Nurse tops midwifery class, achieves dreams

NANCY Patrick is a certified midwife at Mendi hospital.
She graduated with a degree in midwifery from the Lutheran School of Nursing and was the proud recipient of the Oil Search Foundation (OSF) scholarship programme in 2019 and 2020.
Being a registered nurse for four years and having worked previously as a labour and delivery nurse, the experience which inspired her to become a midwife, is one she will not forget.
“I was on-call one morning, when a mother from a remote village between Ialibu and Pangia came to the hospital bleeding heavily,” Patrick said.
“She had given birth but was experiencing a retained placenta; a condition where the placenta fails to separate during the third stage of labour.
“At that time, I had no idea what was happening to that mother, nor could I help her because of my limited knowledge of midwifery.
“I was helpless, although I tried to help minimise blood loss, I felt it was not good enough.
“I wanted to know what was happening so that I could help her.
“Thankfully, an obstetrician was called in and came to the mother’s rescue.
“He showed me what I could do if faced with similar cases in future.
“At that instance, I decided I wanted to become a midwife.
“I wanted to be able to respond to emergencies but also to focus on low-risk, normal physiological birth and reproductive care for all women.
“In 2020, I graduated at the top of my class with an academic excellent medal and I owe this success to OSF.
“They gave me a chance to become a qualified midwife, where I now serve women in my home province in Southern Highlands.”
OSF executive manager Karlyne Pukaikia said the OSF scholarship programme aimed to assist committed citizens complete their education and contribute to development.