Kerrie's Journey - Specialist Midwife / Paramedic

Kerrie Wykes is a specialist midwife / paramedic who has been with the Trust for five years.

I started my career as a student midwife back in 2007 and I worked in Peterborough at an acute Trust when I qualified. I then moved to Australia in 2013 for a year to develop myself further, before returning to Peterborough where I progressed to a labour ward coordinator at the start of 2017.

After 18 months, I decided to develop myself further outside of midwifery and challenge myself in a new role, so I joined EEAST on the student paramedic pathway. Three years later I was fortunate enough to undertake a secondment with the maternity clinical lead for the Trust which was a fantastic opportunity. I qualified as a paramedic in 2022 and went part time, dividing my time between my local maternity unit, returning to my role as a coordinator, alongside working frontline. I was lucky enough to join the clinical lead team as a specialist midwife (paramedic) in 2023, whilst also maintaining my coordinator role. Now I am able to practice both roles, whilst supporting maternity education here at EEAST.

I faced some challenges in my journey to get to where I am now, for example I struggled to adjust from being a manager to then becoming a student again. However, I was very fortunate to not only be able to pursue further education, but also be encouraged to do so.

In my current role as specialist midwife and paramedic, Im able to support and enhance the knowledge of clinicians in maternity calls. I also provide incident support by looking at how we can better teach our clinicians in the future, based on what themes are coming up in incidents. I particularly enjoy working as part of such a supportive team who have the safety of those in our care as their core goal. We recognise each others experiences and skills, supporting one another to achieve our best.

Im very proud to be part of the EEAST team with how far the Trust has come, as well as the passion of those I am privileged to work alongside to provide evidence based, compassionate care for patients.