Sarah Stewart

What do you get out of being a volunteer?

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Thu, 11 May 2017 10:48:00 +0000

I have the privilege of working for the Australian College of Midwives, and a lot of the work we do would be impossible without the legions of volunteers we have who help us out, from being a board Director to providing us with feedback for our submissions.

This week is National Volunteer Week, and we've been running a campaign at the ACM to thank everyone who works with us. I had my arm twisted to make a short video, promoting volunteering for the ACM - if you want to have a look, but I wouldn't recommend it! - you can see it here on the ACM Facebook page.

This got me thinking about my volunteer work over the years and I have to be honest, I haven't done as much as I should have. Nevertheless, I am proud of what I achieved with the Virtual International Day of the Midwife, which is still going strong and just had its ninth year. And the Midwifery Evidenced-Based MOOC was another achievement that I am extremely proud of. Both activities have been about my passion for supporting the professional development and education of midwives, at home and in developing countries.

More recently, I have been a Board Director at the Canberra YWCA and am now on the inaugural executive committee of the complex of apartments I have just moved into. As much as I have volunteered for these activities and others for altruistic reasons, ultimately I have gained more in terms of learning and professional growth than I feel I have given.

But that's the joy of volunteering....you get as much out of it as you put in.

Do you volunteer? What do you do and why? What have you gained from your volunteer work?

10 years of open access - a Slideshare case study

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

I have been passionate about open access and open access education for many years, and have been committed to sharing my content using creative commons licenses; allowing people to download and re-use, for over 10 years. So I have decided it is timely to review the responses to my online content, using Slideshare as my case study.

What is Slideshare?

Slideshare is a platform whereby you can upload and share PowerPoint presentations; it is similar to YouTube for videos. I published my first presentation on the 4^thOctober, 2007 and as of the 16^th April 2017, there are:

76 uploads, with
289,699 total views, and
3624 downloads.

What presentations are most popular?

The 10 top presentations with the most views can be found in Table 1. These statistics are based on the Slideshare analytics on April 16^th 2017.

Table 1. Top 10 views

However, the number of views isn't necessary helpful because you would expect the longer a presentation has been published, the more views it would receive. So to get a better sense of what presentations are more popular, I divided the views of each presentation by the number of days it had been published to find out how many views a day each presentation had received, in Table 2.

Table 2. Top 10 views per day

Which presentation is most useful?
Views are one thing, but what I am really interested in is how useful my presentations are to the wider community. To measure that, I have looked at the total number of downloads of each presentation – my 10 top download loads can be seen in Table 3.

Table 3. Top 10 downloads

As with the total number of views, the total number of downloads is skewed by the number of days each presentation has been published. Therefore, I looked at the number of views of per download, with the theory that the smaller the number of views per download, the more "useful" a presentation is. In my mind, a presentation that has 1000 views with 10 downloads is more “useful” than a presentation with 10,000 views and only one download.

Table 4. Top 10 must useful presentation (number of views per download)

You will see with both views and downloads that the picture changes a little when you drill down to views per day and views per download. For example, 'My midwifery philosophy' is in the Top 10 list for most views, but it is 'Introduction to midwifery documentation' that is in the list for most views per day, which is arguably the more accurate measurement. That being said, the presentations that were in all four lists were, which makes them, in my mind, my most popular and useful:

Intravenous cannulation
Amniotic embolism
What is evidence-based midwifery?

The topics of presentations that appeared in both of the two top views lists were the above, plus:

How to prepare a portfolio
Journaling and reflective practice
Types of reflection
Social media, birth and midwives

The theme starting to emerge here is reflective practice and midwifery. This surprises me on the one hand because I would have thought that people, especially midwifery students, would be able to access information about reflective practice from textbooks and course materials. On the other hand, reflective practice is a core principle of midwifery education, so I am making an assumption (but have no proof) that a lot of people accessing these presentations are midwifery students or involved in education.

What does this tell me?
To be honest, I cannot conclude anything much from this exercise because of the small numbers. However, it is interesting that my most popular presentations have a midwifery focus, as opposed to a more general teaching and learning.

The questions I am left with are:

Does the number of views make a presentation more popular, or number of downloads?
Who are the people downloading my presentations?
Why do people download presentations?What happens to the presentations?
Should I endeavour to meet the apparent needs of the audience based on statistical analytics eg if it appears that clinical topics are most viewed and downloaded, should I deliberately publish presentations that address those topics, as opposed to the approach I have taken thus far which is to just publish presentation I give at conferences, tutorials, lectures etc.
How does open education/access theory stack up 10 years or more down the line, when looking back at the reality of open content?

What is next?

The next activity I plan is to drill down more into the analytics of the downloads to find out what, if anything, that tells me. Depending on the quality of information I find via Slideshare, one idea worth exploring may be to contact the people who downloaded my presentations with a short survey to find out more about the whys and wherefores.

Do you have a Slideshare account? What are your most popular or most viewed presentations? Is there any other information I should look at to inform my research? Have you ever downloaded one of my presentations? Why, and what did you do with it?

Three benefits to starting the day with standing meetings

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Mon, 17 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I asked the team I work with if we could pilot the idea of starting the day with quick, 5 - 10 minute standing meetings. I am been pleasantly surprised with how well received they have been, and some of the unforeseen benefits that have materialised.

Standing meetings
The idea of of a stand up meeting is that it is quick and to the point, because standing around for too long becomes uncomfortable and stops people going off the point, or lapsing into gossip sessions. Of course, you do need to pay attention to people who, for whatever reason, cannot stand and make other arrangements.

What do you talk about
In standing meetings, participants are asked to talk about:

what they want to achieve during the day
what the barriers are
and what they'd like to acknowledge or celebrate in terms of success or achievement from the previous day/s.

Benefits of stand-up meetings
This idea has been around for some time, and has been considered a useful strategy for team building, reducing time wasted in pointless seated meetings, and getting people away from their desks.

Outcomes I have discovered
In the short time we have been trying out standing meeting to start the day, I have found:

We start the day as a group of people connecting with each other, rather than rushing into our various offices and not speaking to anyone for hours on end.
As manager, I have a better understanding of what is going on for people so I can focus on who needs support, and what form that support may take. I also have a better understanding of what people are achieving across the organisation as a whole, and have been enjoying learning all sorts of things about people's work that I never knew.
We have an opportunity to brain storm together and share ideas across the whole team. I have been delighted with how everyone has pulled together to share solutions to problems, so there has been cross-pollination across units, and everyone has a voice.
We feel an accountability, and therefore motivation to complete work. In other words, if we say we're going to do something but we don't do it, then we have to explain the next day to the team. That sounds a little scary, but team members have actually felt it to be a benefit to their work management, which has come as a bit of a surprise to me.
We enjoy celebrating the small successes we have with each other as we complete activities or overcome barriers.
This has been a great way to get to know new members to the team and introduce them to life in the office.

What I would like to explore in the future is the effectiveness of walking meetings.

Do you have standing meetings at your place of work? How effective do you find them? What are your tips and tricks for successful standing meetings?

Image: https://unsplash.com/search/meeting?photo=cQCqoTjr0B4

My PLE - reflecting on the last 10 years

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 03:00:00 +0000

About 10 years ago I became very interested in the use of social media for personal and professional teaching and learning, as well as development and networking. Over the years, as a clinical midwife, midwifery lecturer and eventually instructional designer and staff developer, I have charted my use of online technology and changes in my personal learning environment (PLE). I am just starting a project where I am looking back on the last ten years of open access education and all the concepts that interlink. So it's timely to reflect back on the evolution of my own PLE over the last 10 years.

I tracked my use of online technology for teaching and learning from 2008 to 2011. I haven't posted about it since then, probably because my job changed from working in education to industry, which raises an issue about relevance and applicability that I will come back to later.

2008

In 2008, my blog and e-portfolio (which was hosted in a wiki) was the central point of my PLE, with tools such as Delicious, Wikispaces, Wikipedia and RSS hovering around the edges. I was talking about my blog being the central point of my PLE where I was doing all my thinking, recording and analysis, which resulted in outputs which I displayed in my e-portfolio. However, there was no sign of Facebook, Twitter or other social media tools.

2009
2009 saw the appearance of Facebook, Twitter (more prominent than Facebook), and the virtual world, Second Life.

My blog was still central but stating to drop off because of time constraints. Slideshare and Youtube were used heavily as alternative places to find information for my teaching, as well as display and share content.

2010

The comment I had to make in 2010 was that my use of tools depended on the work I was doing. For example, Second Life had dropped from the PLE because I was no longer using it in my work. But that in itself is telling, because if it was worthy of use, I would have continued to use it even after my Second Life project had completed. Other tools had dropped off just because they were no longer available such as iGoogle and RSS. Facebook was growing in importance, as a means of networking and sharing information, and I was using tools like Animoto and Screenr to produce content for teaching and so on. I was also using wiki in various form to facilitate online collaboration.

2011

The last analysis of my PLE was in 2011 when I felt that my core tools remained much the same ie blog, e-portfolio, Facebook, Twitter, Slideshare, Youtube, Skype. However, the number of tools had reduced and I concluded that if a tool wasn't simple and intuitive, then I would not use it.

2017

As I reflect over the last six years, I see that there are two major changes immediately noticeable.

My PLE has divided, like cell mitosis into two domains: desk top computer/lap top and mobile phone. As you can see, there are tools and activities that cross both domains such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Skype. But, there are other tools and activities that I use specific to a particular domain, not necessarily because they cannot cross into the other domain, but I choose not to use it. For example, I don't use Dropbox on my phone because it's a tool I use mostly for work; as my phone is my personal phone, I don't access work materials on it.
The second big change is that Facebook is now the hub of my PLE, with my blog, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn integrated into it. This is a complete change from before when my blog and wiki e-portfolio were the hub. I do not use wiki at the moment, and LinkedIn now acts as my e-portfolio.

As tools, apps and platforms have moved in and out of favour, there are a few that have remained my 'tried and true' favorites such as Slideshare, Flickr and YouTube. I think this is testament to their usability, compared to other platforms that have been 'sparkly' in the short term but have faded from favour. But the range and use of tools may also reflect my own job. For instance, now I am not teaching, I am not using the tools that helped me to develop content. Similarly, BlackBoard and BlackBoard Collaborate are only in my PLE at the moment because that is where/how my MBA is being delivered.

The other thing that has changed, but might not be quite so obvious to people passing by, is that there is a lot less blurring of use across the platforms. For the most part each tool and platform has its specific target, audience, or place in my learning; Linkedin and Slideshare has professional uses; Facebook is mostly personal; Instagram is where I connect with the local Canberra community. Skype and YouTube are the two main tools that cross over both personal and professional spaces. And as for my blog, I have just started blogging again after a time away, so not sure how that's going to go.

This is the start of a bigger project where I want to look at how my content has been accessed and used over the last 10 years, in relation to open access and open education. I think its going to be a very interesting journey.

How has your PLE changed over the years? Do you still blog or use wiki? How big a place in your learning does Facebook play? What the latest new tool that has come out that you love? Is the PLE such a thing, or just trendy term that we used back in the day?

PS: If you're interested in tracking your use of social media and online tools over the years against the global trends, have a look at Jane Hart's Top Tools for Learning Lists which she has been amalgamating since 2007.

The dark...where no one can see what you do *cue spooky music!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 21:13:00 +0000

I am a fabulous dancer....a cross between Ginger Rogers, Margot Fonteyn, and the latest winner of "So you think you can dance"...or at least.... I am in my head!

The sad truth is that I am crap at dancing. I hear rhythm in my head, but somehow there is a break down in the message between my brain and the rest of my body, which means my coordination with the music is rubbish.

Like, I had ballroom dance lessons with my hubby and did my back in. Another time my daughter took me to Zumba classes but ended up banning me from going again because I ran over a beautiful little disabled lady at the back of the class - my daughter says she's never been so embarrassed....until the next terrible thing I did!

But this week I was thrilled, because my daughter gave me one last chance and took me to "No lights, no lycra", in Reid, Canberra. I have to admit to being rather nervous, but it turns out that it's a dance class that you do completely in the dark. The good news is you do keep your clothes on! AND, it's only 5 bucks!

I absolutely loved this dance class. I was able to release my inner wild child and dance my crazy moves which I think is innovative choreography, but daughter calls mortifying. To be completely uninhibited and not worry what anyone thinks is truly liberating. Plus, I got a great work out.

To all you people out there, or at least in Canberra, if you fancy a boogy-on-down, a bit of exercise, or just an hour of fun, I can't recommend the class enough: Wednesday evenings, 7:30-9pm, at St John's Church Hall in Reid - $5 on the door. Check out the details on the Facebook page here.

What are your tips and tricks for getting "back to midwifery basics"?

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

I am on the editorial committee of the Australian Midwifery News and we're looking for articles for the next edition which has "back to midwifery basics" as its theme. The deadline for submission to the editor is the 10th April, but I am sure that can be negotiated if you would be interested in submitting an article.

This has got me thinking about what I would say about how to get back to midwifery basics.

There are lots of things, especially clinical tips and tricks, that I could talk about, but I feel they all lead back to four key 'back to midwifery basics' principles:

Work in partnership with women, preferably in a continuity model of care, to build a relationship so that both woman and midwife have trust and confidence in each other. This will lead to better clinical outcomes for women and improved job satisfaction and autonomy for midwives;
Facilitate informed choice and decision-making by ensuring women have access to evidence-based information. Further, that women are supported to fully understand the implications of their decisions and able to plan their care. This is especially important to do in the antenatal period so that women are prepared for labour and birth, and once the baby comes. It needs time and care, and cannot be done in 5 minute antenatal appointments!
Resist medical interventions that are unnecessary, unproven, have no impact on clinical outcomes and may even be harmful eg continuous fetal monitoring in labour.This takes time, strength and persistence; however, the maternity services are crying out for strong midwifery leadership in this area.
Treat women and their families with respect, kindness, dignity, compassion and cultural sensitivity (not racism).

If you are a midwife, what do you feel we should be "getting back" to? If you are a pregnant woman, what "basics" do you believe midwives should be focusing on?

Image: Chlot's Run https://www.flickr.com/photos/chiotsrun/5908995656

A new, free e-portfolio for midwives and nurses

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Mon, 03 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

For years now I have been exploring and experimenting with online systems to develop a universal e-portfolio for midwives and nurses that they could use from day one of their undergraduate education; for the rest of their careers.

I would have loved to have seen this come via the profession or (with a little hesitation) the regulator. However, this vision has not materialized, not least because of funding constraints.

So, it was with great interest that I have had a look at a new e-portfolio tool provided free of charge to Australian midwives and nurses by Ausmed. Ausmed is a company that specialises in nurse (and midwifery) CPD, providing online education, conferences and e-news update.

The Ausmed tool is very easy to use and can be downloaded as an app on one's portable device, as well as a web-based application. Portability is a very desirable function as it allows midwives and nurses to record their CPD and learning activities in real time, which facilitates greater accuracy and engagement. I know that I forget to record what I have learned after a study day etc, and am much less motivated to engage with my portfolio as time goes by. So being able to record on the job, so to speak, makes life much easier, especially when it comes to meeting registration requirements for the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA).

What I like about this tool is you can record activities other than the standard conference or study day, such as reading or mentoring, as well as reflect on your learning.

You are able to upload documents, such as attendance certificates, as evidence of your learning and activities. There is also an ability to download a report as a pdf.

As well as recording activities, the app allows you to develop a learning plan, which is the other component of the NMBA CPD requirement.

The other thing I like is a section called "Fast CPD" which has short articles focused on particular topics of interest that update or teach. The only snag is that there are very little articles of relevance to midwives - hopefully that will be rectified soon.

The other cool thing the app does is keep a track of CPD hours and lets you know how many hours you must record in order to meet NMBA requirements, and how many more days you have to meet the requirement before the end of the registration year.

My concerns about this innovation is that it is managed by a commercial company, who clearly say in their Privacy Policy that they will use your information for purposes such as analytics, marketing and research. They even say in their Privacy Policy that they may "disclose your personal information to overseas recipients for the purposes of providing services or products to you". I would be very careful about information I save in the app/tool, and especially careful about disclosing information relating to patients, clients or healthcare.

Ausmed does say "Please contact Ausmed using the information contained at the bottom of the Ausmed Websites, our emails, and this Privacy Policy to restrict Ausmed's collection, disclosure and use of your Personal Information." This 'opt out' system is designed so that we are unlikely to do so; again, my advice is to very carefully read and consider the Privacy Policy and its impact on you as a health professional.

I would also carefully read all the terms and conditions because I am not clear about the IP of content stored in the e-portfolio. The terms and condition say "grant us a perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable, worldwide and transferable right and licence to use that content in any way". This needs to be clarified by Ausmed.

Other questions I have that I will check out with Ausmed include:

Where are the servers that keep our information? Are they in Australia liable to Australian laws, or overseas?
What are Ausmed's long term plans for the app? Will it remain free, or will a fee be introduced soon?
How often are backups carried out? What are the chances that data will be lost?
Is there a limit to the amount of data that can be uploaded into an entry?

In conclusion, the Ausmed CPD organiser, or e-portfolio looks like a very easy and relevant tool for midwives and nurses. However, it is being offered by a commercial company, so it's worth being aware that there will be something in it for Ausmed, and think about how that may impact on your professional practice.

Never too old?

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 08:06:00 +0000

I have been a little fixated with age as I approach my 55th birthday at the end of next week. If I had stayed working in the NHS, I would be eligible to retire now!

When I remember my mother's 5oth and 60th birthdays, I remember thinking how old she was and yet, here I am. .. Nevertheless, I am feeling inspired today despite my rapidly approaching old age$%^!?

The first story of achievement which has struck a cord is the record breaking row of the Atlantic by four amazing middle aged women in 2015. Their story was told at the Ocean film festival which I attended last weekend. The festival was full of stories of daring-do by young, white, hippy types. But it was the story of Niki Doeg, 44, Helen Butters, 45, Frances Davies, 47, and Janette Benaddi, 51 who competed against 25 other teams in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge that I really enjoyed.

Granted they are a smidge younger than me, but to take on that challenge at their ages is truly awe-inspiring.

The second inspiring event that took place this week was meeting Ruth Inall. Ruth is a trustee of the Rhodanthe Lippsett Trust, which is a scholarship program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander midwifery students. At the age of 92 she is just handing over the role of treasurer and was telling me about her visit to lobby the NSW premier just the other day. I wish I could successfully lobby politicians now at my age, let alone when I am in my 90s!

What I loved hearing her talk about was succession planning and mentoring, which I worry we are not doing well enough in health as we face a large proportion of midwives and nurses retiring in the next 10 years.

Clearly age is not a barrier to getting things done or achieving one's dreams. Which leaves me thinking about what I want to do when I grow up?!

What is your big dream or goal that you want to achieve in the next few years? How much do you feel that age is a barrier to achieving success?

4 tips for managing those over-whelming times in your life

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Sat, 25 Mar 2017 04:17:00 +0000

A couple of years ago I was going through a period where I couldn't see the woods for the trees. I was feeling so over-whelmed, I could barely put one foot in front of the other. In an attempt to sort myself out, I joined a free six week coaching program called NewAccess, delivered by Beyond Blue.

It was a really useful process. It wasn't that I learned anything new, and what the coach passed on wasn't rocket science. However, taking time out to consider what I do and how I do it was very beneficial, and helped me to get moving again. And in the eight weeks following the coaching program I was accepted onto a MBA program, gained my nurse registration in New Zealand and Australia, and applied for long term residency in Australia!

Here's four things that I found to be really beneficial in overcoming that feeling of being overwhelmed, and getting moving again.

1. Break down activities into small, individual tasks
At my worse, I could barely come up with a shopping list, let alone start anything as complicated as applying for my Australian residency. However, by breaking down all the tasks into manageable activities, and then ticking them off, I was able to work my way through what needed to be done. And each time I ticked off an activity, the satisfaction of completing something increased my confidence.

2. Put individual tasks into your calendar
Writing a list is one thing, but getting the tasks done on the list is another. I found that scheduling tasks in my calender's helped me to manage my time and incentivized me. I found it a lot more difficult to ignore pop-up calendar reminders than lists that may end up in the rubbish bin.

3. Give yourself small personal goals to achieve
The beauty of giving yourself small goals to achieve is that when you achieve them, they give you a real boost and build your confidence, making you to want to move on. The trick is not to give yourselves large, unrealistic goals because you can set yourself up to fail, and this only compounds your difficulties.

For example, you decide to go for an hour's walk every day of the week. But you might actually be better off setting yourself a goal of two walks a week, or a walk every day but for 10 minutes, rather than an hour. Then you can build the size and commitment of your goals as you increase your confidence and capacity.

4. Live a healthier life
I know this has been said time and time again, but it does make a difference! Get rid of all the crap food, booze, smoking and other unhealthy stuff that physically impacts on your mental health.

Get regular exercise and eat healthy food. My favorite thing is to go for a walk and listen to an audio book as I go. It gets me out into the fresh air, allows me to relax, and gives me space to collect my thoughts and re-group for the next few hours or days.

What are your top tips for overcoming those times when you feel unable to move forward? What works for you, and why?

Have your say! Consultation on the new Australian Maternity Services Framework

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 20:33:00 +0000

A pubic consultation is now open on the new Australian Maternity Services Framework. It's imperative that anyone with a stake in maternity; midwives, women, families, nurses, grandfathers...in other words...everyone....has their say!

The 2010-2015 Maternity Services Plan came to an end a while ago. A lot of good ideas and actions were embedded in the Plan, such as a commitment to midwifery continuity of care and support of Birthing on Country. There have been some successes, but we still have an incredible amount of work to do to address such outcomes as caesarean section rate of over 30%; twice the mortality rate of indigenous babies compared to non-indigenous babies, and suicide is still a leading cause of maternal mortality.

One of my concerns with this new document is that it is a "framework" and not a plan. This means that the government outlines a "vision" and "principles" but abdicates the responsibility for implementation and evaluation back to the states and territories. This will lead to further inconsistency and inequities around Australia, which increases risk to the maternity services.

I am pleased to see that cultural safety and woman-centred care are key principles, but continuity of midwifery care is not identified as an enabler despite very strong, high level evidence that it makes a considerable difference to clinical outcomes. There is a brief mention of continuity of midwifery care toward the end of the Framework, and no talk of 'birthing on country' at all, which is very disappointing.

My overall impression is that the Framework is very focused on screening for and preventing medical complications, which is right and proper, but lacks a more holistic, community approach to improving care for women and their families.

Have you reviewed the Framework? What do you think? What do you think the Framework does well, and what additions would you like to see?

Don't forget! Have your say!: https://www.getinvolved.qld.gov.au/gi/consultation/3805/view.html

How to be a wedding MC

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 22:23:00 +0000

The other day I had the great privilege and pleasure to be MC at a wedding of two beautiful young people. I have to admit I was very nervous because I didn't really any idea what a wedding MC did. Back in the day, we never had MCs, and any formalities were generally managed by the best man.

So, based on my experience, here are eight top tips for being a wedding MC, in no particular order.

1. Be prepared
The wedding MC is responsible for making sure the program runs to plan. Therefore, it is worth having a written time line of events; who is doing what and when, and running over things with the wedding couple before the day. That way you'll know all the little idiosyncrasies, and be able to act when time lines drift, or unexpected problems arise.

2. Get to know the key players
By key players, I don't so much mean the wedding party, but rather the people behind the scenes such as the photographer, catering and venue managers, bar keeper and anyone else responsible for providing services. That way you can keep an eye on how the day is unfolding; liaise with appropriate personnel, and be the conduit between the wedding party and the service staff.

3. Stick to time frames
There's nothing worse than a wedding reception that drags on and on, especially when proceedings are holding up the food. So keep your introductions and instructions short and sweet; make sure the speeches stick to time; and do what ever you can to keep everyone on track.

4. You don't have to be a stand-up comedian
The MC does not have to be a comedian, although you'll probably be asked because you are a confident and personable pubic speaker. Your role is to facilitate proceedings, not to be persistently cracking jokes. The risk is that the jokes you tell will offend least one person, which can put a dampener on things. And as one wedding planner said, if the wedding party want a stand-up comedian, they should hire one!

I would suggest that you plan a script if you are not a confident public speaker. That will keep you to time, and make sure you don't wonder off into more controversial territory. Let others get themselves into trouble; not you!

5. Get to know the venue and equipment
It's really worth checking out the venue beforehand so you know where important locations are such as toilets and fire escapes. Also, know where to go behind the scenes, like the kitchen, in case there's problems you need to sort out. It's also worth knowing about venue policies such as smoking and alcohol licensing restrictions. Similarly, make sure you have checked all equipment like the microphone to make sure it works, and give yourself time to fix faulty equipment before the wedding starts.

6. Stay sober!
My nervousness was further aggravated by the grooms telling me that I had been "employed" to be MC because I was very funny. What I don't think they fully appreciated was that I am only really funny when I am tipsy. But, getting drunk is not an option when you are a wedding MC!

7. Get to know people
It's great fun getting to know everyone at the wedding and hearing about their connections to the wedding party. As MC you can help people to enjoy themselves; encourage them to get involved; introduce them to other attendees and help break the ice; and if nothing else, drag people up onto the dance floor.

8. Have fun!
I had a lovely time at the wedding and really appreciated the opportunity to celebration the union of two people in love. However, I did feel the responsibility quite strongly and didn't really relax until after my role had come to an end. But if you get too nervous, your performance will be stilted and won't flow. So, relax...enjoy yourself...and believe in yourself, the same way the newly weds believe in you!

I am a nurse again!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Wed, 09 Dec 2015 20:37:00 +0000

After all these years of midwifery, I have reactivated my nurse registration.

I am bucking the trend in Australia because an increasing number of midwives are letting go of their nurse registration. This is because of a number of reasons, not least because midwives do not identify as nurses, and do not want to have to maintain two sets of regulatory requirements.

You could be forgiven for wondering how on earth I have managed to register as a nurse when I have such a prominent midwifery role. I have to say that it was a lot easier than I thought because so much of what I do in my day job can also be applied to nursing.

I don't have any plans to dash off and become the next Florence Nightingale. But I do think it's handy to have my nursing registration up my sleeve in case I ever decide to do something different one day, like work in a rural or remote area of Australia.

Are you a midwife who also has a nurse qualification? Have you maintained your nurse registration, or let it go? How easy is it to maintain two professional registrations in your country?

Coaching. An effective way to adddess work-life pressures?

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 21:11:00 +0000

BeyondBlue is an Australian organisation that addresses depression and mental health issues. One of the recent initiatives it has released is the NewAccess coaching service. This is a six week coaching service offered to people who wish to devise mechanisms and solutions to deal with particular work-life pressures or issues.

I enrolled into this program a few weeks ago and have one session left. I decided to take part because it's a free service - yes, I am that shallow! - and I thought it would be interesting to access a coaching service. I have spent many years looking at mentoring and trying to tease out what the difference is between mentoring, coaching, preceptorship and counseling. I hoped that by receiving coaching I would be able to further tease out what is involved, and how it may be beneficial for professional development.

I decided to focus on how to better manage my work-life commitments. If the conversations I have with friends and colleagues are any thing to go by, this is a problems that many of us face. I'll talk a little more about what I learned in my next post.

I have found the program to be immensely beneficial. I talk to my coach by phone - we've never met in person. The 30 minutes or so that we've spent together have given me time out to think about the changes I can make to my life, and how to better manage my commitments. Whilst my coach has lent me a sympathetic ear, she has also given me strategies to try out in my life. None of it has been rocket science, or even stuff that I didn't already know. But I have found it very useful to have someone to be accountable to, and have the coach layer out activities for me week by week which has helped me see the wood for the trees.

The only problem with NewAccess is that it has limited availability in Australia.

I would certainly recommend the program to people who have access; in Adelaide, Canberra and New South Wales. I have enjoyed having a coach who I have found to be someone who not only listens to my issues but also offers me ideas about how to manage those issues effectively.

This experience has certainly opened my eyes to the benefits of coaching, and I am going to look at how I can continue to access coaching in the new year. The only snag to professional coaching services that I can see, is the expense.

Have you ever received coaching for work? How did you find it?

Image - Kim Paulin: https://www.flickr.com/photos/axlape/6875179639

Trying out telephone coaching to help me lose weight

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 21:00:00 +0000

Having admitted that I have terrible trouble losing weight and keeping it off, I am back on the weight loss tread mill.

I have gone back to Weight Watchers but this time I am using their weekly phone coaching service. I chose this methodology because I couldn't be bothered to go to the weekly classes - not a good sign!? And WW were having a sale, so it wasn't too expensive when I signed up.

I have been at it for a month and enjoying this service. I get a 10 minute call every week and also have access to the online tracking system which can also be accessed via my phone.

To be honest, I don't find the content of the coaching that helpful. You can't really achieve much dialogue in 10 minutes. But I am finding it motivating having to account to someone every week. And the mobile app is great for keeping track of what I eat and do.

The plan that I have signed up for lasts for 3 months. I am not sure what I'll do when it runs out.

But in the meantime, I think it will be really useful to keep me on the straight and narrow over Christmas.

What motivation do you use for keeping fit and healthy?

Photo - Billy Brown: https://www.flickr.com/photos/billybrown00/4982722491

"Suffragette" - Has the battle really been won?

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 19:05:00 +0000

I went to the see the film "Suffragette" the other day with my daughter.

The story is about Maud, who is a working class woman who becomes embroiled in the fight for women's right to vote in the early 1900s in the UK.

On the whole, I thought the film was overly long and a surface once-over look at this time in history. But having said that, it was good to see the story from the working class point of view, for a change.

The value for me of the film is that it reminds us of the fight for suffrage, both historical and today. For example, my daughter didn't know about Emily Davison and how she lost her life for the cause at the 1913 Darby.

But at the same time, it made me sad because I wander how much women have gained. We still do not have parity in wages. Women in Australia are being killed by their partners at an alarming rate. In some parts of the world, women do not have the right to vote, and in other parts of the world they are sexual and economic slaves.

I wonder what Emily Davis would say about women in today's world. Would she think her sacrifice was worth it?

'Make my day' - a day of my life in Canberra

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 09:40:00 +0000

Over the last couple of weeks I have taken part in a Canberra project called 'Make my day'. 'Make my day' is a Design Canberra project organised by Kate Shaw.

The aim of the project was for participants to take photos during their day every couple of hours. Kate collated the photos to make a shared story of how Canberra defines participants and how the participants defined Canberra. The final product was displayed in an exhibition last weekend in Northbourne Street.

I submitted photos from Friday 20th and Sunday 22nd November. My favorite photo was taken first thing on Sunday of a pair of shoes that a girl had left lying on the pavement from the evening before - I hope they weren't too expensive.

It was fascinating to see all the photos put into themes and made into a giant mosaic.

Canberra clearly is a very busy place, and at the same time means so many different things to different people.

I expected to see many glossy "posed" Instagram photos, but was pleasantly surprised to see very ordinary pictures which felt so much more authentic.

Canberra get a bum rap from many people who pass by, but to those of us who live here, Canberra is a vibrant place with many faces.

Lessons learned from being guest blogger at the 2015 Canberra Film Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Mon, 23 Nov 2015 20:55:00 +0000

I was very lucky to have been invited to be a guest blogger for this year's Canberra Film Festival with my daughter, Ellen.

The 2015 Canberra Film Festival was very enjoyable. I loved the new venue at the National Sound and Film Archive - the film screen is second to none. The program was interesting. The greater emphasis on local film makers and documentaries from the Asia region was a change from the more main stream films that have been shown in previous years. I certainly had my eyes opened by some of the documentaries, and the local films illustrated the fabulous talent of film makers that live and work in Australia.

Being a guest blogger for a film festival is great fun, not least because I got to see films than I normally would not go to see. At the same time, it was tiring because there was a pressure to get reviews written in a timely way. I found it a challenge to write the reviews in a way that demonstrated I knew about film-making but bringing a personal slant. Rotten Tomatoes was a useful resource to check out what professional film reviewers thought about a particular film. But inevitably, my opinion differed from the general view on that website, probably because I am not a film professional, and was writing purely from an emotional point of view, as opposed to a more technical one.

Here are the reviews that Ellen and I wrote about the films we saw.

The festival has now finished, and I am feeling a degree of film withdrawal. But I am reassured knowing that two outdoor cinema seasons are coming up - Ben and Jerry's Outdoor Cinema and Sunset Cinema.

What would be your review of the latest film you have watched?

Nominated for the Princess Srinagarindra Award 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 18:48:00 +0000

I have been very privileged to have been nominated for the international Princess Srinagarinda Nursing and Midwifery Award this year with my two wonderful friends and colleagues, Deborah Davis and Annette Dalsgaard.

The nomination has been in recognition of the online work in midwifery education and continuing professional development we have been doing for the last eight years with the Virtual International Day of the Midwife (VIDM), and the Massive Open Online Course: Evidence-Based Midwifery Practice. Both of these initiatives were the first of its kind for midwifery, and in the case of VIDM, to my knowledge, in health.

We did not win the award, so it's just as well I didn't rush out and buy a posh frock. Nevertheless, it was a huge honour to have been nominated by the Danish Midwives Association. Annette, Deb and I have put in many, many volunteer hours over the years into these resources to make them freely available to midwives all over the world. So it was very gratifying to have our efforts recognised by a national midwifery organisation.

We couldn't have achieved what we have done without the help and support of so many other people who are equally as passionate about open learning and midwifery. And in particular, I am very grateful to the VIDM team who have worked with me over the years, and the speakers and participants of VIDM and the MOOC who have all freely given up their time.

I am equally as grateful to my family who have supported me over the years and haven't moaned too much about all the time I spend on the computer.

And of course, it goes without saying that Annette and Deborah have been wonderful to work with. It never fails to amaze me what we manage to achieve considering we live half way around the world from each other, and that we've only ever met face-to-face a couple of time.

Thank you.

Community garden plot all planted up for the summer

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Fri, 13 Nov 2015 21:01:00 +0000

I am extremely excited to have taken procession of a plot in a community garden. I got my poor hubby to dig it over and we've prepared it with compost, horse manure and mulch, and are all ready to go with growing stuff.

We've planted:

tomato plants grown from seeds and 2 tomato plants that we've bought from a nursery;
2 cucumbers;
2 chilli plants we've bought, and 1 plant I've grown from seed;
2 egg plants;
2 melons;
2 capsicums; and
a lavender bush to attract bees.

The plot gets a lot of sun so will need lots of watering in the summer months. But we're noticing that we have a lot of worms in the soil which is a good thing, and the chilies and capsicums are already thriving.

Do you have any tips on how to maintain a small, raised garden bed?

New sport facility for Canberra

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 19:44:00 +0000

A permanent Petanque piste was opened in Western Park, Canberra last weekend.

Petanque is a French sport which is growing in popularity in Australia. It has been played in Canberra for some years by the Capital Petanque Club at various locations, but there hasn't been a permanent location until now.This has been remedied by the ACT Government who has funded the building of a permanent piste in Western Park. The piste was opened on Sunday by the ACT Chief Minister, Shane Rattenbury, as part of an upgrade of Western Park.

Petanque is a great game that can be played by anyone. It can be anything from a gentle leisure activity played at a picnic to a fiercely strategic game contested at international competitions.

The new piste is fabulous. It's just over the road from Lake Burley, and BBQ and toilet facilities. There's nothing nicer than playing in the late afternoon, being surrounded by feeding kangaroos.

The piste at Western Park is open to anyone to use at any time. If you want to play with people who have some expertise and can show you what to do, you are very welcome to come along on Sunday afternoons at 5pm (in the summer) and any time after 4pm on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Full details about the Canberra Petanque Club can be found at the club's website: http://www.capitalpetanque.com

Have you ever played Petanque? How did you get on?

7 things to think about before hiring a migration agent

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 20:29:00 +0000

I emigrated from the UK in 1996 and moved to New Zealand. In 2012 I moved to Australia and am now in the throes of applying for residency and citizenship here. I have had mixed experiences with migration agents, so here's a few thoughts based on what I have learned. Hopefully it will be useful to you if you are thinking about emigrating to another country.

1. Do you need a migration agent?
There's no doubt about it, emigrating to another country is expensive so applying for visas etc by yourself can significantly reduce costs. I looked into hiring a migration agent when I moved from the UK to New Zealand but decided that I could manage the process myself. The process was extremely straight forward, and I was pleased to save myself over one thousand pounds (20 years ago). However, I am finding that it is a very different kettle of fish to obtain Australian residency now, in my particular situation. And there is no way I could manage the process by myself, so I have chosen to hire a migration agent this time.

If you have a straight-forward application for a visa, it may be perfectly achievable to do the application yourself. However, if you have any doubts, or if your situation is in any way complex, you're probably better off going with a migration agent who knows what he is doing.

2. Is the migration agent accredited with a recognised authority?
Every country has its own migration agent accrediting authority - in Australia, it is Migration Agents Registered Authority (MARA). In no circumstances would I give my money to a migration agent who was not registered. If you do, and everything turns to custard, you will most likely have no avenue for recompense.

3. Can you speak to someone else who has used his services?
Nothing beats a personal recommendation. If you cannot find anyone to recommend the agent, do an internet search and have a careful look at his website. And if you can, have a chat to the agent first before hiring him to take on your case.

4. Does the migration agent know his stuff?
I hired an agent a year ago to take on my case, but the alarm bells rang very soon when he kept changing the advice he gave me, which included getting me to spend $500 on a process that I didn't need. In the end, I was telling him what to do! Thankfully, I was able to retrieve my deposit from him and I have engaged another agent who very clearly knows what he is doing.

It's worth doing as much homework as you can before you talk to an agent so you have some sense of how accurate the information is that he is giving you.

5. How does his costs compare with other agents?
It's worth comparing costs, which can vary from agent to agent. It is also worth checking what costs are required and when. You will need to be prepared to hand over a significant deposit when you first hire an agent.

6. Does the agent have the time to work on your case?
The first agent I hired clearly was extremely busy and I found it difficult to communicate with him. You spend enough on migration agents so you want to make sure that you hire one who will be totally on your case.

7. How good is the agent's communication with you?
Emigrating can be complicated so you need a migration agent who can clearly communicate to you the processes, and requirements that you need to meet. If you are unable to understand what the agent is talking about, then you probably need to find another who you can better connect with.

Have you emigrated to another country? What tips would you pass on about choosing a migration agent?

Are you ready for the 2015 Canberra International Film Festival?

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 21:00:00 +0000

My daughter, Ellen, and I have been asked to be a social reporter for this year's Canberra International Film Festival, CIFF 2015. I was delighted to agree to take on this role because I am a huge fan of CIFF, however, I was a little perturbed when I saw this year's program.

It appears that CIFF has significantly changed its focus. Gone are the European and American films. This year's program is made up of Asian, Australian Indigenous and Canberra films. To be honest, I wasn't sure how I felt having main stream films removed from the festival. I have spoken to a few CIFF stalwarts, who have not welcomed this change.

I put this concern to Andrew Pike, who is the festival manager. Andrew replied that this year's festival program is about getting back to a more traditional feel for a film festival and giving people access to films they are highly unlikely to see in the main stream cinema. In particular, CIFF 2015 is focusing on local Canberra film-makers with the aim of putting "Canberra" back into "Canberra Film Festival".

The program managers are very passionate about film and this year's festival and Andrew told me to trust them and go along for the ride.

So I am going to take Andrew at his word.

I hope you enjoy hearing about the films Ellen and I go to see over the next few days on the CIFF 2015 blog.

I'm one of the 80%!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 21:00:00 +0000

Three years ago I lost 32kg in weight following the Weight Watchers program. I went from a clothes size 20 to size 10. Needless to say, I was chuffed to bits. I never felt healthier. And my confidence was sky high. To be able to go into any clothes shop and buy an outfit was unimaginably liberating.

But I was warned that this may not last. I was told that 80% of people who lost weight put it back on again, and then some. I was determined that it wouldn't happen to me. But slowly, over the next couple of years, I started to put the weight back on again. At this moment in time, I have put on 22kgs, and am now back up to clothes size 18.

I am faced with two options. I could try to maintain this weight and accept that I am going to be overweight for the rest of my life. I have just bought some lovely dresses in size 18 and I feel very good. And being this size hasn't stopped me from being active.

The snag is, being this size has had an effect on my health. The bigger I get, the higher my blood pressure goes and I start to display pre-diabetis symptoms. So I do not have a choice. It's back to watching my weight again.

I don't know if I'll aim to be as small as I was three years ago because it was so hard to maintain that weight. So my aim is to get to a weight that I can maintain, and that leaves me with a normal blood pressure.

Here I go again!

Are you a yo-yo dieter? What do you think is the secret to breaking the dieting/putting on weight cycle?

Experimenting with an inground compost

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 22:00:00 +0000

One of the disadvantages of living in a flat, as opposed to a house with a garden, is that I cannot do anything useful with my food scraps. Now I have my little plot in the Kingston community garden, I can go back to saving food scraps for compost.

One of the gardeners in Kingston has recommended that I try to develop an in-ground compost system. This requires "planting" a plastic container in the plot, with its bottom removed, like this upside down ice cream container. It needs a lid that can be removed. Waste food then goes into the container. Hopefully, worms make their way to the food and break it down, and then the material is placed around plants to nourish them.

You can buy the containers from places like Bunnings. I am using an ice cream container but I think it is going to be too small and I might need to progress to a larger container.

Have you ever used an in-ground compost system, or worm farm? How did you get on?

Do you make the most of life's little explosions?

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Stewart) — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 21:00:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of meeting Paul and his wife last weekend. Hubby and I were staying at a guest house in Eden for a couple of nights so we could go whale watching. There we met Paul and his wife who were traveling around Australia on holiday from England. We were on the same whale watching trip and had supper together several evenings.

Paul was very kind and told us how much he enjoyed meeting us because our meeting was an explosion in his life. I wasn't too sure what he meant by that because, to be honest, it didn't sound like a good thing!

But Paul explained that he viewed random meetings like the one he had with us as explosions that go off in his life. An explosion may be something as fleeting as a smile of a stranger that comes and goes in a few seconds. Nevertheless, these explosions add to the richness of his life and gives him great joy.

I love this idea of explosions - although I would probably see them more as fireworks - set off by random acts of kindness...smiles...conversations with strangers...connections with people, places or a space in time. It got me thinking that I should be more in tune with the explosions in my life, and be mindful about how I can be an explosion in other people's lives.

How about you? How do you celebrate life's little explosions?