Dory 'The Students Midwife' & the Pudding Club

The student mentor scheme is a peer support project born out of my own experience of having a final year student as my unofficial mentor. I was befriended by Dory, then a third year at an open day. She was kind, caring, funny, reassuring and above all welcoming. We met up often after our initial meeting and I asked her a billion questions which she answered patiently and in language I could understand. She was (and still is) incredibly knowlegable, articulate and intelligent but she never used her knowledge to make me feel silly, instead she coached and coaxed me and I began to feel more confident about applying.


After I had been offered a place and was on the course she continued to support me, answering questions, allaying fears, still building my confidence. She has been a huge support and inspiration to me over the years and has now become one of my very good friends. We have many memories to loook back on - her mimicking the sound of a placenta being removed from the kidney dish 'sluurppphh' and talking about VE's with her fingers, all in a crowded restaurant.


I approached her to be the official RM on my site as in my mind there was no other that would fit the bill so well, I trusted her, she was brilliant at what she did and she listened to you - never making you feel silly, stupid or daft - 'the students midwife' as it were. And luckily for me she accepted to give up her precious free time to take up an Administrator role on my site.


The student mentor scheme is a testament to her. If I hadnt had such a great experience then I probably wouldnt have devised the scheme, but I did have a great experience and she has and still does help shape me as a future midwife and now she is helping more and more people like me.


The student mentor scheme is about bringing more experienced students together with those just starting out - access to someone who is there for you, who has been through the application process, has started the course, can answer your questions about practice and local information like what time the shifts are on the ward, what to expect, what to take on your first day in practice etc.


I designed the scheme so that students work together, they agree how they will make contact, for some its via the SMNET personal messaging system for others its via msn, email, meeting up, talking on the phone or all of the above! And the feedback has shown that it is working - there are many friendships being forged as I write, and Im sure they will be friendships like Dorys and mine, lasting and meaningful.


I brought other students along and Dory brought other RMs and we began 'The Pudding Club' - we would all meet and go out for pudding and talk midwifery, we were all in our element - pudding, friends and non stop midwifery chat - perfect.


Pudding clubs are forming all over the UK now, via the sites social group application. I encourage you to set up social groups for your University if there isnt one already, so that new and current students can have a place to chat, arrange meetings and discuss local issues. I have my first pudding club meeting as a 'Dory' this week and Im excited about it. We are meeting new students and going for pudding and chats. I know it will be great fun, we'll laugh, eat way to much pudding and roll out the door happy and feeling like we have made some new friends.