can you not do a diploma in midwifery any more???

[thisisyesterday]

I had a place at Uni to study midwifery, as a diploma
it was a choice of that, or the degree course, which i didn't have good enough a-level results to take

i then fell pg with ds1 and never went, but have always planned on doing it
am looking it up now and it seems they only offer the degree course!
why? i thought they were crying out for midwives?

am feeling v now

I don't know the answer, thisisyesterday, but assuming you are over 23 now, I wouldn't despair! Once you are over 23, you count as a mature student and universities take a much more flexible approach to entry qualifications. I'd contact your nearest university and ask about what qualifications they want. Good luck to you - midwifery must be very hard work but so rewarding and there aren't many careers that make such a difference to other people's lives.

You might find these useful:

www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/details/Default.aspx?Id=1943

www.studentmidwife.net/

Diplomas have been gone for a while now. Nursing ones are out as well...

You'll probably need to do an access to nursing and midwifery course if your A-levels were a while ago.

I think the rationale was that spending longer over training and making it at a higher level would give midwives more autonomy and enable the profession to be better qualified as a whole, rather than having a disparity between diploma and degree qualified midwives.

Sorry nursing diplomas are on the way out!

gah
i did the access to nursing and midwifery before i applied last time.
i really don't want to have to do it again, it was mind-numbingly boring

have e-mailed surrey and brighton and asked what they recommend.

I know what you say re crying out for midwives but when I looked into this a few years ago the entry criteria even for a mature student was quite tough and there seemed to be a lot more applicants than places.

good luck

Hi Thisis, yes you are right the diploma has gone now and midwifery is a degree only profession now, however don't despair, it's totally doable.

As you will be assessed as a mature student as someone pointed out above qualifications are not the be all and end all, if you completed the access to midwifery course before how long ago was that? That qualification will still be recognised but what you may need to do is undertake some form of 'recent' study. The OU is fab for this as one of their short courses (I believe K100 is particularly suitable) is enough to A) get your brain working again - the midwifery degree is not easy! and B) Show the university that you are capable of studying and have demonstrated this recently. When I started the degree my A-Level results were 5 years old but I demonstrated that through employnment I had undertaken recent study so I was successful in my application.

Word of warning, midwifery is very hard to get into and so qualifications aren't everything, do whatever you can to perhaps get some work experience or research the role of the midwife thoroughly, having interviewed prospective midwifery students it is amazing how many say they want to go into midwifery because they love babies! Needless to say they rarely get a place.

Great place to start is www.themidwiferysanctuary.com plenty of advice and straight talking over there, it'll also get your brain ticking and is a great place to start learning about important midwifery issues. And have a bit of fun too

If you want any help then send me a PM. Where are you hoping to apply to?

tootles yes, i know! I had a place 6 years ago.

one of 24 diploma places on offer, and over 200 applicants! I was so lucky to get a place, but didn't go because i fell pregnant with DS1 and figured I'd be able to get on the course again if i'd done it once~!

ahh hindsight is a wonderful thing lol

thanks DrMcDreamy, I hadn't thought of OU.
my a-levels were 12 years ago, and I did the access course coming up for 7 years ago. So it's been a long time.

Am hoping to get a place at Uni of Surrey or Uni of Brighton

just another thought- dont know what you're doing now but..
have you thought about getting a job as hca in a midwfery/obs/gynae unit in the meantime?

This makes your application stronger for the course. Not only that but some places are still funding their staff through training - which given the fees is a help. One of my colleagues has just gone to do this.

might look into that yes. actually i might speak to them and ask if it would help.
i dunno... it might not be feasible to do yet anyway as the cost of childcare may be prohibitive