When you think about being a student midwife, organization does not typically come to mind but it should.
We dream about catching babies, palpating tummies and sweet newborn toes. What we do not dream about is the piles of paperwork that log every. single. thing. we. do. This is why we need organization.
The amount of paper you have to fill out depends on if your school has their own forms to log your requirements like my school ATMMTP does or you use the NARM forms direct from their website.
How many trees am I cutting down?
For example, my school has an education log, a time spent intrapartum and non-intrapartum log plus all of your observe births, assisting prenatal, postpartum, birth and newborn forms. Plus at least 2 pages each that you fill out for each primary prenatal, intake, postpartum, birth and newborn exam.
In the end, you have a HUGE pile of papers that hold the accomplishments of years of your life. You want to keep these organized and safe right?
The forms you have may be different than what I talk about below but that’s okay. They’re all similar and organizing them will look similar.
Organization is key
The first thing you want to do when you print or receive your forms is get organized! Do this immediately. There are several ways you can do this:
- Buy a 1 to 2 inch thick binder, dividers and a hold punch if you do not have one already. Divide your paperwork into sections. I divided mine first into observe, assist and primary. I decided mine into:
- 1 tab for observe
- 1 tab for assist – prenatal
- 1 tab for assist – births
- 1 tab for assist – newborn exams
- 1 tab for assist – postpartum
I kept my primary midwife under supervision (PMUS) paperwork in a folder in my desk because I knew I did not need it for awhile and did not want it to get messed up.
Tips
- Use paper/plastic folders with 1 color dedicated to each stage. Blue for observe, red for assist, purple for primary, orange for academic work, etc. One of my friends does it this way but it is not what I prefer.
- Find a folder with multiple pockets and only keep the papers that you need at that moment in it. This is my favorite way because I hate holes in my papers. I have a plastics folder that has 6 pockets in it. I only keep 2 pages of each form in the folder at a time and transfer out completed pages when done.
- I use the first pocket for random things, papers my preceptor gives me, other papers, receipts while out, etc.
- The second pocket for prenatal appointments
- The third pocket for births
- The fourth for newborn exams
- The fifth for postpartum
- The sixth for time logs required by my school
- A file box or accordion file folder. A file box lets you place as many folders in there as can fit so you can have as many categories as you need. An accordion file folder usually has a set amount of slots like 5, 7, 10, etc. so you will need to know how many spots you need.
Related: Social Media Tips for Student Midwives
Primary Midwife Under Supervision (PMUS)
When in PMUS, I also include the logs for initial histories and physicals in the second pocket. I just paper clip like forms together so I can easily find what I need.
Safe Storage
Since you are staying on top of getting those signatures, you’ll want a place to keep those documents safe.
Some students keep all of their signed paperwork in the same binder/folder/file as the rest of their forms. I would like to caution you against this. What happens if you loose that binder?
Say you take it to a birth and it somehow gets covered in meconium, blood or the water from the pool? What if you leave it somewhere and cannot find it? Or if your car is stolen with all of those papers in it?
Part of being organized is keeping those signatures safe. Have a spot where you can keep them such as another file box, a folder tucked away in your cabinet or where ever you know they will be protected.
Long Term Organization
I bought myself a fire resistant file box. The thing is bulky but I know if I have a house fire my signatures are protected. I have all of my paperwork grouped by what stage they are- observe, assist, primary. Then broken down further into their sub categories- prenatal, birth, newborn, postpartum.
I also have a slot for my education log, intrapartum and non-intrapartum logs and my skill sign off sheets. Once a page has been signed by every preceptor on it, I file it here so that I know it is safe.
Beyond Standard Organization
Always scan your completed documents. Once I had a few papers filed away, I started scanning them so that I had a copy of all my hard work if something were to happen to them such as getting destroyed in a fire, robbed or lost in the mail when sent to my school/NARM.
I would suggest you do this from the beginning and not wait like I did. Protect your education and time from the very get go. You can use the traditional form of scanning your papers by using the scanner on a printer or a free standing scanner but I’ve found scanning apps easier.
I really like Tiny Scanner Pro. You can find it in the app store. You can have many documents on this little app and add to them as wanted.
For example, I have a document file called “Stanton primary prenatal apts” and each time I finish a page of signatures I add it to that document. What started as 1 page is now 5 or 10 or how ever many you need.
If you scan them the traditional way I would still do them one at a time. Then label them “last name primary prenatal pg. 3” or whatever it is.
You can never be too careful
Basically, scan everything, store it on the cloud and your personal computer. Every student I know stores their documents on google drive or dropbox. Most of you probably already have a gmail account anyway. Create a folder and label it something to do with being a student or paperwork and then create sub folders inside it for each phase and sub category.
Other Forms
You will also want a folder, filing cabinet spot or binder, something to store completed forms unrelated to your numbers. Such as your quarterly/biyearly preceptor evaluations, new preceptor relationship papers, etc. I keep mine in a file cabinet in my desk but scan them into my google drive as well.
Just a little rant…
Just as important as having your forms organized, get your papers signed off ASAP! I cannot stress to you the importance of staying on top of your signatures. Those preceptor signatures are what proves that you did what you did at that prenatal/birth/postpartum visit. Have a plan, and stick to it.
Now that you’re organized, do you need help to figure out why you need to have your paperwork signed off ASAP?
What other tips would you give students trying to organize their paperwork? Did you use any of these methods and how did they work for you?
