I started my MA in October 2016, as my mum died. I had surgery a month later. It was Christmas before I knew it. It wasn't really until the later end of January 2017 that I started to try and focus. Then I went on Zoladex for six months, which had the unexpected side effect of levelling my mood to the point where I could actually work. My grades swung up.
My second TMA (an evaluation of a primary resource and a secondary source) scored me a whopping 85%. Turns out working with primary sources informally for several years gives you some useful analytical skills.
Then I had two lengthy assignments on poverty and the evolution of the seaside resort. The first essay got away from me a bit, but still scored a respectable 78%.
My final TMA was written for my mum. Before it was due, I went to my dad's house and scoured my mum's bookshelves for all useful literature. I came home with a pile the height of my toddler. I kinda ignored the question on the theory of urban renaissance, and wrote a history on the birth of Cromer for my mum. And my tutor loved it, and I got 82%, rightly losing marks for er...skating over the actual question.
That was back in August. This left me with four months to come up with an idea for a dissertation, research it, write a proposal and sample chapter and get it in for the first week of January. Yeah, the OU don't like us enjoying Christmas. I had decided to do something on illegitimacy months before, and this was sharpened when I studied the changes in the welfare state. This was partly because of my mum: she was an unmarried mother in the fens at the end of the 1970s, and she suffered a lot of stigma and loneliness and I wanted to know where that came from, particularly as my experiences of family research showed illegitimacy to be historically endemic among the rural working class.
However, I also wanted to study crime, and had been intrigued by stories of infanticide in the press when studying the crime and justice unit in my MA. So I decided to look at how the two were linked, using Coroner's records. Victorian Coroner's records are pretty much my favourite ever source. They are handwritten depositions taken at inquests, and they give the working class a voice that you just don't find (except occasionally in court reports) in the Victorian era. They also tie in with my morbid fascinations with pathology and history of medicine.
I spent six weeks going to the library every week to transcribe my source, (and have since done lots of further research on them), and I then wrote a proposal over six weeks. I was incredibly poorly over Christmas, getting flu and then a chest infection and then cholecystitis, so the essay aspect of my EMA got banged out in a fit of painkillers and delirium. But I got it in on time, so whatchagonnado?
And then I waited. I had PLANS for January and February, like going to SEE people I haven't seen for the better part of a year, only my fucking gallbladder meant I was on a sparrow diet of fuck all, in pain 70% of the time, and couldn't walk to the school without getting breathless. So instead, I kept working on family histories, and watched a shitload of RuPaul's Drag Race. We can't be cultured all the time, darling.
I signed up for the dissertation module of my MA, which was a painful £2000 to see go all at once (I used a mixture of student finance and OUSBA to pay for the first module as I went along). I also applied for a research grant to fund some books and going to the National Archive.
My results came in on 12th March. I got 69%, a pass with merit. Yes, I would've liked 70% but what can you do? It turns out that my proposed topic is too woolly, and my methodology and TERMS need defining. Naturally, I need to wait two months to get allocated a tutor before I can screech "heeeelppppp" at them. In the mean time, I have a literal library of stuff to read.
I have spent the time since my mum died deliberately immersing myself in work. I have coped by reading and producing hundreds of thousands of words of history. By telling people's stories. By reminding myself that grief is a hallmark of human experience.
And I have been antisocial, and I have hidden from real people, because living in the present frightens me. I am possessed by a tidal wave of grief that rises inside me, but never comes out, because I won't let it. Because I am afraid to lose control, and I have become so accustomed to sitting on my feelings that I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to do with them.
I channel my grief into my work, to stop me going numb. And when I cried at the unhappy deaths of children in the 1880s, I was crying for my mum. And when I cried because it all got too much, I cried for my mum. And when I told everyone all about the stuff I'd found out, I was trying to tell my mum. When I lay terrified and in pain with cholecystitis, I only thought of my mum doing the same eighteen months before for different reasons. When I lost weight, I thought of my mum losing weight. When I had my abdominal scan, I thought of my mum's abdominal scan that I held her hand through because she was so frightened. I was not afraid, I was only sad.
But when I write beautifully, I do it for my mum. When I do well, I do it for my mum.
I wonder if I'll ever do stuff for me again.
Showing posts with label open university. Show all posts
Showing posts with label open university. Show all posts
16 Mar 2018
13 Jan 2017
Me? Doing a Masters?
I think it's a fair shout to say I haven't had the best start to doing my MA.
I signed up on July 27th. On July 29th, my mum became critically ill. I debated whether to defer for a year. I debated whether to do it at all. The more I read about the course, the more I wanted to do it.
I've been interested in social history for ever. I've spent the last year working on family trees for me and my friends, and become intrigued by family structure particularly in rural areas. I've got a talent for creating narratives from primary evidence, for constructing strong arguments, for finding links that aren't immediate obvious and for holding vast stores of intricate genealogy in my head. Local history extends this into the landscape - who lived where? Why did they live there? What did they do? What did they earn? How were they linked? How does this compare to other areas? It's a natural step up from family research and it appeals to my soul.
Then there's my mum. Mum loved social history. She was fascinated by the rise of leisure time in the Victorian era, and the link to the railway network and how resorts were created to supply demand. Having experienced the stigma of being a single mother in the sticks, illegitimacy interested her. Coming from a big family, and having one herself, she read about other big families. She encouraged me. We would talk about history more than almost anything, monologuing at each other on the phone for hours. When I did the preliminary tests for getting on the MA, one of the questions was on the rise of Blackpool. Mum was a bubbling torrent of information on it when I told her. I am devastated that she's not here to talk to about it all anymore. She didn't want me to do the MA when I first discussed it with her, way back in June. She thought I should go directly into writing (my eventual aim) so she could read it. But I didn't feel qualified to write about it without a single history qualification to my name.
So, I decided to do it anyway. My start date was 1st October, by which point my mum was nearing her end. I worked hard but sparingly. It is terribly difficult to focus when the person you need most is dying. You think about little else. You worry. You want to be with them. You don't particularly want to be reading about tiny Highland communities in 1780. Or doing anything really. It's hard. But I did it.
Then she died. She died and I had a deadline. I postponed the deadline, but I still knew it was coming. Everything I had studied before fell to fog. And since she died, every time I read something she would have loved to know about, I feel a stab. It's not fair.
So I wrote my essay. I struggled a bit, just to get my thoughts in order (complicated by having a general anaesthetic a few days before) and then to write it, to use a whole new system of referencing, and to write about something I've not really done before. There is a lot of crossover between modern history and sociology, but they require different styles, and the essay was theoretical. I got it in. I got 63%, which is far more than I hoped for. It was not easy to write, but I found my style and voice much faster than I ever have before.
Now I'm looking to my next essay, getting to grips with the vast amount of potential literature on offer, and having to decide for myself what is and isn't relevant. Before I began this, some mansplaining dick told me that there was 'lots of reading' involved in an MA. I was pissed off because...well duh, but it's the quality of reading that counts. History perhaps generates the most written material of any subject, and some of it is diabolical quality, and some of it is absolutely essential, and some of it is absolutely essentially and like wading through treacle. And you have to decide what's good. I am currently sitting with no less than six relevant books, another two on the laptop to work through, countless potential journal articles that might be useful. I might only use one paragraph from each book, but I need to find it. Your undergrad is SPOON-FED to you in comparison to this.
And I daresay for those who go on to do a PhD, a masters is equally spoon-fed.
I love writing history. I love writing, full stop, but history is a particular pleasure. Telling the story of people who lived long ago, who never hoped to be historically relevant, who did nothing to immortalise themselves. That's a privilege. Finding their stories, hidden in the records, and understanding their context. That's my favourite thing. Reading ancient newspapers is much better for the soul than reading facebook. I don't know if I can actually making a living doing this - probably not, the world is awash with historians and you have to be pretty fucking ace to get published - but even if I can't, I will try. I will try for my mum. I will try for myself.
I signed up on July 27th. On July 29th, my mum became critically ill. I debated whether to defer for a year. I debated whether to do it at all. The more I read about the course, the more I wanted to do it.
I've been interested in social history for ever. I've spent the last year working on family trees for me and my friends, and become intrigued by family structure particularly in rural areas. I've got a talent for creating narratives from primary evidence, for constructing strong arguments, for finding links that aren't immediate obvious and for holding vast stores of intricate genealogy in my head. Local history extends this into the landscape - who lived where? Why did they live there? What did they do? What did they earn? How were they linked? How does this compare to other areas? It's a natural step up from family research and it appeals to my soul.
Then there's my mum. Mum loved social history. She was fascinated by the rise of leisure time in the Victorian era, and the link to the railway network and how resorts were created to supply demand. Having experienced the stigma of being a single mother in the sticks, illegitimacy interested her. Coming from a big family, and having one herself, she read about other big families. She encouraged me. We would talk about history more than almost anything, monologuing at each other on the phone for hours. When I did the preliminary tests for getting on the MA, one of the questions was on the rise of Blackpool. Mum was a bubbling torrent of information on it when I told her. I am devastated that she's not here to talk to about it all anymore. She didn't want me to do the MA when I first discussed it with her, way back in June. She thought I should go directly into writing (my eventual aim) so she could read it. But I didn't feel qualified to write about it without a single history qualification to my name.
So, I decided to do it anyway. My start date was 1st October, by which point my mum was nearing her end. I worked hard but sparingly. It is terribly difficult to focus when the person you need most is dying. You think about little else. You worry. You want to be with them. You don't particularly want to be reading about tiny Highland communities in 1780. Or doing anything really. It's hard. But I did it.
Then she died. She died and I had a deadline. I postponed the deadline, but I still knew it was coming. Everything I had studied before fell to fog. And since she died, every time I read something she would have loved to know about, I feel a stab. It's not fair.
So I wrote my essay. I struggled a bit, just to get my thoughts in order (complicated by having a general anaesthetic a few days before) and then to write it, to use a whole new system of referencing, and to write about something I've not really done before. There is a lot of crossover between modern history and sociology, but they require different styles, and the essay was theoretical. I got it in. I got 63%, which is far more than I hoped for. It was not easy to write, but I found my style and voice much faster than I ever have before.
Now I'm looking to my next essay, getting to grips with the vast amount of potential literature on offer, and having to decide for myself what is and isn't relevant. Before I began this, some mansplaining dick told me that there was 'lots of reading' involved in an MA. I was pissed off because...well duh, but it's the quality of reading that counts. History perhaps generates the most written material of any subject, and some of it is diabolical quality, and some of it is absolutely essential, and some of it is absolutely essentially and like wading through treacle. And you have to decide what's good. I am currently sitting with no less than six relevant books, another two on the laptop to work through, countless potential journal articles that might be useful. I might only use one paragraph from each book, but I need to find it. Your undergrad is SPOON-FED to you in comparison to this.
And I daresay for those who go on to do a PhD, a masters is equally spoon-fed.
I love writing history. I love writing, full stop, but history is a particular pleasure. Telling the story of people who lived long ago, who never hoped to be historically relevant, who did nothing to immortalise themselves. That's a privilege. Finding their stories, hidden in the records, and understanding their context. That's my favourite thing. Reading ancient newspapers is much better for the soul than reading facebook. I don't know if I can actually making a living doing this - probably not, the world is awash with historians and you have to be pretty fucking ace to get published - but even if I can't, I will try. I will try for my mum. I will try for myself.
5 Aug 2016
Postgrad
I had a strange sense of instability and loss when I finished my degree. I'd had this idea for quite a while that IF I did well, I would do a masters. But when I actually did well, I felt completely different. A masters felt suddenly terrifying and enormous.I didn't feel clever enough to do one. I didn't feel I possessed the right skills to switch to history after four years of mainly sociology and biology. I emailed the OU to ask them what preparatory work they would advise. They actually advise a bridging course, held by Oxford University online, which costs the princely sum of £2500. I knew I couldn't afford that, and I told them so. I did, however, buy all the set texts from it in a bid to teach myself.
After some time, I received an email telling me to run through a pre-assessment to see if I had any of the right skills and broad knowledge, and to buy the main set text from the previous year to go through.
I did the pre-assessment, not expecting to do well. I got 98%.
The next step was funding the thing. As previously mentioned, my BSc cost me £5, but fortunately the government are allowing postgraduate student loans for masters courses starting this September onwards. I applied online - a very simply process, provided you know how much money you want - and then thought about how I was going to pay for the first module since I won't get any loan money until my first instalment in October but you have to pay for your modules up front.
My first idea was to put it on a credit card, but no credit card company will lend me that much cash (£3800) in one go, so I thought about a loan. The lowest APR I could get was 10%, so I looked into OUSBA loans. These are loans from the OU that you pay back over the course of your module at a fixed APR of 5%. It is, unless you can afford to pay up front, a really good way to pay for modules even with a student loan. You apply through the OU, at the same time as registering for a module. It's a swift, online process and you usually get a decision immediately.
I was accepted onto the masters course last Friday, when all hell broke loose with(in) my mummy, and I will blog about that soon. I don't even know if I want to do it now, with everything else going on, but at the same time, studying has been my lifeline, my structure and my main distraction over much other stuff over the last few years. And I know Mum wants me to get to writing my great body of historical work, so I'm doing it for her now as much as myself.
After some time, I received an email telling me to run through a pre-assessment to see if I had any of the right skills and broad knowledge, and to buy the main set text from the previous year to go through.
I did the pre-assessment, not expecting to do well. I got 98%.
The next step was funding the thing. As previously mentioned, my BSc cost me £5, but fortunately the government are allowing postgraduate student loans for masters courses starting this September onwards. I applied online - a very simply process, provided you know how much money you want - and then thought about how I was going to pay for the first module since I won't get any loan money until my first instalment in October but you have to pay for your modules up front.
My first idea was to put it on a credit card, but no credit card company will lend me that much cash (£3800) in one go, so I thought about a loan. The lowest APR I could get was 10%, so I looked into OUSBA loans. These are loans from the OU that you pay back over the course of your module at a fixed APR of 5%. It is, unless you can afford to pay up front, a really good way to pay for modules even with a student loan. You apply through the OU, at the same time as registering for a module. It's a swift, online process and you usually get a decision immediately.
I was accepted onto the masters course last Friday, when all hell broke loose with(in) my mummy, and I will blog about that soon. I don't even know if I want to do it now, with everything else going on, but at the same time, studying has been my lifeline, my structure and my main distraction over much other stuff over the last few years. And I know Mum wants me to get to writing my great body of historical work, so I'm doing it for her now as much as myself.
19 May 2016
Revision
I hate revising. I hate it so much that the only way I can do it is to approach it systematically. I generally do well in exams, though whether this is because I work better under pressure or because my revision method is foolproof or just luck, I know not.
About three weeks before the exam, I begin to panic. It doesn't help that the further into OU study you get, the less time you get between your last TMA and your exam. This year, it's three weeks. At level 2, it was around a month. At level 1, it was around six weeks. I usually have at least a week off after submitting a TMA, so it takes a bit of adjustment to get on with it. Getting on with it is the only cure for panic, I'm afraid.
First, get hold of some past papers. You will get one 'free' with your module, and you can download more from the OUSA. Now, study that paper. Not the questions; the structure. How many questions are you expected to answer? Do the questions refer to the whole module or specific blocks of study? Basically, do you have to revise everything?
I have not yet had an exam where I have had to revise everything. Now, sometimes tutors will advise you to revise everything anyway, but balls to that. Personally, I think it's better to have really in depth knowledge of a few things than a broad knowledge of everything. You might have more choice in answering questions, but you're not going to get good marks if you only skim revised. Where there's a choice, I choose to revise the blocks I liked best. If you REALLY HATED the block on law, for example, you're not going to enjoy revising it. The chances are, you studied the blocks you enjoyed best the most thoroughly, and revision will be a refresher rather than a re-do.
So, now you have an idea of what you need to revise, and you can make a plan. How long do you have? A month? A week? Three days? Well, you must work with what you have. Divvy up what you need to revise into manageable chunks. Honestly, I cannot endorse revising until you crack up and go blank in the exam. You need to aim for a few hours a day, broken up into chunks. Currently, I'm revising for four hours a day, in half hour segments, with a big break for lunch. The very nature of OU study means you have other stuff to do, so make your revision plan realistic. If you've got children at home every day, or a full time job, or whatever other commitments, you are not going to be able to productively revise for eight hours a day.
But don't go too far the other way. Yeah, it might be fun to go and binge watch the whole of Peaky Blinders, but you're not gonna get any work done if you do. That is classic displacement activity. Recognise it. Shun it (she says, writing her second blog in two days).
Now get on with it. I don't know how you revise. Some people favour mind maps. Some people like flash cards. Some people like to tell their children all about what they're studying while the children stare blankly back. My preferred method is to summarise each unit onto one sheet of A4, then summarise those A4 sheets onto record cards, then get my husband to test me on them. I save the testing element for the last couple of days before the exam, because nothing new is going to go in at that late stage.
I also do practice papers, but rather than write out whole essays, I just write bullet point answers. If you're doing sociology, psychology or history, linking up theories across the module is usually fairly important, so try to connect up all the theories in your head. Practice papers are useful for this. If you've not done exams for ages, do a few full length answers under the time limit allotted by the exam, to get you used to writing quickly and concisely.
Don't worry too much about perfect answers. If you can clearly remember a theory, but don't know who said it, then writing "One theory suggests" is valid. It's not a TMA: you're not expected to know everything. Of course, if you DO remember, then put it in. Don't let forgetting things in revision prey on your mind - of course you don't remember everything. It's what you DO remember that's important.
Remember the person who is marking your exam needs to be able to read it. If you're very out of practice handwriting, practice. I have nerve damage in my writing wrist/hand which means I have to do physio for a good month before the exam to stop it clawing up (it does anyway).
Plan exam day. Where's your exam centre? How are you getting there? What do you need (it says in the examination arrangements booklet)? What ID are you taking with you? What snacks? I always take polos and a bottle of lemon water, because that is my Exam Survival Kit and I'm not changing it now. Make sure you give yourself time for breakfast, and aim to be at the exam centre about half an hour before kick off. At my exam centre (Peterborough), we all mill about in the café until the OU moderators come and round us up around twenty minutes before the exam. I have arrived after this round-up before, and it's totally thrown me, arriving to an empty room.
Plan a treat for after your exam. A series of books you've been dying to read for ages? A video game? The spa? Getting absolutely bungalowed? A holiday? The cinema? ALL THE FUCKING FOOD IN MARKS? Yes, you will need a treat afterwards. Eyes on the prize.
Now go and revise and stop procrastinating!
About three weeks before the exam, I begin to panic. It doesn't help that the further into OU study you get, the less time you get between your last TMA and your exam. This year, it's three weeks. At level 2, it was around a month. At level 1, it was around six weeks. I usually have at least a week off after submitting a TMA, so it takes a bit of adjustment to get on with it. Getting on with it is the only cure for panic, I'm afraid.
First, get hold of some past papers. You will get one 'free' with your module, and you can download more from the OUSA. Now, study that paper. Not the questions; the structure. How many questions are you expected to answer? Do the questions refer to the whole module or specific blocks of study? Basically, do you have to revise everything?
I have not yet had an exam where I have had to revise everything. Now, sometimes tutors will advise you to revise everything anyway, but balls to that. Personally, I think it's better to have really in depth knowledge of a few things than a broad knowledge of everything. You might have more choice in answering questions, but you're not going to get good marks if you only skim revised. Where there's a choice, I choose to revise the blocks I liked best. If you REALLY HATED the block on law, for example, you're not going to enjoy revising it. The chances are, you studied the blocks you enjoyed best the most thoroughly, and revision will be a refresher rather than a re-do.
So, now you have an idea of what you need to revise, and you can make a plan. How long do you have? A month? A week? Three days? Well, you must work with what you have. Divvy up what you need to revise into manageable chunks. Honestly, I cannot endorse revising until you crack up and go blank in the exam. You need to aim for a few hours a day, broken up into chunks. Currently, I'm revising for four hours a day, in half hour segments, with a big break for lunch. The very nature of OU study means you have other stuff to do, so make your revision plan realistic. If you've got children at home every day, or a full time job, or whatever other commitments, you are not going to be able to productively revise for eight hours a day.
But don't go too far the other way. Yeah, it might be fun to go and binge watch the whole of Peaky Blinders, but you're not gonna get any work done if you do. That is classic displacement activity. Recognise it. Shun it (she says, writing her second blog in two days).
Now get on with it. I don't know how you revise. Some people favour mind maps. Some people like flash cards. Some people like to tell their children all about what they're studying while the children stare blankly back. My preferred method is to summarise each unit onto one sheet of A4, then summarise those A4 sheets onto record cards, then get my husband to test me on them. I save the testing element for the last couple of days before the exam, because nothing new is going to go in at that late stage.
I also do practice papers, but rather than write out whole essays, I just write bullet point answers. If you're doing sociology, psychology or history, linking up theories across the module is usually fairly important, so try to connect up all the theories in your head. Practice papers are useful for this. If you've not done exams for ages, do a few full length answers under the time limit allotted by the exam, to get you used to writing quickly and concisely.
Don't worry too much about perfect answers. If you can clearly remember a theory, but don't know who said it, then writing "One theory suggests" is valid. It's not a TMA: you're not expected to know everything. Of course, if you DO remember, then put it in. Don't let forgetting things in revision prey on your mind - of course you don't remember everything. It's what you DO remember that's important.
Remember the person who is marking your exam needs to be able to read it. If you're very out of practice handwriting, practice. I have nerve damage in my writing wrist/hand which means I have to do physio for a good month before the exam to stop it clawing up (it does anyway).
Plan exam day. Where's your exam centre? How are you getting there? What do you need (it says in the examination arrangements booklet)? What ID are you taking with you? What snacks? I always take polos and a bottle of lemon water, because that is my Exam Survival Kit and I'm not changing it now. Make sure you give yourself time for breakfast, and aim to be at the exam centre about half an hour before kick off. At my exam centre (Peterborough), we all mill about in the café until the OU moderators come and round us up around twenty minutes before the exam. I have arrived after this round-up before, and it's totally thrown me, arriving to an empty room.
Plan a treat for after your exam. A series of books you've been dying to read for ages? A video game? The spa? Getting absolutely bungalowed? A holiday? The cinema? ALL THE FUCKING FOOD IN MARKS? Yes, you will need a treat afterwards. Eyes on the prize.
Now go and revise and stop procrastinating!
11 Sept 2015
Online Only Sucks
My uni materials arrived yesterday, and the course website opened at the same time. And I am bloody annoyed to find it is another online only course. I have a rather thin textbook of theory, and that is it.
The thing that pisses me off about online-only courses is that it makes the whole process of studying so bloody convoluted. Instead of being able to pick my books up,find somewhere to settle and get on, I have to either sit upstairs on my desktop (difficult with a baby), or try and make my elderly netbook cooperate. Last year, I downloaded my module materials onto my Kindle using the service provided by OU. Except they're really not optimised for Kindle and don't make the experience any easier - I missed several key elements of the course on first read through last year because of the way the Kindle docs were set up. And switching from Kindle, to DVD, to book, to website, back to Kindle is not my favourite way of studying. My last module had an EMA at the end, so I could collate necessary material throughout the year, but I doubt my ability to revise properly from online only resources.
I can see online-only being brilliant if you are able to manage your time and study alone for a while, but being a breastfeeding mother, I will have to grab what time I can (often with the baby on my lap, like he is right now), and studying from a book would make it feel more cohesive than going back to a website.
This module is the last one of my degree, and it is SO important to me to be able to study and revise effectively that I will probably utilise the print on demand service. But that costs money. I have had my whole degree for £5, because I was the last intake that still got it free based on income, so I don't mind paying. Some people will have paid over £1000 just to do the module; to make them pay more to have a hard copy of their study materials seems grasping.
Harumph.
The thing that pisses me off about online-only courses is that it makes the whole process of studying so bloody convoluted. Instead of being able to pick my books up,find somewhere to settle and get on, I have to either sit upstairs on my desktop (difficult with a baby), or try and make my elderly netbook cooperate. Last year, I downloaded my module materials onto my Kindle using the service provided by OU. Except they're really not optimised for Kindle and don't make the experience any easier - I missed several key elements of the course on first read through last year because of the way the Kindle docs were set up. And switching from Kindle, to DVD, to book, to website, back to Kindle is not my favourite way of studying. My last module had an EMA at the end, so I could collate necessary material throughout the year, but I doubt my ability to revise properly from online only resources.
I can see online-only being brilliant if you are able to manage your time and study alone for a while, but being a breastfeeding mother, I will have to grab what time I can (often with the baby on my lap, like he is right now), and studying from a book would make it feel more cohesive than going back to a website.
This module is the last one of my degree, and it is SO important to me to be able to study and revise effectively that I will probably utilise the print on demand service. But that costs money. I have had my whole degree for £5, because I was the last intake that still got it free based on income, so I don't mind paying. Some people will have paid over £1000 just to do the module; to make them pay more to have a hard copy of their study materials seems grasping.
Harumph.
29 Jul 2015
Results 2015
I genuinely didn't think I would care about my results. I thought I'd either have just given birth or be extraordinarily pregnant, and Thu beyond such minor concerns.
I was wrong. Our gorgeous boy was born at the beginning of July, and results were released a week later. I got to the point of obsessively checking for them within a few days of release. It suddenly felt important to have succeeded after successfully delivering my baby.
And I did.
In biology (SDK125), I gained a pass 2. Considering I was immensely pregnant when I took the exam, I am really proud of this. But, ultimately, I only needed a pass, as it doesn't contribute to my final classification.
So, I was absolutely fucking ecstatic to gain a DISTINCTION in public health (K311).
I have one module left, and start K319 (Adulthood, Ageing and the Lifecourse) in October. It will be the first time I've just done one module in several years. I figure that's the way to compensate for a tiny, breastfeeding baby and his two brothers stealing all my time.
It feels strange to be coming to the end. But I already madly miss studying, so bring it on.
I was wrong. Our gorgeous boy was born at the beginning of July, and results were released a week later. I got to the point of obsessively checking for them within a few days of release. It suddenly felt important to have succeeded after successfully delivering my baby.
And I did.
In biology (SDK125), I gained a pass 2. Considering I was immensely pregnant when I took the exam, I am really proud of this. But, ultimately, I only needed a pass, as it doesn't contribute to my final classification.
So, I was absolutely fucking ecstatic to gain a DISTINCTION in public health (K311).
I have one module left, and start K319 (Adulthood, Ageing and the Lifecourse) in October. It will be the first time I've just done one module in several years. I figure that's the way to compensate for a tiny, breastfeeding baby and his two brothers stealing all my time.
It feels strange to be coming to the end. But I already madly miss studying, so bring it on.
17 Nov 2014
Introductions and Conclusions
There are two common issues with TMA writing. The first, referencing, has been dealt with here before. The second is "how the hell do I write an introduction/conclusion?"
Now, the introduction and conclusion of your TMA bookend it. They demonstrate that you know what you're going to write, and that you can summarise what you've written about at the end. And they are vital, because most essay TMAs take them into account in the marking scheme.
So, how do you write them?
Well, first off, you don't have to write the introduction when you start, and the conclusion when you finish. I often write the conclusion first, before I write anything else. I may well totally rewrite it before submission, but it focuses my mind on what the final result should be. Conversely, I often write the introduction last, when I know what I've written about. You don't have to write your essay in order at all - I'll often write a few sentences that I want to get in, but I'm not sure where, and then ease them in at the end. Or not, if they turn out to be unnecessary. The important thing is to START writing.
It's times like this that an essay plan helps. I SCORNED essay plans when I started my degree. "I don't need them, they're a waste of time", I thought. But with time, I've come to value them, both as a template, and as a working frame of reference. If you have a vague idea of what you're going to write about, and in what order, before you start, half your problems of arranging the content in your head and on the page are solved. If you can work out how much of your word count you need to give to each segment, then you have an idea of how long each part needs to be.
An introduction and conclusion should not take up more than 20% total of your word count. With a thousand word essay, try and get your introduction and conclusion at around 100 words each. Any more, and you're probably waffling.
So, introductions. I tend to be pretty explicit in my introductions about what I'm going to write, and allude to the TMA title. For example (and I'm making this up as I go along, so I really hope it's not actually a TMA title), if your title is "Discuss Cordelia's motivation and actions in Act One of King Lear", then you need to mention in your introduction that your essay is about Cordelia's motivation and actions in Act 1 of King Lear. This may sound REALLY OBVIOUS, but you don't need to be Shakespeare to write an introduction.
"In the play King Lear, Cordelia is a central character. She is the youngest daughter of the eponymous king, and in the first Act appears only once, and greatly displeases her father. This essay will examine her actions, and discuss the motivation behind them."
And that's it. In under 50 words, Cordelia is introduced, and the reason for writing the essay is explained.
Conclusions are equally simple. You have, hopefully, done what you said you were going to do in the introduction and written an essay discussing the motivation and actions of Cordelia in King Lear, or whatever your essay title was. Now, you need to sum up your findings and signal this is the end of the essay.
"To conclude, Cordelia's love for her father is unsullied by greed, and Lear is unable to accept the simplicity of it, as he is so used to abundant, false praise. In trying to be honest, Cordelia is disinherited by her father, but her honesty wins her the King of France as a husband."
And again, in 50ish words, the essay is rounded off neatly. All a conclusion does is state, briefly what you've written.
(I'm not an English Lit student, can you tell?)
So, don't fret about intros and conclusions. Fret instead about your essay argument, whether you're meeting the guidance (because if the guidance says read X, you better read X, and reference it, and quote from it if necessary), and whether or not you'll ever finish the horrible thing.
Good luck!
Now, the introduction and conclusion of your TMA bookend it. They demonstrate that you know what you're going to write, and that you can summarise what you've written about at the end. And they are vital, because most essay TMAs take them into account in the marking scheme.
So, how do you write them?
Well, first off, you don't have to write the introduction when you start, and the conclusion when you finish. I often write the conclusion first, before I write anything else. I may well totally rewrite it before submission, but it focuses my mind on what the final result should be. Conversely, I often write the introduction last, when I know what I've written about. You don't have to write your essay in order at all - I'll often write a few sentences that I want to get in, but I'm not sure where, and then ease them in at the end. Or not, if they turn out to be unnecessary. The important thing is to START writing.
It's times like this that an essay plan helps. I SCORNED essay plans when I started my degree. "I don't need them, they're a waste of time", I thought. But with time, I've come to value them, both as a template, and as a working frame of reference. If you have a vague idea of what you're going to write about, and in what order, before you start, half your problems of arranging the content in your head and on the page are solved. If you can work out how much of your word count you need to give to each segment, then you have an idea of how long each part needs to be.
An introduction and conclusion should not take up more than 20% total of your word count. With a thousand word essay, try and get your introduction and conclusion at around 100 words each. Any more, and you're probably waffling.
So, introductions. I tend to be pretty explicit in my introductions about what I'm going to write, and allude to the TMA title. For example (and I'm making this up as I go along, so I really hope it's not actually a TMA title), if your title is "Discuss Cordelia's motivation and actions in Act One of King Lear", then you need to mention in your introduction that your essay is about Cordelia's motivation and actions in Act 1 of King Lear. This may sound REALLY OBVIOUS, but you don't need to be Shakespeare to write an introduction.
"In the play King Lear, Cordelia is a central character. She is the youngest daughter of the eponymous king, and in the first Act appears only once, and greatly displeases her father. This essay will examine her actions, and discuss the motivation behind them."
And that's it. In under 50 words, Cordelia is introduced, and the reason for writing the essay is explained.
Conclusions are equally simple. You have, hopefully, done what you said you were going to do in the introduction and written an essay discussing the motivation and actions of Cordelia in King Lear, or whatever your essay title was. Now, you need to sum up your findings and signal this is the end of the essay.
"To conclude, Cordelia's love for her father is unsullied by greed, and Lear is unable to accept the simplicity of it, as he is so used to abundant, false praise. In trying to be honest, Cordelia is disinherited by her father, but her honesty wins her the King of France as a husband."
And again, in 50ish words, the essay is rounded off neatly. All a conclusion does is state, briefly what you've written.
(I'm not an English Lit student, can you tell?)
So, don't fret about intros and conclusions. Fret instead about your essay argument, whether you're meeting the guidance (because if the guidance says read X, you better read X, and reference it, and quote from it if necessary), and whether or not you'll ever finish the horrible thing.
Good luck!
23 May 2014
Level 2 draws to a close
It's finally, almost over.
This year has been HARD, for several reasons that were not apparent when I signed up last year.
1. Biology and history of medicine SOUND like they might be similar. One is human biology, one is how we got as far as acquiring that knowledge. Well, nope. Doing a science course is so utterly different to an essay based course, it utterly threw me to begin with. I also didn't realise how much chemistry content would be in biology, which was my own stupid naivety.
2. I got WAY less free time than I was expecting as my eldest didn't start full time school until Easter.
3. The spacing of TMAs was more of a struggle than I thought. I ended up spending several weeks on history, then two weeks on biology, frantically trying to catch up.
However, I'm done and these are my results:
I'm a bit disappointed with that 72%, but it doesn't alter my OCAS, so I shall HOPE FOR THE BEST in my exam. SK277 doesn't care what my TMA scores are, it's all on the exam, which is...annoying.
My exams are on 3rd and 5th June, which is alarmingly close. It's easier to revise science than history, coz in history I'm going to have to reason and argue why I think things happened. At least science doesn't argue with you...often. So wish me luck!
ETA: My last TMA has been regraded to 77%, bringing my OCAS up to 80%. HUZZAH!
This year has been HARD, for several reasons that were not apparent when I signed up last year.
1. Biology and history of medicine SOUND like they might be similar. One is human biology, one is how we got as far as acquiring that knowledge. Well, nope. Doing a science course is so utterly different to an essay based course, it utterly threw me to begin with. I also didn't realise how much chemistry content would be in biology, which was my own stupid naivety.
2. I got WAY less free time than I was expecting as my eldest didn't start full time school until Easter.
3. The spacing of TMAs was more of a struggle than I thought. I ended up spending several weeks on history, then two weeks on biology, frantically trying to catch up.
However, I'm done and these are my results:
 |
| SK277 A218 |
My exams are on 3rd and 5th June, which is alarmingly close. It's easier to revise science than history, coz in history I'm going to have to reason and argue why I think things happened. At least science doesn't argue with you...often. So wish me luck!
ETA: My last TMA has been regraded to 77%, bringing my OCAS up to 80%. HUZZAH!
9 Feb 2014
Halfway
It's been an age since I wrote about my studies. In that time, I've got divorced (huzzah), engaged (more huzzah), and my eldest has been diagnosed with autism. So, it's been a busy few months, but I have hit the halfway point on both courses.
A218, or history of medicine, is the bigger of the two courses. In the last few months, I've learned far more than I thought I would ever need to know about the rise of medicine from the Ancient Greeks to the Enlightenment, when things actually began to change. What interests me most is the way governments used the new discoveries and trends in health to keep an eye on the population (and pathology, but there's not been a lot of pathology thus far). This interest in public health has led me to elect to do a level 3 module in it next year. My TMA results have been solid - 80%, 79% (that would have been 86%, had I not gone massively over the word count) and 84%. I am really pleased with these marks. I wasn't sure if I was cut out for history, but I'm loving using sources to back up arguments in a way you can't with sociology.
SK277, or human biology, is the shorter of the courses, but by no means the easier. The biology is mainly framed as "This is the system, this is what happens when it goes wrong", which is fine but SO intricate. There is a lot more cellular level biology and biological chemistry than I was expecting. I started this course thinking "I know LOADS about anatomy and physiology" and I do...but not nearly as much as I thought. So far, it's covered cells, nutrition and the GI systems, neurology, skeletal system, muscles, the senses and my arch enemy, endocrinology. My TMAs have been really good - 83% and 88% - but don't contribute to my final mark. That's all on the exam. Eek.
It's been a challenge doing 90 credits, moreso since eldest still isn't in full time schooling because of his special needs, but I've found it rewarding and enjoyable, with the odd moments of despairing, hateful anxiety (TMA weeks, I'm looking at you). I can't wait to do the next half...except for the exams. I bloody loathe exams.
A218, or history of medicine, is the bigger of the two courses. In the last few months, I've learned far more than I thought I would ever need to know about the rise of medicine from the Ancient Greeks to the Enlightenment, when things actually began to change. What interests me most is the way governments used the new discoveries and trends in health to keep an eye on the population (and pathology, but there's not been a lot of pathology thus far). This interest in public health has led me to elect to do a level 3 module in it next year. My TMA results have been solid - 80%, 79% (that would have been 86%, had I not gone massively over the word count) and 84%. I am really pleased with these marks. I wasn't sure if I was cut out for history, but I'm loving using sources to back up arguments in a way you can't with sociology.
SK277, or human biology, is the shorter of the courses, but by no means the easier. The biology is mainly framed as "This is the system, this is what happens when it goes wrong", which is fine but SO intricate. There is a lot more cellular level biology and biological chemistry than I was expecting. I started this course thinking "I know LOADS about anatomy and physiology" and I do...but not nearly as much as I thought. So far, it's covered cells, nutrition and the GI systems, neurology, skeletal system, muscles, the senses and my arch enemy, endocrinology. My TMAs have been really good - 83% and 88% - but don't contribute to my final mark. That's all on the exam. Eek.
It's been a challenge doing 90 credits, moreso since eldest still isn't in full time schooling because of his special needs, but I've found it rewarding and enjoyable, with the odd moments of despairing, hateful anxiety (TMA weeks, I'm looking at you). I can't wait to do the next half...except for the exams. I bloody loathe exams.
22 Oct 2013
OU Module Groups on Facebook - a guide
OU forums are one thing - they are moderated by staff, who know how to keep people in line and steer debate gently away from DRAMAZ. However, Facebook OU groups are dens of iniquity.
Here are a few of the types you might find there, and just so you don't think I'm being evilly judgemental, I tend very much to be The Know-it-all, combined with The Joker.
1. The Know-it-all
Sometimes, The Know-it-all has been studying for years, and sometimes they assume their mantel from other sources, such as a former job, or a GCSE in a relevant subject. Wherever their knowledge is gleaned from, they will give it to you, frequently, and in great detail, even if the question you asked has already been answered.
2. The Angry Mod
In any moderated forum, there will be times when the mods and the users have a bit of a set-to. With a few rules, understanding and a sense of perspective, these can be dealt with quickly. However, these attributes are often missing on unofficial forums. Banning, deleting of posts, posts declaring STOP THE DRAMA, users leaving to start their own groups, the whole thing firing up again three days later when someone who's been offline gets caught up. The Angry Mod is a self righteous beast, and prone to overreaction.
3. The Sensitive Flower
This person will have been through many a hard time, and be constantly wafting around, all sad faces and looking for sympathy. Sensitive Flower doesn't know when to start, it's all so daunting. You've just handed in a TMA? Sensitive Flower hasn't started yet :( You're up to Unit 8? Sensitive Flower hasn't finished Unit 1 yet. Eventually, Sensitive Flower will erupt in a rage because someone points out that they COULD just go and do some work instead of being sad. Sensitive Flower will flounce off group at least once a month.
4. The Professor
Unlike The Know-it-all, the Professor gives advice as though they are a tutor. They post endless notes on how to get ahead with tutorials, on how to revise, on how to tackle the latest TMA. Then they fail the exam. True story.
5. The Cheat
It pains me to write this, and I haven't come across one in a while, but there can be people whose behaviour on the groups sails perilously close to the cheaty wind. It usually happens about two days before a TMA is due: a post will appear, asking for help. I once had someone PM me on facebook begging me to tell them what I'd written for a TMA. I judiciously ignored it.I strongly advise you to do the same.
6. The Joker
It's 6am on TMA submission day. Everyone is exhausted, testy and annoyed. Someone posts a jokey picture of a cat that looks like Hitler, with a smiley face. Everyone mentally tells them to do one.
7. The Skimmer
There is always someone who thinks they can do their module by only doing the reading for their TMA, and nothing else. Usually, the Skimmer will appear on a group a few days before submission day and ask what, exactly, they need to read before they write the TMA. This is a godawful idea to do every single time, as you NEED to know your module materials inside out to pass the exam/EMA.
8. The Boaster
The polar opposite of The Sensitive Flower, The Boaster will get hold of last year's module materials so they can start early, and then complain that the TMA system isn't up and running three days into the course. By which point they've finished the course. This can backfire spectacularly, if the course materials change a lot between one year and the next, or if The Boaster does last year's TMA questions.
9. The Giver-Up
Closely related to The Sensitive Flower, The Giver-Up regularly threatens to give up. This tends to result in a deluge of sympathy, hints, help and attention. The Giver-Up does not give up...until the next crisis.
10. The Procrasinators, or as I like to call them, Everyone
We all procrastinate to a degree, unless we have the self discipline of a ninja. Facebook OU groups may claim to be study groups, but after three days, there'll be a load of ""Look at all this food I'm eating instead of studying!" What colour highlighter do you use?" "What's your favourite biscuit?" "How are you all?" type posts, that take a good twenty minutes to read through...and then you want to add stuff, then you're pulled into checking threads for conversations about nothing more exciting than your cat.
Awful places.
But really, useful, often friendly and less formal than the OU forums. I have made some lovely friends on facebook OU groups. Enjoy, but try not to take it TOO seriously.
Here are a few of the types you might find there, and just so you don't think I'm being evilly judgemental, I tend very much to be The Know-it-all, combined with The Joker.
1. The Know-it-all
Sometimes, The Know-it-all has been studying for years, and sometimes they assume their mantel from other sources, such as a former job, or a GCSE in a relevant subject. Wherever their knowledge is gleaned from, they will give it to you, frequently, and in great detail, even if the question you asked has already been answered.
2. The Angry Mod
In any moderated forum, there will be times when the mods and the users have a bit of a set-to. With a few rules, understanding and a sense of perspective, these can be dealt with quickly. However, these attributes are often missing on unofficial forums. Banning, deleting of posts, posts declaring STOP THE DRAMA, users leaving to start their own groups, the whole thing firing up again three days later when someone who's been offline gets caught up. The Angry Mod is a self righteous beast, and prone to overreaction.
3. The Sensitive Flower
This person will have been through many a hard time, and be constantly wafting around, all sad faces and looking for sympathy. Sensitive Flower doesn't know when to start, it's all so daunting. You've just handed in a TMA? Sensitive Flower hasn't started yet :( You're up to Unit 8? Sensitive Flower hasn't finished Unit 1 yet. Eventually, Sensitive Flower will erupt in a rage because someone points out that they COULD just go and do some work instead of being sad. Sensitive Flower will flounce off group at least once a month.
4. The Professor
Unlike The Know-it-all, the Professor gives advice as though they are a tutor. They post endless notes on how to get ahead with tutorials, on how to revise, on how to tackle the latest TMA. Then they fail the exam. True story.
5. The Cheat
It pains me to write this, and I haven't come across one in a while, but there can be people whose behaviour on the groups sails perilously close to the cheaty wind. It usually happens about two days before a TMA is due: a post will appear, asking for help. I once had someone PM me on facebook begging me to tell them what I'd written for a TMA. I judiciously ignored it.I strongly advise you to do the same.
6. The Joker
It's 6am on TMA submission day. Everyone is exhausted, testy and annoyed. Someone posts a jokey picture of a cat that looks like Hitler, with a smiley face. Everyone mentally tells them to do one.
7. The Skimmer
There is always someone who thinks they can do their module by only doing the reading for their TMA, and nothing else. Usually, the Skimmer will appear on a group a few days before submission day and ask what, exactly, they need to read before they write the TMA. This is a godawful idea to do every single time, as you NEED to know your module materials inside out to pass the exam/EMA.
8. The Boaster
The polar opposite of The Sensitive Flower, The Boaster will get hold of last year's module materials so they can start early, and then complain that the TMA system isn't up and running three days into the course. By which point they've finished the course. This can backfire spectacularly, if the course materials change a lot between one year and the next, or if The Boaster does last year's TMA questions.
9. The Giver-Up
Closely related to The Sensitive Flower, The Giver-Up regularly threatens to give up. This tends to result in a deluge of sympathy, hints, help and attention. The Giver-Up does not give up...until the next crisis.
10. The Procrasinators, or as I like to call them, Everyone
We all procrastinate to a degree, unless we have the self discipline of a ninja. Facebook OU groups may claim to be study groups, but after three days, there'll be a load of ""Look at all this food I'm eating instead of studying!" What colour highlighter do you use?" "What's your favourite biscuit?" "How are you all?" type posts, that take a good twenty minutes to read through...and then you want to add stuff, then you're pulled into checking threads for conversations about nothing more exciting than your cat.
Awful places.
But really, useful, often friendly and less formal than the OU forums. I have made some lovely friends on facebook OU groups. Enjoy, but try not to take it TOO seriously.
17 Sept 2013
Werk
All my books have been delivered.
It's strange how exciting it is to have module materials delivered. It feels like a present, a gift. But for the more seasoned OU-er, there's the knowledge that within lies PAIN, CHAOS, and FRUSTRATION.
Oh, and knowledge, reward, and personal fulfilment.
A218 (History of Medicine 1500-1930) consists of seven books. Two study guides, two course books, two source books and the most giant set text that ever walked the Earth. The Greatest Benefit To Mankind by Roy Porter is a proper spider-killing, doorstopping, arm breaker of a tome. 848 closely typed pages of historical medicine. I love it, it's absolutely fascinating. I think I may have found my new favourite subject. On top of these books, there's an audio CD, DVD and a CD-ROM, as well as website material that isn't released until tomorrow.
SK277 (Human Biology) arrived yesterday, a few days late. This is a shorter module, with four coursebooks and a glossary. A lot of the course is online now, and that site doesn't open until next week. From flicking through, I think it looks manageable. But god knows what the site holds!
However, trying to work out how much time to allocate to each per week is giving me a headache. My eldest started school a couple of weeks ago, and is not having the best start. He come home for lunch, which means EIGHT walks to and from school for me every day. It's hopefully only for this week, or I may seize up and go mad. It does somewhat wreck the day, having to constantly clockwatch for the next collection.
I've sorted out folders, highlighters, notebooks, graph paper, pens, even an index card file to keep thematic notes for A218. I've cleared the dining room table for study space, even though in Winter I tend to do all my work in the lounge, trying desperately to keep warm in this icebox of a house.
But I've not sorted out time. I think it will probably end up being three days a week on A218, two on SK277 and catchup at weekends. My partner's just moved in with me (I should probably scratch the 'Single Mother' bit from my header), so I have a bit more support on hand than in previous modules. I just need eldest to stay at school all day and youngest to stop being clingy because he misses him. Then everything will be dandy!
It's strange how exciting it is to have module materials delivered. It feels like a present, a gift. But for the more seasoned OU-er, there's the knowledge that within lies PAIN, CHAOS, and FRUSTRATION.
Oh, and knowledge, reward, and personal fulfilment.
A218 (History of Medicine 1500-1930) consists of seven books. Two study guides, two course books, two source books and the most giant set text that ever walked the Earth. The Greatest Benefit To Mankind by Roy Porter is a proper spider-killing, doorstopping, arm breaker of a tome. 848 closely typed pages of historical medicine. I love it, it's absolutely fascinating. I think I may have found my new favourite subject. On top of these books, there's an audio CD, DVD and a CD-ROM, as well as website material that isn't released until tomorrow.
SK277 (Human Biology) arrived yesterday, a few days late. This is a shorter module, with four coursebooks and a glossary. A lot of the course is online now, and that site doesn't open until next week. From flicking through, I think it looks manageable. But god knows what the site holds!
However, trying to work out how much time to allocate to each per week is giving me a headache. My eldest started school a couple of weeks ago, and is not having the best start. He come home for lunch, which means EIGHT walks to and from school for me every day. It's hopefully only for this week, or I may seize up and go mad. It does somewhat wreck the day, having to constantly clockwatch for the next collection.
I've sorted out folders, highlighters, notebooks, graph paper, pens, even an index card file to keep thematic notes for A218. I've cleared the dining room table for study space, even though in Winter I tend to do all my work in the lounge, trying desperately to keep warm in this icebox of a house.
But I've not sorted out time. I think it will probably end up being three days a week on A218, two on SK277 and catchup at weekends. My partner's just moved in with me (I should probably scratch the 'Single Mother' bit from my header), so I have a bit more support on hand than in previous modules. I just need eldest to stay at school all day and youngest to stop being clingy because he misses him. Then everything will be dandy!
13 Aug 2013
Ready, steady...
I've been getting ready to start studying again, even though things don't begin officially til October. My module materials are due to be mailed out in the next three weeks. This is one of the best bits (for me) - the terror and the joy of opening the module materials!
I've bought lever arch folders (one is covered in OWLS) to store notes, TMA information and results, and general course information, and A4 document wallets to keep everything looking fresh. I'm recycling folder dividers from my last two modules. I've bought strong magazine files to keep my coursebooks and resources in. I've even got my boyfriend to put shelves up to keep everything on, as I have more readers this year (and one of them is the size of a breezeblock). I'm also expecting several DVDs, CDs and CD-ROMs to be included.
I've checked if I've got enough pens. I use Uni-ball black rollerball pens, as they write so beautifully, and I'm always losing them. They must be scattered all over my house. I've also bought some Staedlter highlighters.I get through a lot of highlighters, preferring to use a different colour per block.
As far as notes go, I use Pukka Pad A4 jottas. They're the only ones I've found so far where the ink doesn't bleed. I tend to also buy loads of post in notes, in curious shapes, that remain in my drawer year round until my children find them and use them to doodle on, then stick them to the wall!
Insofar as keeping my brain in check goes, I've completed the first Coursera course I did, on Social Construction of Mental Health. Now I've started on Social Psychology, which I'm enjoying a lot more. It's a lot more interactive, and more generally interesting to me - I've long been a fan of social psychology experimentation. There's also quite a lot more reading, which suits me as I respond better to reading than listening.
I am really looking forward to starting both modules in October. Since I finished in June, I've been feeling vaguely lost and inadequate. Maybe that's an overreaction, but I miss having a personal challenge. I'm really excited, even though I expect it to be a struggle juggling two modules that, although similar in subject, are using very different disciplines.
I've bought lever arch folders (one is covered in OWLS) to store notes, TMA information and results, and general course information, and A4 document wallets to keep everything looking fresh. I'm recycling folder dividers from my last two modules. I've bought strong magazine files to keep my coursebooks and resources in. I've even got my boyfriend to put shelves up to keep everything on, as I have more readers this year (and one of them is the size of a breezeblock). I'm also expecting several DVDs, CDs and CD-ROMs to be included.
I've checked if I've got enough pens. I use Uni-ball black rollerball pens, as they write so beautifully, and I'm always losing them. They must be scattered all over my house. I've also bought some Staedlter highlighters.I get through a lot of highlighters, preferring to use a different colour per block.
As far as notes go, I use Pukka Pad A4 jottas. They're the only ones I've found so far where the ink doesn't bleed. I tend to also buy loads of post in notes, in curious shapes, that remain in my drawer year round until my children find them and use them to doodle on, then stick them to the wall!
Insofar as keeping my brain in check goes, I've completed the first Coursera course I did, on Social Construction of Mental Health. Now I've started on Social Psychology, which I'm enjoying a lot more. It's a lot more interactive, and more generally interesting to me - I've long been a fan of social psychology experimentation. There's also quite a lot more reading, which suits me as I respond better to reading than listening.
I am really looking forward to starting both modules in October. Since I finished in June, I've been feeling vaguely lost and inadequate. Maybe that's an overreaction, but I miss having a personal challenge. I'm really excited, even though I expect it to be a struggle juggling two modules that, although similar in subject, are using very different disciplines.
6 Aug 2013
Referencing - tips for OU study
Referencing can be a pain in the bum. Every university seems to use a vaguely different system, and I see more comments about not being able to do it than any other specific part of TMAs. So, as the October term looms over the horizon, I thought I'd give a few tips.
There's an excellent guide to referencing on the OU website. If you're a student (and I can't imagine why you'd need it otherwise), you can find it here. It tells you how to reference EVERYTHING you can possibly imagine.
A reference is not a great mystery. It's not a special code. You don't need to be a genius to work them out. All a reference does is tell the reader of your essay EXACTLY where to find the source or evidence for what you've written.
You might reference a summarised theory, or a direct quotation. Always work on the principle that you must prove you haven't just made something up.
You should be able to get everything you require for the reference from the source.
A book reference has several parts:
AUTHOR: By surname, or organisation. Sometimes this will be in the form of Surname, Initial. Often, it will be The Open University.
YEAR: This is the year that the edition of the book published. It is bracketed.
TITLE: This will be the title of the unit, or the chapter in a book; or the book itself. If it's the title of the book, it should be italicised. If it's a chapter, it should be in inverted commas.
CITY/TOWN PUBLISHED: I don't know why they need this, but there we go.
PUBLISHER
So, a typical reference might read:
Heller, T. Muston, R. Siddell, M. and Lloyd, C. (2010) Working For Health, London, Sage
Or, if you're referencing a chapter:
Scott-Samuel, A. (2010), ‘Health Impact Assessment’ in Heller, T. Muston, R. Siddell, M. and Lloyd, C. Working For Health, London, Sage
Note with this example that you reference the CHAPTER, and then add the crucial word 'in' before referencing the book it's from.
I think this second example is where people trip up with the Open University.
IGNORE the reference list at the end of each unit. It tells you the source for your OWN further reading, but unless you want to go and read the whole book the reference is taken from, you must only reference the coursebook.
A typical coursebook reference would be:
The Open University (2010), ‘Pluralism: Ways of Seeing and Ways of Knowing’ in The Open University, Working Towards Health In Everyday Life, Milton Keynes, Open University
Here, you have the author, the year, the name of the unit (in italics and inverted commas, don't forget them), the word IN and then the whole book reference. The author name may vary by unit, so check before you write the reference.
In-text referencing is a lot easier. All you need to do is put the author name, the year, and the page number (if necessary), in brackets immediately after the relevant bit of the essay. For example: (Scott-Samuel, 2010, p.34). If the reference covers more than one page, it would be: (Scott-Samuel, 2010, pp.34-47). Note that the full stop goes AFTER the reference, if it's at the end of a sentence.
Once you've got the hang of coursebook and textbook referencing, you can use the OU guide for everything else. The website and media sections are particularly useful.
To end, here are my handy and unorthodox referencing tips:
There's an excellent guide to referencing on the OU website. If you're a student (and I can't imagine why you'd need it otherwise), you can find it here. It tells you how to reference EVERYTHING you can possibly imagine.
A reference is not a great mystery. It's not a special code. You don't need to be a genius to work them out. All a reference does is tell the reader of your essay EXACTLY where to find the source or evidence for what you've written.
You might reference a summarised theory, or a direct quotation. Always work on the principle that you must prove you haven't just made something up.
You should be able to get everything you require for the reference from the source.
A book reference has several parts:
AUTHOR: By surname, or organisation. Sometimes this will be in the form of Surname, Initial. Often, it will be The Open University.
YEAR: This is the year that the edition of the book published. It is bracketed.
TITLE: This will be the title of the unit, or the chapter in a book; or the book itself. If it's the title of the book, it should be italicised. If it's a chapter, it should be in inverted commas.
CITY/TOWN PUBLISHED: I don't know why they need this, but there we go.
PUBLISHER
So, a typical reference might read:
Heller, T. Muston, R. Siddell, M. and Lloyd, C. (2010) Working For Health, London, Sage
Or, if you're referencing a chapter:
Scott-Samuel, A. (2010), ‘Health Impact Assessment’ in Heller, T. Muston, R. Siddell, M. and Lloyd, C. Working For Health, London, Sage
Note with this example that you reference the CHAPTER, and then add the crucial word 'in' before referencing the book it's from.
I think this second example is where people trip up with the Open University.
YOU ONLY EVER REFERENCE WHAT YOU HAVE READ.
If you've read three lines of a quotation by Pliny in a coursebook, you reference the coursebook, not Pliny. Pliny may have written it originally, but you haven't read Pliny's book.IGNORE the reference list at the end of each unit. It tells you the source for your OWN further reading, but unless you want to go and read the whole book the reference is taken from, you must only reference the coursebook.
A typical coursebook reference would be:
The Open University (2010), ‘Pluralism: Ways of Seeing and Ways of Knowing’ in The Open University, Working Towards Health In Everyday Life, Milton Keynes, Open University
Here, you have the author, the year, the name of the unit (in italics and inverted commas, don't forget them), the word IN and then the whole book reference. The author name may vary by unit, so check before you write the reference.
In-text referencing is a lot easier. All you need to do is put the author name, the year, and the page number (if necessary), in brackets immediately after the relevant bit of the essay. For example: (Scott-Samuel, 2010, p.34). If the reference covers more than one page, it would be: (Scott-Samuel, 2010, pp.34-47). Note that the full stop goes AFTER the reference, if it's at the end of a sentence.
Once you've got the hang of coursebook and textbook referencing, you can use the OU guide for everything else. The website and media sections are particularly useful.
To end, here are my handy and unorthodox referencing tips:
1. Do your end-of-text references BEFORE YOU START THE ESSAY.
This goes against the grain, as you're supposed to reference at the end. But I find it much easier to assemble the resources for a TMA, write out all my references, and then not have to worry about them. It also gives a clearer idea of what you're going to be writing about and where to find things as you write. It may also be useful to save your basic reference for coursebooks and textbooks somewhere, so you don't have to think of them again from scratch with each TMA, especially on courses that are book-heavy.
2. Do your in-text references AS YOU GO ALONG.
Again, you'll often hear it said that you should do these at the end. Which is madness - how are you supposed to remember page references hours after you've written them?
3. Don't forget to ALPHABETISE your end of text references.
There is software that can do it for you. They should be alphabetised, A-Z, by author.
(N.B: Don't do your references in red, this is only for highlighting purposes....)
28 Jul 2013
Exam results
I got my exam results on Friday.
I got 63%, which is a Pass 3. However, with my OCAS being 80%, my module result is a Pass 2, or a 2:1, or a B, depending on how you score such things.
HUZZAH!
For what it's worth, the exam was an absolute beast. Of the 200+ participants, nobody got a distinction, a scant handful got a pass 2 and the majority were in the pass 3 and 4 categories. So, I am proud that I managed to score relatively highly, and get a pass 2 on the whole module.
My next modules start on October 5th. I've started to buy the set books for the medicine history course. I'm also reading around the subject somewhat. The human biology course has no set books. I have a moderately good knowledge of anatomy already, so we'll see how that goes!
I got 63%, which is a Pass 3. However, with my OCAS being 80%, my module result is a Pass 2, or a 2:1, or a B, depending on how you score such things.
HUZZAH!
For what it's worth, the exam was an absolute beast. Of the 200+ participants, nobody got a distinction, a scant handful got a pass 2 and the majority were in the pass 3 and 4 categories. So, I am proud that I managed to score relatively highly, and get a pass 2 on the whole module.
My next modules start on October 5th. I've started to buy the set books for the medicine history course. I'm also reading around the subject somewhat. The human biology course has no set books. I have a moderately good knowledge of anatomy already, so we'll see how that goes!
4 Jul 2013
Coursera
I like having a goal, and I like to learn. The reason I started my degree is so I wouldn't be aimless and miserable, waiting for my children to bugger off to school so I could get a new job (as well as needing a degree to get into the work I want to do). For the first time in nearly 18 months, I have no uni work, no TMA or exam date looming. My two modules don't start until 5th October. This is AGES away. I mean, it will fly by, especially once my eldest starts school after summer, but currently, I am BORED.
So, I've signed up to about twelve OpenLearn courses. OpenLearn provides a unit or so of an actual OU module for free, for you to work through at your leisure - either to get an idea of what kind of modules you want to sign up for, or just for something to do. These are good, but not particularly engaging. There's no real interaction with others, and I don't get the sense that I'm learning when I do them. Maybe that's because I'm comparing it to regular OU study, I don't know.
I read about Coursera in a magazine, probably the Radio Times, but I can't remember. The founder was interviewed about her vision for free education. I checked out Coursera and discovered an array of free courses, that run at different times. You can pay for accreditation on some courses (Signature Track), and get formal university recognition, but the majority of courses are totally free. Most available courses run between 6 and 12 weeks. All courses run from universities, and are written and led by professors within them. There are courses on all manner of things: law, healthcare, epidemiology, food science, architecture, anatomy, media, computing, maths, music and history all have courses starting soon.
I immediately signed up for a six week course on mental health in society, which began on 24th June. I started this on 1st July, which gave me two days to catch up on the first week and send my first assignment in.
Each week of my course has a two hour lecture, broken up into chunks. The lectures are a combination of video, slideshows and audio. Additional reading is provided free of charge. There is a small assignment every week or two, with a TINY wordcount - max 500 words for an essay I'd norrmally write 1200 for - and assignments are peer-marked. I haven't had a go at peer marking yet, but the guidelines look fairly simple. There are myriad forums to discuss content on, and due to the diversity of students, discuss national differences in mental health care.The tutor for this particular course is engaging and passionate about her subject, and easy to understand. I run the lectures with the subtitles on, as I often have hideous amounts of background noise to contend with, and the subtitles are not always correct. As it's a free course, I don't mind, and frequently OU transcripts are not as accurate as they could be. In any case, transcripts of the lecture and copies of the slides are separately available for reference.
I think Coursera is a brilliantly executed idea. It does not care who you are, what previous experience you have, where you live, runs courses in numerous different languages and is truly egalitarian. The actual content seems (based on my limited experience) to be good quality and well presented. It is much better quality than some higher education paid-for services (DCA Home Learning springs to mind). As it's so accessible, persuading friends to start the same courses so you have a study partner shouldn't be too difficult - I managed it!
If you want something to do in your spare time, find learning addictive or want to have a go at university level work, this is the site for you. It's going to keep me busy this summer- once I've done this course, I'm starting a second on social psychology. Enjoy!
www.coursera.org
So, I've signed up to about twelve OpenLearn courses. OpenLearn provides a unit or so of an actual OU module for free, for you to work through at your leisure - either to get an idea of what kind of modules you want to sign up for, or just for something to do. These are good, but not particularly engaging. There's no real interaction with others, and I don't get the sense that I'm learning when I do them. Maybe that's because I'm comparing it to regular OU study, I don't know.
I read about Coursera in a magazine, probably the Radio Times, but I can't remember. The founder was interviewed about her vision for free education. I checked out Coursera and discovered an array of free courses, that run at different times. You can pay for accreditation on some courses (Signature Track), and get formal university recognition, but the majority of courses are totally free. Most available courses run between 6 and 12 weeks. All courses run from universities, and are written and led by professors within them. There are courses on all manner of things: law, healthcare, epidemiology, food science, architecture, anatomy, media, computing, maths, music and history all have courses starting soon.
I immediately signed up for a six week course on mental health in society, which began on 24th June. I started this on 1st July, which gave me two days to catch up on the first week and send my first assignment in.
Each week of my course has a two hour lecture, broken up into chunks. The lectures are a combination of video, slideshows and audio. Additional reading is provided free of charge. There is a small assignment every week or two, with a TINY wordcount - max 500 words for an essay I'd norrmally write 1200 for - and assignments are peer-marked. I haven't had a go at peer marking yet, but the guidelines look fairly simple. There are myriad forums to discuss content on, and due to the diversity of students, discuss national differences in mental health care.The tutor for this particular course is engaging and passionate about her subject, and easy to understand. I run the lectures with the subtitles on, as I often have hideous amounts of background noise to contend with, and the subtitles are not always correct. As it's a free course, I don't mind, and frequently OU transcripts are not as accurate as they could be. In any case, transcripts of the lecture and copies of the slides are separately available for reference.
I think Coursera is a brilliantly executed idea. It does not care who you are, what previous experience you have, where you live, runs courses in numerous different languages and is truly egalitarian. The actual content seems (based on my limited experience) to be good quality and well presented. It is much better quality than some higher education paid-for services (DCA Home Learning springs to mind). As it's so accessible, persuading friends to start the same courses so you have a study partner shouldn't be too difficult - I managed it!
If you want something to do in your spare time, find learning addictive or want to have a go at university level work, this is the site for you. It's going to keep me busy this summer- once I've done this course, I'm starting a second on social psychology. Enjoy!
www.coursera.org
13 May 2013
An Update on Learningz
I have finally done all my TMAs for this module. My results have been, in my humble opinion, pretty damn good. My OCAS score (an average of all my assignments) is 80%. Considering this is level 2 and on level 1, I only got 69%, I'm pretty damn pleased. It's not quite enough to get a first, but I'm really happy with a 2:1. I did not expect that. If I do AMAZINGLY on the exam (*snort*), I might get a first.
The exam. It looms. It's on June 14th and I'm already shitting myself. I have to memorise the WHOLE MODULE. I know what you're thinking - of course you do, or it's not a bloody exam. But in my last exam, there was one question per block, and I only had to answer three of them, so I could select which units to revise. And I got a notes sheet. This time, no such choice - no notes, all five blocks, all 24 units, all in my head by 10am on the 14th.
A month. Erk.I should probably start revising.
And then I have a break until October. I'm quite looking forward to this. Much will be happening to occupy my mind, including my eldest starting primary school, and loads of friends getting married. I confess, I'll probably be a tiny bit bored and start working through OpenLearn courses to keep me thinking. But then my module materials will appear and I'll PANIC.
Next year, I'm doing two level two modules - A218 and SK277. A218 is a history of medicine module. It's 60 credits. SK277 is anatomy, and it's 30 credits. I'm hoping they'll compliment each other nicely. It will be strange, after doing two back to back healthcare modules to shift to a science and arts module. There is a LOT of reading for A218, including three readers. I've been looking forward to starting SK277 for ages, because I have a deep fascination for anatomy. I'm really looking forward to next year in general. If I can pass, I'll have 210 credits of a 360 credit degree. Squee!
First thing's first. Pass the K203 exam...
The exam. It looms. It's on June 14th and I'm already shitting myself. I have to memorise the WHOLE MODULE. I know what you're thinking - of course you do, or it's not a bloody exam. But in my last exam, there was one question per block, and I only had to answer three of them, so I could select which units to revise. And I got a notes sheet. This time, no such choice - no notes, all five blocks, all 24 units, all in my head by 10am on the 14th.
A month. Erk.I should probably start revising.
And then I have a break until October. I'm quite looking forward to this. Much will be happening to occupy my mind, including my eldest starting primary school, and loads of friends getting married. I confess, I'll probably be a tiny bit bored and start working through OpenLearn courses to keep me thinking. But then my module materials will appear and I'll PANIC.
Next year, I'm doing two level two modules - A218 and SK277. A218 is a history of medicine module. It's 60 credits. SK277 is anatomy, and it's 30 credits. I'm hoping they'll compliment each other nicely. It will be strange, after doing two back to back healthcare modules to shift to a science and arts module. There is a LOT of reading for A218, including three readers. I've been looking forward to starting SK277 for ages, because I have a deep fascination for anatomy. I'm really looking forward to next year in general. If I can pass, I'll have 210 credits of a 360 credit degree. Squee!
First thing's first. Pass the K203 exam...
5 Jan 2013
4 Dec 2012
Module Results
Of the 1500 students that took the K101 exam, around 6% got a first (85-100%).
I was one of them.
So, that's K101 done and dusted. My first year complete, my first module attained. Only seven more to do...
I was one of them.
I cannot believe it. I got 90%!
Added to my TMA average of 69%, I got a PASS! No distinction, coz my TMA scores weren't high enough, but I don't care. 90%. It's unbelievable. On all three questions, I got a first (they don't give you exact percentages, just the marking band your answer was in).So, that's K101 done and dusted. My first year complete, my first module attained. Only seven more to do...
14 Nov 2012
Moving from Level 1 to Level 2
SO, K101 is DONE. I get my result is around a month, and to be honest, I've barely thought about it since I stepped out of the exam hall. The exam, for what it's worth, was much better than I was expecting. I wish I hadn't got in such a massive, life-damaging stress about it. By that morning, I was catatonic.We got to take in a notes sheet, so even if our minds went blank, we had somewhere to start. My mind didn't go blank, the questions were all on bits I'd thoroughly revised. I regurgitated 2500 words onto the answer booklet, and I finished with about half an hour to spare. My wrist was complete agony after an hour, then I stopped feeling it. I'm considering getting plastics to have another look at it. The tendon is two inches short and I can see the scarring moving up and down inside when I clench my fist. This is not good!
I then had to wait for the bus for an hour, but that was mere BAD TIMING. I don't even want to guess how I did. I think I passed. That's all I can say.
K203 started ten days before the exam and I did NOTHING until after the exam. Then I just couldn't get my brain in gear. I was still in revision mode. This is why I'm never doing two modules back to back again. It took me three whole weeks to do one unit (you're supposed to do a unit a week), though I had sick children to contend with as well. I did the first TMA without reading half the relevant unit.
But SOMEHOW, I got 71% !
My highest TMA essay score in K101 was 73%. I was expecting a significant drop in marks on this module, with it being higher level. Let's see if I can do as well next time (probably not).
Without naming names (and I put all this on my feedback form after the module), my K101 tutor was a disappointment. Her feedback was minimal, her group interaction worse. When I asked for help with my exam prep, she had nothing useful to say. The only good thing was her tutorial notes (I never went to a tutorial).
My NEW tutor is a REVELATION! She's very active on the forum, does regular tutorials with excellent notation and her feedback is exactly what I need. It tells me what I've done wrong, without being insulting, and tells me what I've done right. She praised my structure and paragraphing, which tutor#1 marked me down on every time.
It's buoyed me up to get on with it. I've managed to mostly catch up in the last ten days and I've got a reading week next week, so I can get up to date and write my next TMA, which is due on the 28th. The course content is one subject, but in great depth (the polar opposite to K101, which is broad and shallow) and the first block is theory. Theory, and difficult reading, and nonsensical statistics. It's challenging every preconception I had about health and biomedicine. It is MESSING with my HEAD.
But I think I love it.
I then had to wait for the bus for an hour, but that was mere BAD TIMING. I don't even want to guess how I did. I think I passed. That's all I can say.
K203 started ten days before the exam and I did NOTHING until after the exam. Then I just couldn't get my brain in gear. I was still in revision mode. This is why I'm never doing two modules back to back again. It took me three whole weeks to do one unit (you're supposed to do a unit a week), though I had sick children to contend with as well. I did the first TMA without reading half the relevant unit.
But SOMEHOW, I got 71% !
My highest TMA essay score in K101 was 73%. I was expecting a significant drop in marks on this module, with it being higher level. Let's see if I can do as well next time (probably not).
Without naming names (and I put all this on my feedback form after the module), my K101 tutor was a disappointment. Her feedback was minimal, her group interaction worse. When I asked for help with my exam prep, she had nothing useful to say. The only good thing was her tutorial notes (I never went to a tutorial).
My NEW tutor is a REVELATION! She's very active on the forum, does regular tutorials with excellent notation and her feedback is exactly what I need. It tells me what I've done wrong, without being insulting, and tells me what I've done right. She praised my structure and paragraphing, which tutor#1 marked me down on every time.
It's buoyed me up to get on with it. I've managed to mostly catch up in the last ten days and I've got a reading week next week, so I can get up to date and write my next TMA, which is due on the 28th. The course content is one subject, but in great depth (the polar opposite to K101, which is broad and shallow) and the first block is theory. Theory, and difficult reading, and nonsensical statistics. It's challenging every preconception I had about health and biomedicine. It is MESSING with my HEAD.
But I think I love it.
10 Jun 2012
Thoughts on hospital design
The worst stay in hospital I've ever had (and I've had eight, two of which were taking care of my poorly eldest) was immediately after the birth of my first child. I was an inpatient for just 16 hours, on the ward for 12 of those hours, and I loathed it.
The hospital was an old one, built in the 70s and never massively updated. The obstetric area was split into antenatal assessment, central delivery suite and antenatal longstay/postnatal. I had care on all three of these areas across my two pregnancies.
The antenatal assessment unit was shared with the abortion clinic and women's gynae/urodynamic department. I went there once for a scan with my eldest and twice for assessment with my youngest. He wasn't growing properly. They failed to identify a cause, and he was born with two true knots in his cord. This should have been seen on scan. He nearly died when he was being born. Thankfully he didn't, and I'm glad I was able to have him at home instead of by caesarean at 38 weeks.
Central Delivery Suite was amazing. I had multiple observations done there, and I delivered my eldest there, 90ish minutes after arriving. They kept me waiting 20 minutes when I got there, and I needed to push. Not the snappiest service, but once I was pushing, all was fine. They also stitched me up after the birth of my youngest. Ambulance transfer after you've managed to have a (miraculous) safe homebirth is a bit gutting, but they got me a comfortable bed to lie on and left me to it, discharging me after 6 hours.
However, the antenatal longstay/postnatal ward was dreadful. In modern hospitals, the two are kept broadly separate. If you're pregnant and in hospital for more than a day, there's probably something amiss and you don't want to be hearing newborns cry all day.
I was put in a four bed bay with two other women and newborns. One had been there a week while her baby was in SCBU and went home fairly early. The other was a spanish lady who was on her third baby and quite indignant about not being immediately discharged. I had asked for 6 hour discharge, but had torn quite badly after having a large baby. They wanted me to stay in overnight (he was born just after 4am) and I was vehemently against this. I went on the ward at 9am, and saw a midwife at 11am and 2pm. Then a paediatrician came and did newborn obs and declared that since my baby had been fast asleep for 5 hours and thus not fed (despite feeding 3 times in the first 5 hours), there was something wrong with him and we'd have to stay in.
We tried to wake him up to feed him, but he was having none of it. He'd had a fast, wet delivery and was snotty, sicky and tired.
No midwives came to see us. A snotty auxillary told us that we wouldn't be allowed home til feeding established. The window was wide open and it was freezing (he was born in March). I kept closing the curtains to try and sleep - they kept opening them. I had a fluorescent light over my head that I couldn't switch off. I couldn't sleep, and hadn't slept for over 36 hours by then (and had delivered a baby!). The food was dreadful - dried out pizza and chips, with no ketchup, and a tiny pot of jelly. Had I known I was allowed to bring my own food in, I would have sent my husband out for a McDonalds, but nobody told me that.
Eventually, they rang the 8pm gong to tell all the fathers to bugger off and I burst into tears. My husband went and found a midwife and bellowed at her. She was head of delivery, and tried to persuade me to stay in overnight, so I said I would self discharge. Finally, a midwife came round and checked me over (for the first time in over 6 hours) and said that it was totally normal for newborns to sleep after birth, and the paediatrician was wrong. We got home at 10pm and lo! The baby woke up and fed every half hour for the whole night.
Newborns are not easy, but if I'd been allowed home, or to stay on CDS, I would've slept and I would have coped and maybe I wouldn't have had postnatal depression.
The postnatal stay was the reason I had a planned homebirth second time round, and when I had to go into hospital afterwards, I asked to remain on CDS.
My best hospital stay wasn't for me, I was in with my eldest, who was having a tonsillectomy. He had them out in a brand new hospital, with a very well designed children's ward. He was in a four bed bay, designed in a cross shape, rather than 2 facing 2. There was loads of room and toys for him to play with and the whole bay was closed off with a nursing bay and locked door. When he went to theatre, he walked down, rather than go on a huge scary bed. He sat on my knee while they cannulated him and sat and watched when they anaesthetised him. It was nothing like the various general anaesthetics I had as a child, where I was gassed twice because I was hysterical and terrified. I was older than him, and more aware, but being stuck on a huge bed while men fiddle about round your hands and arms and everyone's dressed in scrubs is SCARY. However, he took it like a pro.
My current OU unit is on hospital design, and deisgn really makes a difference. Being treated (or ignored) in an overbright, cold, friendless room when you're feeling weak, battered and emotional is horrible. It's not really treatment at all - any medicinal benefit I was supposed to get from the 'rest' was lost. I don't class uncomplicated childbirth as something to be overmedicalised: the key to a fast recovery is good food, supportive company, and good quality rest (even if it's in small doses). I got none of these the first time.
The hospital was an old one, built in the 70s and never massively updated. The obstetric area was split into antenatal assessment, central delivery suite and antenatal longstay/postnatal. I had care on all three of these areas across my two pregnancies.
The antenatal assessment unit was shared with the abortion clinic and women's gynae/urodynamic department. I went there once for a scan with my eldest and twice for assessment with my youngest. He wasn't growing properly. They failed to identify a cause, and he was born with two true knots in his cord. This should have been seen on scan. He nearly died when he was being born. Thankfully he didn't, and I'm glad I was able to have him at home instead of by caesarean at 38 weeks.
Central Delivery Suite was amazing. I had multiple observations done there, and I delivered my eldest there, 90ish minutes after arriving. They kept me waiting 20 minutes when I got there, and I needed to push. Not the snappiest service, but once I was pushing, all was fine. They also stitched me up after the birth of my youngest. Ambulance transfer after you've managed to have a (miraculous) safe homebirth is a bit gutting, but they got me a comfortable bed to lie on and left me to it, discharging me after 6 hours.
However, the antenatal longstay/postnatal ward was dreadful. In modern hospitals, the two are kept broadly separate. If you're pregnant and in hospital for more than a day, there's probably something amiss and you don't want to be hearing newborns cry all day.
I was put in a four bed bay with two other women and newborns. One had been there a week while her baby was in SCBU and went home fairly early. The other was a spanish lady who was on her third baby and quite indignant about not being immediately discharged. I had asked for 6 hour discharge, but had torn quite badly after having a large baby. They wanted me to stay in overnight (he was born just after 4am) and I was vehemently against this. I went on the ward at 9am, and saw a midwife at 11am and 2pm. Then a paediatrician came and did newborn obs and declared that since my baby had been fast asleep for 5 hours and thus not fed (despite feeding 3 times in the first 5 hours), there was something wrong with him and we'd have to stay in.
We tried to wake him up to feed him, but he was having none of it. He'd had a fast, wet delivery and was snotty, sicky and tired.
No midwives came to see us. A snotty auxillary told us that we wouldn't be allowed home til feeding established. The window was wide open and it was freezing (he was born in March). I kept closing the curtains to try and sleep - they kept opening them. I had a fluorescent light over my head that I couldn't switch off. I couldn't sleep, and hadn't slept for over 36 hours by then (and had delivered a baby!). The food was dreadful - dried out pizza and chips, with no ketchup, and a tiny pot of jelly. Had I known I was allowed to bring my own food in, I would have sent my husband out for a McDonalds, but nobody told me that.
Eventually, they rang the 8pm gong to tell all the fathers to bugger off and I burst into tears. My husband went and found a midwife and bellowed at her. She was head of delivery, and tried to persuade me to stay in overnight, so I said I would self discharge. Finally, a midwife came round and checked me over (for the first time in over 6 hours) and said that it was totally normal for newborns to sleep after birth, and the paediatrician was wrong. We got home at 10pm and lo! The baby woke up and fed every half hour for the whole night.
Newborns are not easy, but if I'd been allowed home, or to stay on CDS, I would've slept and I would have coped and maybe I wouldn't have had postnatal depression.
The postnatal stay was the reason I had a planned homebirth second time round, and when I had to go into hospital afterwards, I asked to remain on CDS.
My best hospital stay wasn't for me, I was in with my eldest, who was having a tonsillectomy. He had them out in a brand new hospital, with a very well designed children's ward. He was in a four bed bay, designed in a cross shape, rather than 2 facing 2. There was loads of room and toys for him to play with and the whole bay was closed off with a nursing bay and locked door. When he went to theatre, he walked down, rather than go on a huge scary bed. He sat on my knee while they cannulated him and sat and watched when they anaesthetised him. It was nothing like the various general anaesthetics I had as a child, where I was gassed twice because I was hysterical and terrified. I was older than him, and more aware, but being stuck on a huge bed while men fiddle about round your hands and arms and everyone's dressed in scrubs is SCARY. However, he took it like a pro.
My current OU unit is on hospital design, and deisgn really makes a difference. Being treated (or ignored) in an overbright, cold, friendless room when you're feeling weak, battered and emotional is horrible. It's not really treatment at all - any medicinal benefit I was supposed to get from the 'rest' was lost. I don't class uncomplicated childbirth as something to be overmedicalised: the key to a fast recovery is good food, supportive company, and good quality rest (even if it's in small doses). I got none of these the first time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)