Hello, I'm Hannah! I am a band 6 midwife working here at Frimley Park.
A little bit of background.... I first started my midwifery journey as a student in Salisbury Hospital studying at Bournemouth University. Salisbury maternity was an amazing friendly unit and gave me a great start to my learning however once qualified I fancied the challenge of starting fresh and thats how I became a midwife at Frimley!
I started here in 2017 as a newly qualified band 5 and haven't looked back since! The preceptorship programme was thorough but well supported and I managed to move up to band 6 within the year. As a band 6 midwife, the responsibility grows and you become a bit more settled in the way you work and what you can offer to your colleagues.
On labour ward we are part of a team of usually around 8 midwives that vary in skill level (band 5, 6 and 7) We have a triage area that is run by 1 or 2 midwives and the main labour ward which consists of 9 rooms and a pool room. The shift is coordinated by a Band 7 (we are very lucky here as all our coordinators are extremely approachable and lovely!). As a band 6 you could be allocated anything, we see all sorts on the ward and it is a very exciting and fast paced unit.
The postnatal ward consists of 4 bays of 6 beds plus 7 side rooms. Each shift is coordinated by either an experienced band 6 or one of our postnatal Band 7's. A day shift could see up to 4 midwives on shift and during the night it goes down to 2 (plus our super duper MCA's). As a band 6 in charge of the ward it can be difficult at times as it is a busy area with lots of families to attend to. As part of the preceptorship programme we now have a training day specifically for guidance on how to manage a ward which has been really helpful for our new starters.
There are students that work with us on all the wards. They could be assigned to work with you even if you are not a sign off mentor (Band 6 and above). It can be really enjoyable having a student and helps your own development as well as theirs.
As mentioned previously there are always opportunities arising here at Frimley. I am currently part of the recruitment team assisting with the social media sites. It is a four month placement so has been really nice to dip in and out of. I will continue the social media sites when the placement is over as I think it is really helpful to have somewhere to look as a midwife starting at a new trust. There are always job roles opening up within the offices, band progression, new continuity teams so it's nice to know there will be something coming up for you here.
I hope that has given a little insight into what to expect as a band 6 here at Frimley! If anyone has any questions then pop us an email or private
message us on our social media sites. Search 'frimleymaternityrecruitment' .
[Photo shared with family's permission]
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