Thinking about obstetric anaesthesia
The labour ward can be a stressful and demanding experience for all anaesthetists, junior and senior alike. Therefore, starting to working on a labour ward presents a number of new challenges to the novice obstetric anaesthetist, in an environment which many may not have spent any time visiting or working within since medical school. A helpful A–Z of survival is set out, where although no point is more important than the other, it is a useful tool to guide you through your first weeks or months. The chapter also offers resources to help with non-English speaking mothers and suggested advice of how to deal with difficult situations or behaviour. The principles of conducting audit, research and quality improvement work, which are an integral part of improving service delivery and facilitating efficient management of a high quality service, are also described.