Mature student - midwifery

[StudentHH]

Hello, I’m just looking for others who are midwifery students / completing an access course to become midwifery students.

All the forums are full of scary stories/reasons not to pursue it, all of which I’ve taken on board, but I think I still want to give it a go! I just have some questions (aware I can ask potential universities some of these, but interested in first hand experiences)

Is there truly any difference in completing the access course online vs a traditional college? (Online would suit me better around my current job and little one. In my mind you achieve the qualification regardless, but is there an ‘unspoken’ preference from a uni point of view?)

Would I be missing out on any practical elements by completing the access course online? I don’t want to be ‘behind’ by completing online.

At uni, how far in advance do you know your time table for the year? E.g on placement vs uni days and time off?
And with that, how soon before placement do you find out your shifts? I know you follow what your mentor does, but when do you receive their rota?

One of people’s biggest ‘issues’ appears to be that once qualified ‘you’ll miss nativities, sports days, etc..’ Is annual leave an issue in midwifery? I perhaps missed the point but I’d have thought it normal to book these events off in whatever profession you work?

I have a great support system going into this in regards to child care. And I’m used to 12hr shifts in understaffed/over worked job roles! They seem to be most people’s sticking points, which I think I’m ok with. The only thing I’m unsure of is how I’ll get on academically, but I figure the access course will enlighten me as to if I’m cut out for that side of things.

I’m looking at Winchester, Southampton, and Bournemouth as potential universities to apply to if anyone has any experience with those too!

I’ve done an access course at college and I did enjoy having classmates to talk to and share ideas with, and being able to ask the tutor if I needed anything explained. If you would still have that then I imagine it would be fine to do it online. Some of the units were quite difficult and needed really specific explanations of science theories that we would have struggled with by ourselves. I did part time access course though which was only one day in college and about 10-15 hours a week studying. I haven’t actually been asked if I did it online or in person by any university!
I ultimately decided to not do a nursing/midwifery degree because after going to a few open days where they stressed how difficult and time consuming the courses are, I just knew I couldn’t commit to it fully.
With the nursing degrees they are longer terms then most courses, meaning you don’t have time off in the summer, and you are still completing assignments when you are on full time hours placements (38+ hours a week). I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford to train too, with paying for childcare, travel and parking at placements while not be paid for the hours on placement.
I spoke to a fair few nurses and midwives too who all said that it can be incredibly stressful when qualified.
I wouldn’t be put off though if it’s what you really want, talk to some midwives, try some volunteering and see if it’s for you.
Quite a few people on my access course ultimately decided on other things and courses that fit them better, but the access course gave us a great foundation to feel ready for the next steps.

I work in a university dept that offers healthcare courses.

Midwifery is quite competitive to get into because there's way less places available than (for example) adult nursing and it's a popular choice. The type of access course isn't important but they'd expect distinctions. More than that they would want to see that you have insight into the profession beyond your own parenting experience something like volunteering with pregnant women or new mothers for example.

You would know which weeks you are in university and which on placement but you wouldn't know the detail of the shifts you need to work in placement until a month or so before.

When you're qualified you can request leave - but the employer doesn't have to agree if the service would be short of staff on that particular day.

I am just going into third year. I’ll reply on my laptop shortly

I won't sugar coat it, it is really hard! I am a single parent so can only do it with family support, which I am lucky to have.

Time table wise, my uni works in blocks so we get a planner for the year so we know when we are in uni and when we are in placement for the whole year.

Placement rotas completely depend! I start back on placement on the 11th September and I got my rota today after chasing 3 times! Other trusts give theirs out weeks in advance, so it all depends.

In a typical uni week we do 3-4 full days and then in a placement week 3 long shifts if in hospital or 5 days 8 - 4 if in community with some on call.

We get 2 weeks off at Easter, 2 weeks off at Christmas and 3 or 4 weeks in summer depending on if we are in placement or theory at the end of the year.

It is definitely worth all the effort though and I am excited and terrified to be going into my last year!

Access wise, I did mine online and I got 3 interviews and 2 offers so it made no difference. I did mine online during Covid though so not much else to do! My son was 18 months so easily entertained and I didn't feel guilty as we couldn't do anything else anyway!

You should definitely go for it. It annoys me when people try and put you off going into midwifery or nursing. Things will never get better if people don't train and qualify!

Any questions please ask :)

I'm nursing not midwifery so it may be different. We get a block planner from the uni at the start of each year so know when the placememts will be, we get uni timetables the first week of each theory block, so the pre planning is very short. In the health board most of my placements have been in, you can contact the placement area two weeks before you are due to start. If it is a 9-5 place like a community setting they say that but I've had several shift placements where you don't get a timetable until the first day, one of mine only did the rota week by week. So they can be awful for those with young children who need to sort childcare

You don't miss things! You just have to nag people for dates early, and request the day off. It's far easier than a 9-5 job where you'd have to take annual leave.

Training as a midwife is really hard… but being a midwife is great! I had a hard time in training but I’ve been qualified very near to 20 years now and do not regret doing it at all. So no practical help from me except to say if you want to do it- do it! Lol

I did an access course at college which suited me as I am not great with online work, I procrastinate. Whereas when I went in I felt I was more proactive.

Uni will differ. Mine gave the blocks for uni well in advance but placement I would sometimes only know a week or two in advance.

I have never missed any major events. You get several requests a month, so as long as the school let you know in advance then this usually isn't an issue and annual leave I have always had approved with no issues but I guess this is based on managers. I work 3 long days a week and then have 4 days off (I often do 4 but this is overtime with a good rate).

I have no regrets. I was made to be a midwife. It is tough, the university course will push you to your limits. It is hard juggling essays, studying for exams, placement, uni blocks, learning all your practical skills as well as having a life but I don't feel my kids have missed out on anything. My old office job I was out of the house more with the commute and I was not happy.

I have been qualified 4 years now with 2 kids (1 and 4 when I started) and of course the politics can be annoying but the job its self is the biggest privilege. I will never get bored of it (I hope) however once you have the degree there are so many routes to take if being 'on the shop floor' is not for you!

Good luck and feel free to message me if you have any other questions.

Thank you for replying :-) I agree if people don’t train things won’t get any better! Good luck with your final year

@StudentHH good luck with your course, please keep us updated how you're doing. I am planning to apply to midwifery course from September 2024. I already have a degree in accounting and finance, but always wanted to do nursing or midwifery and my husband is encouraging me to finally follow my dream. I hate my job and can't imagine working in accounting until my retirement thinking "what if". I thought this road is closed for me, because I already have student loan, but apparently student finance agrees to lend you money if it's health related course.