Today, Tamara was working in the Emergency Obstetric Unit, which is not her usual area of work. She followed her midwife’s intuition when she had a feeling that something wasn’t quite right and asked the woman she was triaging to really think about her baby’s movements. The woman disclosed that the movements weren’t as regular, so Tamara commenced her baby on continuous monitoring. Within 10 minutes, Tamara escalated to me that she had concerns and within 20 minutes the woman was being consented for an emergency caesarean section.

The baby was born in poor condition and needed extension resuscitation. Tamara and I attended the crash bleep, and Tamara led the resuscitation calmly and effectively, communicating clearly and leading the team through the resuscitation algorithm. She performed CPR until a good heart rate was achieved.

This is not the first time I have seen Tamara lead a neonatal resuscitation, and every time, she is so calm, which has a ripple effect across the entire team. She teaches Newborn Life Support, a course run by nurses, doctors, and midwives, often on their days off.