Today was a fab first day! I met Sigrun in a hotel lobby at 7.15am after a breakfast of a lovely fruit salad.

I was MRSA swabbed (all negative thank god) and Sigrun showed me around the accident and emergency unit. I was blown away with how clean and organised the unit was. I thought the hospital was private due to the facilities available but it turns out it is all government funded.

After a walk through tour, Sigrun and I headed to SAFER (Stavanger Acute Medicine Foundation for Education and Research) for one of the annual simulation training for midwives and obstetricians in obstetric emergencies. Everyone was super friendly and interested in why I was there. All the scenarios were discussed in Norwegian, however, I vaguely understood what was going on. The scenarios performed were NLS, PPH and Eclampsia. They had a simulation baby which I found really useful when performing NLS - this baby was attached to a machine which told you whether your resuscitation was effective or not. Thankfully, I did ok!

The group of midwives and obstetricians (each group of approximately 4-5 staff) then performed a scenario given to them by the facilitator. After performing the scenario, they talked through what happened and how it could have been better in line with the protocol/guidance. They then repeated the scenario, followed by a debrief led by the staff themselves following the TALK framework. Each type of emergency scenario took between an hour and hour and 30 minutes, so there was lots of discussion.

Our equivalent for this simulation training at the UHW is PROMPT. In comparison, we complete BLS and NLS in the morning, followed by lectures and 6 emergency scenarios in the afternoon - which I feel are set out well. We perform each scenario once, followed by a debrief led by the facilitator. These scenarios are changing for this year (which is still in progress). I feel our scenarios are structured very well, which is confirmed by the positive evaluations, however, TALK debrief could be something we add onto the end as it allows staff to debrief themselves without necessarily having a facilitator - which could be beneficial in practice.

I finished the day with a walk around the town. It has appeared to me just how fit and healthy everyone is here. There are runners everywhere, and people eat very well - which I’m hoping will be a positive influence on me! It doesn’t get light until 9.30am, and it starts to get dark around 4pm so reflective gear is essential. I’m hoping to go for a morning walk/jog (most likely a trot) around the lake near to my hotel so I’ve purchased a neon orange reflective head band and wrist straps... all the gear, no idea!

Wish me luck!