Sophie Fenton

Where are you now?

I am in my final year of Midwifery at Edge Hill and currently waiting to be placed on the maternity unit. Due to the COVID – 19 outbreak, we are now completing an extended clinical placement to support staffing.

What do you do on a daily basis? Has your practice been affected by the COVID-19 virus?

As a student midwife in my final year, I have many roles to uphold in different areas, my main one will be to support women during this time to reassure them whilst they are having their babies, under the supervision of other midwives. I find this to be the best part of my job, as being with women during their journey to motherhood is a passion of mine. I will also be working towards my domains, which I have in clinical practice to finish my last module.

Alongside this, I have also been working as a Health Care Assistant. Having worked with patients who have suffered with COVID-19, my role has been to assist nurses and doctors to help them recover. This has been empowering for myself as helping patients become better has been very rewarding and uplifting. I have learnt so much on the general wards recently, practice has changed so much in terms of infection control and PPE.

What is the worst part of your job?

The worst part of the job currently is patients not having the opportunity to be with their families at this uncertain time. As patients become vulnerable when they are unwell and need their family for comfort, this can be especially hard. Despite this, myself and other staff have tried our best to ensure patients on the ward are comfortable and feel safe.

What advice would you give to Health and Social Care Students at Cardinal Newman College?

My advice to students in the Health and Social Care department is to not be afraid to reach for their goals. This pandemic has shown how amazing doctors, nurses, midwives and other health professionals really are. If you reach for your goals and work hard, there is no stopping you from being part of this team which provides excellence of care to members of the public.