Is anyone a student nurse/midwife or know anything about training?

[Marshmellow]

Hi, i've been thinking about training to become a nurse when my dd's are at school. Thought it was a good idea, of interest etc and whilst training i would also have school holidays off as i'd be a student to look after the children. Once trained i'd then find a child friendly working routine, be it agency etc
Anyway....despite all the information on applying i cannot find any literature that tells you what hours you do as a student e.g. is it 9-5 Mon-Fri college/practical experience or does it vary lots? I find it incredibly frustrating that whilst i would love to train i would hate to not be there to drop my dd's off to school and pick them up each day! Can anyone enlighten me on just how many hours a week the training entails and what they are. Is there a child friendly way of training? are they flexible to childcare committments? THANKS

[vickiyumyum]

oops sorry to disappoint you Marshmellow, but as a student nurse/midwife you don't get the school hoidays off! you have to work most weeks of the year i think it is 7 weeks of in total.
i am studying to be a midwife and we get one week at easter, three weeks in the summer and two weeks at christmas, this is the same for my friend who is studying nursing.
i think most college times are between 9 and 5, we are normally finished by 3 (because we choose not to have a lunch break), the hours on placement are longer though as you normally work shifts. earlies (7a.m-2.30p.m ish), lates (1.30p.m - 9p.m ish) and night 9.pm - 7.30 a.m
i too wondered when i started the course how i was ever going to manage it, but i can only say you just do with an understanding, childminder, partner etc.

[huggybear]

hello

im just about to start the second year of my access to health course, which, when completed i can go to uni and do midwifery.

my college hours are 9.15 til 3pm and im doing it part time so only 2.5 days a week. college pays for my kids nursery places (age 1 and 3) and i get all the holidays off.

not sure about uni hours but i know at some point i'll have to do nights as part of my placement which is my main childcare worry.

[MamaMaiasaura]

Hi marsh.. unfortunately vicky is right. This year though over the summer we have 10 weeks off on independent learning/retakes and annual leave with placement starting in September. You are expected to do 2300 hours of placement i think over 3 years and when on placement 37.5 hour week and some night shifts. Howver next year our placement starts when summer holiday begins. Basically look at nurse training as full time and a bonus if you get a good amount of leave.

I have to say the placements i have been on have been helppful in terms of hours around ds but it really depends on the placement.

The uni is supportive and yes it is daunting but worthwhile

[MamaMaiasaura]

vicky we get a similar set up but also indepentdant learning.. which is when you dont need to attend. although m/w course is a bit more intense isnt it cos it is shorter? Might be completely wrong

[snafu]

Hi Marshmallow

I'm just about to start midwifery training this year. From what I have been told I would echo everything Awen and vicky have said.

A full-time course is 37 hours a week (including nightshifts and weekends). When training you will have a mentor and (this is the case for midwifery anyway) you would be expected to follow your mentor's hours as far as possible whilst doing your practical placements. This is in addition to uni hours of approx 9-5. The course does not take into account school holidays, as the others have said, and whilst they do try to be flexible/supportive within reason, you won't graduate without 100% attendance, so any hours you miss will have to be made up somewhere along the line.

Soooo, it's not exactly child-friendly in lots of ways and tbh the idea of picking up/dropping off from school everyday is fairly unlikely but - imo - well worth the sacrifice.

[Marshmellow]

Thanks for all the advice. Alot more intense than i originally thought and very unlikely that i would be able to embark on this type of career at the moe. My dh works long hours and i have no family around, also night shifts could be a prob as dh is sometimes working until late and i'd have no-one to look after the girls. Oh well, maybe when they're older.

[Flossam]

Just wanted to say, everyone else is right! I think it is hard to do it with kids, but not impossible. Have you got all the right qualifications? If not, perhaps you could consider doing the access course in the meantime, it would gear you up for the course and educate you about it and mean it was out of the way when you were ready to take the course.

[ScrewballMuppet]

Would reccomend access course if you have been out of ed for a while. It's helped me no end and you can study part time