becoming a midwife….finally!

Well, I finally made it, I just finished all my made up time work (in the 3 weeks that was supposed to be holiday at the end of the course!) and tomorrow is officially the last day of my course. So I will be no longer a student midwife, but a midwife, which is a slightly scary thought! Up until now, I’ve had somebody looking over my shoulder the whole time, not literally, especially this year, I’ve been given quite a lot of independence, but there has always been a qualified midwife looking over my documentation and making sure that I know what I’m doing, and that I’m doing the right thing.

I start a new job as a registered midwife in a few weeks time, when my PIN number comes through from the NMC, and I’m quite excited to be given that responsibility, to be working with woman, it’s something I’ve wanted for over 10 years now, and to finally be here is quite overwhelming. When I hit send on the last email to my personal tutor to get work signed off, I went blank for a moment, and then realised I was crying and couldn’t stop. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster over the last 3 years, with doses of extreme anxiety, a high level of marital  debate, never enough time for anything, and rarely any time off. The constant lack of funds has been a major source of stress, and childcare has been difficult at times.

The bits I will remember fondly from my course, my student friends, we have kept each other sane, even when we were all losing the plot, and laughing hysterically at nothing at all! They have been my rock, and have always been there, even when things were really tough. And the women, the lovely women I have cared for, and watched over as they do the hardest job of their life, growing a baby, birthing a baby, and becoming a mum. It is a privilege to be part of their lives while they struggle, and grow and change. And while they are going through all this stuff, they have always been nothing but kind to me, and grateful for whatever support I manage to give them.

If you are starting your journey towards becoming a midwife, I would like to tell you that you are a unique individual, and what you bring to working with women is personal to you. During the course, you will discover reserves of strength you never knew you had, and be amazed at the skills you will gain, you will end up doing things you would never have believed yourself capable of. Being with woman is thrilling and challenging, it will be the work of a lifetime, and well worth it.

Good luck! xx

Midwifery Degree Interviews – Questions

The first comment on my blog today was from Vicky Rogers, Hi Vicky!

She got me thinking about interviews, it’s such a source of stress, I will never forget mine, I was on total autopilot, but I had prepared, and was ready for them! I started badly, due to nerves, but once I got into my stride everything went ok. They know you’re going to be nervous, and they will explain some stuff to you first to give you time to compose yourself and calm down.

I don’t think there’s a huge amount of variety in the kinds of questions interviewers ask, you can expect things like

Why are you interested in being a midwife?
What is the role of a midwife?

What direct experience do you have of working with or supporting women (or adults), in a maternity (or other) setting?

What strengths do you have which will help you in your role as a midwife?

What weaknesses do you have which you think you will need to overcome/work on?

What do you think will be the biggest challenge in taking on the midwifery course?

What kind of family support/childcare do you have?

What is the last thing you read about midwifery? What is the NMC and what do they do?

What do you think will be the best thing about being a midwife?
And the worst thing?

What skills do you have from previous jobs/school/work experience that you can bring with you?

Why do you think you would be a good midwife?

I hope that’s helpful, I have some more stuff to say in another post, but it’s not rocket science, have an idea in advance of the stuff you want to get across in the interview, make a list of your key skills, and key experiences, and be ready to talk about those whenever they give you an opening.

Do some research on the NMC Code and Rules, start here:

http://www.nmc-uk.org/Nurses-and-midwives/The-code/The-code-in-full/

http://www.nmc-uk.org/Publications/Standards/

Once you’re on the course, you will live and die by these two documents, they are the foundation stone for everything we do as midwives.

Image via Wikipedia

Google a piece of news about midwifery, and have a think about why it’s important.

The interview is your opportunity to shine, know what you want to say, and take any chance to say it. You need to get across your passion for midwifery.Remember, they’ve selected your application out of hundreds, because they think you may have the stuff they are looking for, that’s already a huge step.

When you’re waiting to go in, remember to BREATHE! In and out, long slow breaths, if you’ve ever done any meditation or yoga, now is the time to practice those skills. You need that oxygen to keep your brain functioning! (lol)

Good luck to Vicky, I hope it all goes really well! 🙂