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Showing posts from November, 2020

Midwifery Job Success: Decision Making and Advice!

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I am so unbelievably excited to share that I have officially and successfully been shortlisted, interviewed and offered jobs at both of the hospitals in which I applied for. Today I wanted to share my experience, decision making process and a little advice from my end, not dissimilar to my OSCE post last week. I feel like as a young adult, I've had my fair share of interviews throughout my life but I haven't had any for over 3 years, since applying to study Midwifery at the University of Nottingham.  After being placed at two different hospitals during my university placements, I decided I enjoyed both trusts and would love to work at them both, each for different reasons. I briefly considered applying for a third job, one closer to my mother and her family. In fact, I may have ended up applying if I didn't apply for one job so early on in the process, so I knew I always had that as an option quite early on. In the end, because I had a successful application already, I dec

Making a House a Home: Finished House Tour!

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From picking the big furniture , selecting the colour scheme for all the rooms and going overboard on decorating, I cannot believe the house is finally finished! I am so excited to share a full overview of the house with a full video tour which can be watched here . Let me know what you think! Do you love it, do you hate it, what would you change?  The hallway I think is great, but I do wish the stairway frames were white and not black.  I love my bathroom , but the towel rack is still causing a couple of problems.  My bedroom is still my paradise and I cannot get over how comfortable my bed and mattress are.  I am so glad we went with the pop of colour for the kitchen blind in the end.  Whilst I can't wait for my permanent comfy sofa, I still love my lounge/dining room !  Finally, the study was an after thought but it's functional and perfect for those quiet moments of study.  The last part that needs finishing is the garden. There has been some leftover rubbish that needs re

Making a House a Home: Study Reveal!

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*Since posting this reveal, the room has been revamped and updated. Click here for the updated room.* The last and final room in my two bedroom, two up-two down terraced room is finally being shared! This room was actually the last room to be finished because it was a little up in the air as to whether or not my partner would be staying with me or not, and therefore which desk would be required. It's also the one that's going to change the most because the current sofa from the lounge , will be moving in here when the new sofa finally arrives in January! As we are waiting to select a desk, we first of all put in the charcoal blackout blind and charcoal lamp shade. With so much white furniture in the rest of the house, I wanted this room to feel warmer and darker. I also already had a lamp which was the pop of colour and couldn't find other decor to match so felt this was the easiest way.  On the window sill, I have my archery club photograph, birthday print and simple plant

Making a House a Home: Lounge/Dining Room Reveal!

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This is the room reveal I am the most excited to share. I just feel like the room looks so different now that it has furniture and is decorated. I wanted it to be the first but the last of the artwork has literally just arrived this week, so I had to wait until that was in first of course! The kitchen leads straight into the dining room/lounge so I have the two areas somewhat separated but still feels joined.  The furniture for this room can all be seen and linked in this post, along with mini reviews, and as shared previously the colour scheme was based around a navy blue vase and my desire for ochre to be involved!  Above the dining room table, I fell in love with a gorgeous 3 set of canvas prints, in a watercolour mountain painting . I liked the modern feel of this artwork, whilst also enjoying nature and tying all the colours together. For the table, I bought the ochre-grey reversible placemats and coasters , with navy fabric napkins .  Above the radiator, I have the collage frame

Neonatal Resuscitation OSCE: Experience and Tips!

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 As some of you may know, as part of healthcare degrees, most programmes have summative OSCE assessments. OSCE stands for Objective Structured Clinical Examination. The assessment is designed to test clinical skill performance and competence in a range of specific skills. It is a practical, real-world approach to learning and assessment. Content is standardised with a clear scoring method.  Between the two degrees I have studied (Medicine and Midwifery), my OSCEs have been very different. In fact, the former were called OCAPEs, standing forOObjective Clinical and Practical Examination instead. I've discussed the differences before but from my experience, the Midwifery ones are much more practical and hands on, with limited scientific understanding or questioning.  Making the OSCE for third year was a new compulsory commitment. Prior to this year, it was a formative in both first,  second and third year. I now believe the first is formative and the second and third are summative. I

Birthday Prep, Turning 25 and International Project!

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Luke turned 25 so I spent the second of the half of the day prepping for his birthday more before celebrating, and then having a busy week at university.  Click here to watch the vlog or see below.  This vlog actually continued on from last week's. I cut the day in half because I wanted the two birthday bits to be together and it was just too long! When I got back from my walk with Sam, I put tea on. I hadn't really had any lunch because I'd had a late breakfast, so I was starving. I'd somewhat forgot it was Luke's birthday this weekend so I had a roast dinner in to make, so had to eat the chicken. I ended up making a roast dinner for myself. Of course, it was amazing and I absolutely loved it, but it was strange eating alone and I had so much chicken in! After eating, I made the Salted Caramel cupcakes and decorated the table. By the time I'd finished I was just so upset and disheartened. I was exhausted and nothing seemed to be going quite right. I hadn't

Making a House a Home: Kitchen Reveal!

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 After sharing my bedroom  earlier this week, I'm excited to move onto the kitchen. This room hasn't actually got that much decor to it and it wasn't going to be a big switch from the empty house tour version, but with brand new appliances throughout, it certainly feels very different. I also thought I'd share some of the organisation items I've bought.  The most noticeable difference is the blind. With so much white in the room, although I was originally going for a natural coloured blind , I am quite pleased I've ended up with a pop of colour! I struggled because I wanted it to match the decor and so it's a little off with it being slightly less green but nevertheless, I think it works perfectly in Duck Egg Blue . On the window sill, I have my hand soap, love plant and a HOME sign .  The home sign matches with the three tiered photo frame I got. I liked the colours and the rustic vibe, although it did unfortunately come a little damaged. Next to that is m

Making a House a Home: Master Bedroom Reveal!

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Who's ready for another room reveal? I've shared the bathroom and hallway , so today, I'm sharing my master bedroom. As I've already posted the main bulk of the furniture with mini reviews, make sure you read that post here . Most of the decor bits bought are from Amazon, Dunelm or ASDA George. Also, not everything is brand new so not everything will be linked but I will try to find as many things as I can. Finally, I haven't put anything up with nails or hooks, so everything uses command hooks or command strips.  On my nightstands, I have a pink lamp on each, along with a grey fabric coaster . I was originally getting wire initials to go alongside them, but these have been delayed due to covid so I have cancelled my order. Above the bed, is a beautiful canvas print of the Nottingham skyline which I think is so perfect and ties everything together. For the bedding, this is all from George at ASDA too, like with my farmhouse room . I got some striped pink ones and

Week of the International Student 2020!

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This week is the Week of the International Student 2020 . This year, it couldn't be more important because it's happening in a world where travel can no longer be taken for granted. Given the current pandemic, international movement is very much limited and in some cases, impossible. However, it's still important to recognise international perspectives and ensure that we still use those experiences as they are incredibly valuable.  Some of you may remember that last year I was incredibly lucky to be one of a handful of students to be selected to attend the inaugural University of Nottingham Midwifery Study Tour to Norway . It was a wonderful opportunity to learn about midwifery care in another country and understand the principles of Norwegian maternity care. Of course, the cultural aspect was also eye opening and wonderful to explore too.   Being in my last year of undergraduate studies, I really wanted to showcase this week especially. I think it’s important to recognise

Bonfire Night, Car MOT and Lockdown Friendships!

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I finally got my car MOT and new lockdown rules, meant I could meet with Sam!  Click here to watch the vlog or see below.  After a lovely day off relaxing, I was on the phone to a friend when I was closing the curtains. For some reason, I looked up and all of a sudden I noticed the curtain rail was falling out of the wall. Of course, cue panic! Luckily, Luke came round that evening to take them down and then fixed them over the weekend. So far, so good, but I'm pretty sure they will come out again at some point so we will just have to wait and see. I defintely keep looking and checking.  On the positive, having the curtains open, meant that I could watch the fireworks on Bonfire night. I was a little sad this time because it's the first year I've been by myself and not celebrating with fireworks or sparklers. Nevertheless, at least I got to see a couple.  After a few long days of relaxing and having some pyjamas day, chilling, my migraine finally passed so I got dressed and