Don't tell me I can't change the world

Recently, I had a privilege of attending the British Journal of Midwifery Awards, held in Manchester on 8 February. I was even more privileged to be awarded joint 2nd place in the Innovation in Midwifery Practice category, for the Ultimate Clinical Placement Buddy notebook I created (Sporek, 2015a). Being around inspiring people who strive to make a difference and improve maternity practice got me thinking and encouraged me to reflect on the past few years.

I come from a lovely community in central Poland where opportunities have been hard to come by over the years. However, I've always been a bit of a dreamer, so I set my ambitions high from early on. None of my family had ever been to university, so deciding to move to the UK and continue my education after graduating as a paramedic in Poland was going to be a learning experience for us all—and what an experience it has been to date.