For the last couple of weeks my
newsfeed on Facebook has been filled with anxious wannabe nurses and midwives
posting about results and clearing... And now the results are in a new influx
of students will be starting college with the hopes of getting a place next
year.
Thinking about all of the worries
and questions that I had when I first started out at college made me want
to write a post with some advice for applying to study Midwifery at
University. I want to share my experience with anyone who’ll be applying
in the future and let you know that with a bit of help, hard work (and a lot of
patience!) you can turn from a dream into a reality!
So here is my rough guide for
applying and successfully getting a place, from choosing your Uni to the actual
Assessment Days....I hope it helps!!
1) Don’t be discouraged!
From day one I felt like everyone
in the ‘system’ was trying to put me off. I sensed a major lack of encouragement
from most of the Universities that I looked at -and in it's place was an
overwhelming sense of filtering out the ‘weak’ candidates. At every hurdle
there was someone reminding me and my fellow applicants that midwifery is
highly competitive, that it is a strenuous and challenging course and that
anyone having any doubts shouldn’t apply.
Well… this certainly didn’t make
me feel all warm and fuzzy about my future career.
Please, please - DO NOT BE
DETERRED BY NUMBERS OR DOUBTS
Discouraging someone from
applying because it is a competitive field is like telling the 100m sprinters
at the Olympics not to bother racing because Usain Bolt is already running!
There is going to be an element of competitiveness in every single occupation
in the world and this shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing. Just because a course
has 50 places and 2000 applicants it doesn’t mean that you have less of a
chance of getting a place. Those places should be given to the most suitable
people and there is nothing at that very first stage to say that you are
not one of those 50.
Way back in the beginning when I
was considering midwifery as a career I had lots of doubts.
Will I be able to do this?
Will I be able to deal with the lows as well as the highs?
Will I be able to cope physically, emotionally, financially?
A million things crossed my mind but one question kept on creeping back – Do
you want to be a midwife? And the answer was always a resounding almost booming
YES from that place inside my gut– you know the one that also gives you
butterflies, the place that fills with dread when something is wrong or twinges
when your women’s intuition radar is going off!
I couldn’t ignore that voice, the one that was yelling ‘Go for it!!’
I know of applicants who have
changed from midwifery to nursing which has a lower applicant rate. They feel
it gives them more of a chance of getting into uni to then study midwifery on
the 18month course for registered nurses after their 3 yr nursing degree.
Personally I think this route
should be a back-up if your first year of applying is unsuccessful. Adult
Nursing is SO varied and can be very different to midwifery in
a lot of ways. Remember in Midwifery you are technically caring for a well
person, in nursing you are dealing with illness, disease and death on a much
bigger scale. The conditions you will be encountering are vast and although
there are many similarities between the two career paths, it is a long detour
to take if your heart is set on midwifery. Changing career because of scaremongering
also take places off hopeful nursing candidates, better suited to the role.
The main thing to remember is
that everyone has strengths and weaknesses, all journeys have ups and downs but
most importantly you have to be in the race to even have a chance of winning
it, so don’t be put off before you’ve even tried and don't be encouraged to go
down a path that isn't the one you would have chosen for yourself.
Yes midwifery is hard work and
yes it is a strenuous and challenging course, but surely those are good things?
Personally I can’t wait to be challenged and thrown into the deep end - I
looked at these points as a positive not a negative.
If you feel unsure and you are
having doubts I would recommend speaking to a professional. My sister is a
Doctor so I have always been able to ask her (millions of) questions and I also
spoke to the very lovely SOM (supervisor of midwives) at my local hospital
about my worries. Healthcare professionals are usually keen to chat and will
help you decide if midwifery is for you.
Researching your career options
in depth is definitely the best way of establishing the best path for you to
take (and listening to your gut ;D) - I'll pop some links at the bottom of this
post where you can find more info about becoming a midwife.
2) Choosing Your Uni
For me this was quite an easy
task, I live in London so there were many reputable universities which I can
travel to within an hour or so, but for many applicants going to uni means
uprooting and relocating to the actual uni itself. Here are some things to take
into account when researching which Uni to apply to:
- Location - Can you get to and from the uni
easily or are you willing to move there? It might be worth spending a day
or so checking out the closest cities and towns to see if you like the
area.
- Placement Location - Most Uni's will have you
out on placement for about half of the year so find out which hospitals
they work with. You can be placed at any of them (there's no picking and
choosing, boooooo!) so you must be willing and able to travel to any of
them at unsociable hours for evening and early morning shifts.
- Reputation - you can generally find out on the
university's website about success and employment rates for the midwifery
degrees.
- Facilities - A lot of uni's now have state of
the art practice labs, and lecture theatres which will make learning more
effective and enjoyable. As midwifery and nursing degrees are overseen by
the NHS, the curriculum will be very similar across the board, but the
universities with better facilities will be more effective for ease of
learning and study when you are not on placement.
- Social life - I've already got a degree, so
I've 'been there done that' so to speak when it comes to the partying side
of uni life and from what I have read, healthcare related degrees are more
'work hard, play a teeny bit' However.... I don't think anyone can get by
at university without letting their hair down once in a while. Check out the
students union at your prospective Uni's and have a look at the sports and
recreational activities that it has to offer. Making friends, having a
hobby and going for a drink, when you need some RnR, will keep you sane :)
Once you have a short list of Uni's
that interest you- see if they have an open day that you can attend. Many Uni's
will also have specific open days especially for nurses and midwives which can
be much more useful in finding out course specifics, placement hospitals etc.
If you can't find this info on their website give admissions a call and they
should be able to help. On that note, calling and speaking to the university
was a big influence in my choosing. One of them (who shall remain nameless!)
had extremely rude, unhelpful and incompetent staff. This played a huge part in
my deciding where to go!
3) Applying through UCAS and
writing your Personal Statement
This is such a tricky process,
but with the right guidance it can be less stressful I promise!
If you are at college or sixth
form you should have special University admissions tutors who will be able to
guide you through the UCAS application.
Filling out your form online is a
lengthy task- the best thing to do is to have all of your existing
qualifications to hand and go through the different pages slowly, ensuring that
you haven't missed any special dates or marks off.
REMEMBER: Nothing is finalised on
your application until it goes through your college and you have paid the
application fee, so your tutors/teachers should pick up on anything that you
have missed off before it is approved and sent off to UCAS.
If there is anything else which
you are struggling with, the UCAS website itself has a lot of help sections and
will be able to guide you through any problems.
Writing your personal statement
is probably the most difficult part of the application. I wrote several drafts
and really struggled keeping down my character count! It helps to write an
outline of the basic points you would like to cover and set yourself a
character count for each.
Some people prefer to hand-write
their drafts, but this makes it hard to keep an eye on your character count. I
found it best to write it in Word on a computer- as this will also check your
spelling and grammar.
Here is my outline for a
successful personal statement for midwifery:
Why I want to be a midwife
What is a
midwife
Why my
reasons for becoming a midwife fit with the role
My
experience in a care environment
My
current job role
College
Hobbies
and interests
*For each of these points I
linked myself, my attributes and my existing experience with how this is
similar or beneficial to the role of a midwife.*
Don't forget to sell yourself.
Don't be afraid of sounding arrogant, you want the universities to read your
personal statement and think- wow check out this awesome, intelligent, capable
and committed student! They know how competitive a field it is and will be
looking for the strongest most determined students.
One piece of advice I would give
to any mummies out there who were inspired to become midwives through their own
birth stories - don't dwell on this fact. It's definitely a positive to note on
your application- but they don't want to read about your baby's birth in depth or
have too much info about your personal experience as a mother. They want to
know what attributes will make you a great midwife, the skills and knowledge
necessary for that role are very different to those of a mother in childbirth-
Any advice given to women should come from evidence based research and not
personal experience - this poses risks as each woman is different and we need
evidence and knowledge to support our advice. You need to stand out from the
thousands of other mummies that are applying so talk more about your
transferrable skills than your experience during labour.
If you have been reading journals
and blogs (like mine hehe) note that down too- taking an interest and being
studious is important in showing that you are keen and have the ability to
study and research.
Get someone to read through your
drafts, like a teacher or healthcare professional, try to accept their
criticism and take it on board. At college many of us had our first draft
personal statements ripped to shreds by our lecturers, but it was only those
who really took on board the changes needed that were invited to assessment
days and interviews. Being able to accept help and swallow your pride is a
massive factor in being a successful student.
When you are happy with your
final draft and you upload it to the UCAS form, check, double check and triple
check your spelling and grammar. Then TADA! You're done!
Be patient and try not to
worry....
I know this is easier said than
done, boy... did I stress myself out waiting to hear back from the Uni's. I
must have logged into UCAS 10 times a day even though I knew I would get
an email notification as soon as they had replied. It was awful going into
college and hearing that other people had been asked to attend assessment
days...and my first notification came from Kings College to say that they were
oversubscribed and not accepting any further applications. I felt deflated and
almost certain that all of my hard work would be for nothing....but sure enough
after a few weeks the invitations came in steadily. I was offered 3 assessment
days. Another hurdle, another worry....I was over the moon haha!
4) Assessment Days
This is the first stage of
testing which you will undergo when applying, and it can be a bit intimidating,
the best way to approach it is to try and relax, practice and prepare yourself.
Numeracy and literacy tests are a
requirement determined by the Nursing and Midwifery Council linked to the
recruitment and selection of pre-registration nursing and midwifery students.
Which basically means - you have to do it (bah!)
It enables the uni's to test you
academically and also see how you handle being put under the pressure and time
constrictions of an exam, something which will become the norm once you're a
student. Each university will conduct them differently but using the same kind
of setup.
All testing is undertaken in exam
conditions - no nattering or copying - and will normally consist of a maths
paper followed by an english paper usually between 30 and 60 minutes for each
one. You may or may not be allowed a calculator depending on the
university.
Some of the uni's that I went to
chose to give us an hour long maths paper which was then marked. Successful
candidates stayed on to take the english paper. It was all a bit 'X Factor' for
me and I found it quite harsh that they called out names of those who hadn't
passed the maths in front of everyone else.
My advice for these tests is:
PRACTICE do lots of practice tests (most
uni's will make these available to you on their websites before the
assessment day) and go over GCSE level basic Maths revision and basic English
spelling and grammar.
PREPARE yourself mentally and physically.
A good night’s sleep and a good meal before the test will help you concentrate
(and stop you from passing out!).
READ the questions twice and always
check both sides of all papers. I almost missed a whole english section until I
flipped the page!! what a close call!!
BREATHE... my beloved Grandad Alf always
told me to focus on my breathing whenever I was nervous, upset or anxious and
it sounds so obvious but a deep breath can focus you in the most stressful
situations.
The maths portion will differ for
each uni but the english will normally test your ability to write well in a
coherent and structured way. They may also use the english section to ask you
to describe yourself and your experiences from the angle of midwifery so try to
remember the style and content of your personal statement for this section.
Once again - try not to worry.
Many of my friends failed assessments at their first try but it meant that they
knew what to expect from their upcoming test days at other uni's and then they
excelled. Take your time and do your best - that's all that you can do :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hope that anyone reading this advice guide has found it useful... I'll be
posting a guide specifically for the interview stage of the application process
soon.
When I first decided to start
this journey I never imagined in my wildest dreams that just over a year later
I would be starting university after being given an unconditional offer at my
first choice. All of the hurdles I had to battle made my dream seem so far
away… but with the support of my loved ones and a hell of a lot of
determination my dreams are now a reality…..and I’m so happy I could burst!
I know that if you really want it
– you can do it too :D
Please post any questions or
comments and feel free to send me any advice that you think I should be adding
to this guide!
Useful links below!
