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.”