Theme 2 “high stakes specialty”
The students commented on the responsibility involved in looking after
women in labour discussing the situations where they had observed a bad
outcome for either the woman or baby. The perceived high levels of
responsibility, accountability and resulting stress were also mentioned.
FG6 F17 “I really like it as a placement but as a student…I
don’t know if I could deal with the level of stress and be responsible
for this and if something goes wrong, you are the person they look to.”
When asked how this compares to other specialties, students discussed
the differences seen in medical and surgical specialties, including the
significance of looking after two patients, the woman and baby:
FG6 F24 “yes, because they are healthy when they come through the
door and then they leave either not healthy or without their baby. The
stakes are high.”