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 DoulaPattiRamos@aol.com and/or call 253-565-7981

 

 

Outline of Apprenticeship duties:

 

* 12-month commitment beginning July 1, 2013

 

* 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, website updates, 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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This is a tremendous year-long educational opportunity and life-changing experience. 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, Energy Work for Doulas, Tibetan Bowl Healing Circle, Emotional Freedom Circle. The class fees range anywhere from $40 to $475 per workshop but is free for my apprentice. The tuition for this remarkable  opportunity and 12-month intensive training is $1200. (Monthly payment plan available)

 

 

 

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.

 

 

Here is a sample of the first 3 months of a former apprentice's involvement:

 

Doula Apprentice Quarterly Report:

 

Doula/Center Admin: 60+ hours

 

Birth Prep Workshop Assistance: 4 classes (55 hours)

 

Private Birth Prep Classes: 3 (9 hours)

 

Cesarean Support Group Meetings: 3 (9 hours)

 

Client Consultations: 10 (1-2 hours each, 10-20 hours)

 

Birth Plan Meetings: 12 (36 hours)

 

Attendance at events held at the Ramos Center:  (16 hours)

 

Births Attended: 12 (155 hours)

Births:

1)  Vaginal, Swedish Ballard - 16 hrs

 

2)  Vaginal, St. Joseph - 10 hrs

 

3)  VBAC, Home Birth - 8 hrs

4)  Cesarean, St. Joseph - 30 hrs

 

5)  Cesarean, St. Joseph - 10 hrs

 

6)  Vaginal, Madigan - 10 hrs

 

7)  Vaginal, Lakeside Birth Center - 5 hrs

 

8)  Vaginal, St. Joseph - 6 hrs

 

9)  VBAC, St. Joseph - 25 hrs

 

10) Vaginal, Home Birth - 15 hrs

11) Vaginal, Swedish - 7 hrs

12) Vaginal, Tacoma General - 12 hrs

Total Quarterly Hours:  355 ... at least!

Jen Hook - my doula partner (former apprentice)  -assisting with the Belly Lift technique