmas, a time for celebration and families...

The loss of this beautiful talented young women's life has made me think how grateful I am for the life I have and my wonderful family, friends and work colleagues... it is a time to reflect......

"Rest in Peace Hayley"

ref picture www.mythinglinks.org/ct~ritual~death.html