Just a little update - MOA and Lamaze

Just a little update? Ya, right. :-) Where to start? I think that I'll start with the biggest news.

I completed my first week as the new MOA (medical office assistant) or receptionist for Grove Midwifery Care in Walnut Grove. Wow. What a learning curve this is! But I have to say I think I'll enjoy it. I work for 3 VERY fabulous midwives - Rachel, Jan and Tina. Jan and Tina I already knew from years back as we were all doulas that were part of the Doula Services Association of BC. I took over Jan's job as the DSA chat moderator. And we all lived in Langley, so we had that connection. I've gotten to know Rachel over the past couple years as I have done a number of births with her as primary midwife, and me as doula. So I was very excited when I heard that all three of them were going into practice together. And doubly excited when they asked if I wanted to work for them. So .....here we are!

Monday I worked only 4 hours and watched the other MOA Fran do her thing. She showed me how they book client appointments, and how to deal with labs, and a whole host of other things that would probably bore you to death. So I'll spare you. Suffice it to say that my head was swimming when I went home. Tuesday I put in a full day. When I arrived, Fran said to me "okay - I think you should sit here" (by 'here' I mean the receptionists chair in front of the computer!) "and do the work and I'll assist you." Nothing like just throwing me in! Wow. That was quite something. Even something as simple as booking client appointments means learning whether they get a 30 min or 45 min or hour appt depending on whether they're prenatal and how many weeks or postpartum and how many weeks. And making sure that they are being booked for the appropriate week - and whether it's every 4 or 2 or every week. Whew! I answered the phones ....... hee hee, I'm sure the first time I answered the phone I must have sounded odd - I think I slurred the words a bit in my hurry "hello , Grove midwifery, Nicole speaking" probably didn't sound like it's written. But I got better at it. :-)

The challenge right now is the transitioning from one practice to another and all the changes that come with it - and making sure that the fax cover letters, documents etc all have "Grove Midwifery Care" on it instead of "Triton" which is the practice they've branched off of. Because the Triton practice is in the same office, Tuesday was also a challenge with their new MOA being there too! But she and I are in the same boat --- brand new at it and learning all the procedures together. So while it was crazy, it was nice at the same time.

That evening I went straight from work to my teaching job at the Langley site for Douglas College. Went well - but when I got home I was EXHAUSTED. And to top it all off, I couldn't sleep that night!! Because ..........
the next day - Wednesday, Fran wasn't there to work with me. I did it alone. And survived that four hour day. But proud of myself for figuring things out on my own.

Thursday was another full day - again, alone. And crazier yet as Jan kept calling me with this request, and that request ........trying to get things sorted from one computer program to another etc. Poor Jan. I think she thought I was going to quit, because she asked me "will you come back next week?". :-) I think the greatest challenge is truly learning to multi-task, in that when I am in the midst of one task and get interrupted by the phone, or a fax or a client needing to book an appt or a host of other things, to be able to remember where I left off with the first task! And prioritizing. And getting used to things like learning how to print labels, and photocopying something doublesided (which means putting the paper BACK in the tray the correct way etc), and using a shredder. :-) I like the shredder. I want one in my house. Very fun!!

Oh - and then there was The Heart Attack Moment. I was doing something in word. The google calendar where we book all appts, and gmail were minimized. I needed to pull up the calendar for something - and ALL the appts for that week were GONE. Simply GONE. I panicked and looked at next week. All the appts were GONE. Oh my goodness. Now what?????????? I called over one of the midwives - and she said "but it's on my computer ...." but goes back into the clinic room and yells back " uh - nope, all appts are gone!". I'm freaking out. What on earth am I going to do? That's several MONTHS worth of appointments!! She suggested that I close down google/gmail and then re-open it. When I did that, the appts were all back. I do not know what happened, but hooo boy, was that ever freaky. Maybe I should get my hairdresser Leona to look --- I think I got my first grey hair. Seriously.

But all in all, I left Thursday at 5 pm thinking "I did it. And I feel good about it." There are a bunch of things I still really need to learn, but overtime I think it will all come. I AM looking forward to work on Monday!

Martin and the kids have been phenomenal. Martin left me a greeting card in the van one morning thanking me for what I am doing for us. Alanna baked cookies this week - completely unassisted. And boy, were they good! And she cooked dinner on Tuesday night while Martin mowed the lawn during a brief dry spell .....and her and Braden cleaned it all up while Martin took Danielle to her GEMS badge ceremony. All in all, everyone has pulled up their socks. And those frozen dinners are coming in handy!!

In other news ....... we bought a new to us little car. A blue 1996 Toyota Tercel to replace the little red Ford Escort standard Martin's been using. Yes, I need an automatic. And don't get me started on why I won't drive a standard!! Anyways - now we need to sell the other car, so hopefully soon.

And today I spent all day at Douglas College for an instructor's meeting which was fabulous. Lots of stuff, but I don't think I can blog about it all at this point. Suffice it to say that as educators, we are top of the line world wide. Our Lamaze curriculum is becoming the gold standard of prenatal education, and being touted world wide as what should become standard for all birth practices. Slowly but surely things are changing, and for Canada anyways, things are looking hopeful in the birth field. Things are NOT getting better yet, but hopeful. And Lamaze education and the work of doulas will change things for the better. One day there will be doulas available for all. THAT I am looking forward to!

And very exciting is the possibility that soon Douglas College could be offering a "Diploma in Perinatal Health Education" - which I would be almost qualified for with my doula training, my breastfeeding counseling course and my Lamaze educator training. So exciting to think that I could hold a diploma in this field EQUIVALENT to that of my Nursing diploma!!! VERY excited about this possibility.

I work for and with an amazing group of women as LCCE's, and am thankful that God has led me down this path. I don't think I could ever go back to being a Registered Nurse the way things are going now. I don't need it. My passion lies elsewhere. And while some may think it's a waste, my experience and education there is NEVER lost. I hope that even though I've taken on this new job as an MOA, that my teaching will never take a back seat. It's too important for me to continue educating new expectant parents on healthy birth practices and how to make informed decisions.

Thank you to all of you who have encouraged me in all these areas, who have been genuinely excited for me and supportive of the decisions Martin and I have made over the years. The decision now for me to return to the workforce during the day was not an easy one in one sense ..... I don't like giving up my role as a "stay at home" mom, but easy in another as those closest to me know that it's not really an option to be a stay at home mom any longer, but that a second reliable income is necessary. And those people (you know who you are ) have been supportive, encouraging and non-judgmental. To you I give my deepest thanks and gratitude. I look forward to sharing with you the joy of this new phase in my life!!