Doula Apprenticeship with Patti Ramos
If you are interested in applying for the apprentice position, and you can fulfill the requirements below -
please contact Patti at birthpreparation@aol.com and/or call 253-565-7981
Outline of Apprenticeship duties:
* 12 month commitment beginning December 1st, 2011
* Preferrably live w/in 30 min of Tacoma & have childcare readily available for our on-call schedule
* Be accessible by cell phone at all times (unless you are off call)
* Available to be on call 24/7 for births (exceptions for family or other commitments understood)
* Accompany and assist Patti or Jen with births - stay throughout and for up to 4 hours after the birth
* Have the physical strength/stamina to assist the laboring mother with various physical comfort measures
* Attend births anywhere from Everett to Portland (carpool with Patti) - home, hospital and birthcenters
* Attend all interviews, client consultations, birth plan meetings and postpartum visits
* Attend all doula and cesarean support group meetings at the Ramos Education Center
* Assist with office duties, phone calls and emails
* Assist in the "Birth Preparation Workshop" and the "Labor, Tools and Techniques Workshop"
* Participate in various workshops, classes and meetings held at the Ramos Center (for your cont. education)
* Meet with Patti on a weekly basis for debriefing and updates
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You will receive this tremendous year-long educational opportunity and life-changing experience tuition-free. An additional benefit is that I have an agreement with all instructors who teach classes/workshops at the Ramos Center that my apprentice may attend their classes, also tuition-free. This has included or will include "Restore Your Core", Neonatal Resusciation, Rebozo Training, TENS training, Placenta Encapsulation, Creative Self-Care, CPR training, Baby Wearing 101, Lactation Education and much more. The class fees usually range anywhere from $40 to $250 per workshop but is free for my apprentice.
Apprenticeship Testimony
By Jen Hook on Friday, May 13, 2011
Before I sat down to compose this testimony, I went back to read the journal entry I wrote after the first birth I went to with Patti. It is hard to believe that it has only been a year that I have been in this world of birthing with her. What I have learned in that amount of time feels like it should have taken several years.
Early May 2010, I was standing in my kitchen talking with my husband about the opportunity to apprentice with Patti Ramos. She and Jennifer Wildflower had been our doulas for our second baby who was birthed by way of VBAC. My youngest child was only 6 months old and nursing exclusively. I felt there were so many reasons why I should not commit to an apprenticeship at the time, but everything in me was on fire to do so.
It required the help of many…a small doula-supportive village, to learn all the things I wanted and needed to learn from this doula of doulas. I knew I could not pick and choose what I wanted to be a part of, I needed to be fully immersed into the doings of a doula…that meant interviews, birth plan meetings, being on call, Birth Preparation Workshops, births, postpartum calls, postpartum visits, office work, birth journals, and still run my home, raise my family and do so on a lot less sleep…the sacrifice and commitment of many.
Honestly, after walking with Patti into this sacred place, I feel like I have come home. I have reached a different space inside myself that I never knew was there. I feel like the apprenticeship birthed a new and better woman, mother, wife and friend. There is so much more to learn from Patti than just the “how-to” of this holy profession. She holds a depth of wisdom, love and compassion that is pure and amazing. This opportunity is beyond what one would ever get from a traditional birth doula class/workshop. To see how she can connect with another human, gain the trust of others, know from moment to moment what is needed without cue, to be completely present and selfless, professionally conducted and respected by others is quite astounding. The apprenticeship, in short, is an opportunity of a life-time…something that could never be packaged or bought for. It is a supreme honor to serve and work beside a woman of this inspirational worth.
*Jen Hook is now my full-time doula partner
Here is an example of the first 3 months of my current apprentice's involvement:
Doula Apprentice Quarterly Report by Lydia Sparks: April 17 - July 31, 2011
Doula/Center Admin: 110+ hours
Birth Prep Workshop Assistance: 4 classes, 55 hours
Private Birth Prep Classes: 3 (9 hours)
Cesarean Support Group: 3 (9 hours)
Doula Meetings: 2 (6 hours)
Client Consultations: 6 (1-2 hours each, 10+ hours)
Birth Plan Meetings: 9 (18 hours)
Doula Trainings: Placenta Encapsulation, Tens Unit, Business Skills for Doulas, Rebozo Use (16 hours)
Births Attended: 10 (120 hours)
Total Hours: 335... at least!
1) Vaginal, St. Joseph 4/17/11 (5hrs)
2) Vaginal, St. Joseph 4/18/11 (6hrs)
3) VBAC, Home Birth 4/21/11 (8hrs)
4) Cesarean, St. Joseph 5/9/11 (30hrs)
5) Cesearean, Home Birth Transfer to St. Joseph 5/23/11 (10hrs)
6) Vaginal, Madigan 5/23/11 (10hrs)
7) Vaginal, Lakeside Birth Center 6/6/11 (5hrs)
8) Vaginal, St. Joseph 6/10/11 (5hrs)
9) VBAC, St. Joseph 7/21/11 (25hrs)
10) Vaginal, Home Birth 7/24/11 (15hrs)
