any lone parents doing midwifery training????????????

[snowwonder]

is so how do you manage, it has been a long term dream of mine to be a midwife but now i am lone parent with 2 girls age 9 and 3.5 i wonder if it will ever be possible?

would i be better waiting til they are older to start the training?

would a part time course be an option?

how do you juggle the children when you are on placement?

they only see there dad one afternoon a week so that wouldnt offer any possibility of childcare?

any suggestions?

thanks

have you been on here?
SMS

they may be able to offer some advice.

Im doing nursing degree, to be honest - if I was single there is no way on earth I would be able to do the course- it would be impossible. When I am in community its ok- but on wards and units the hours really vary. Do you have any family that could help out?

Hi, I am also a single mum and am also thinking of doing nursing or midwifery.

To be perfectly honest with you, I personally could not do either without childcare support. I need to do an access course first and I could do it full time over 1 year but I also would then have no one to help with childcare and so have decided to do the course over 2 years part time as then when i start uni my mum will be a couple of months off retirement and able to help me with childcare.

I have a friend doing midwifery, she is married with 2 kids and tbh she does find it a struggle, although the key was getting good reliable childcare and now she does have that. It's more the financial side she is struggling with at the mo.
She uses a childminder and when she is on placement has to drop them off at around 6:45, but tbh there are not many childminders that would be willing to have them before 7.

Feel like I am giving you all of the negatives. If it is what you want to do then a struggle is worth it, but personally I wouldn't start uni until both kids were at school.

Site emma linked to is fab

youngest
starts school this year as she is 4 in augast...

but i am not sure how much releif that will give it is the late shifts and night shifts that worry me,

i currently work in the comunity for the nhs but it is mon-fri mornings only...

i do have lovely family but i think would be to much for anyone to have children lots for 3 years..

thanks emma that looks like a fab site...

will look at it later when i have more time, once the kids are in bed!!!

think i need to meet a man of leisure who just happens to be as millionaire......

we all need one of them snowwonder!!

My next placement is in a hospital and I will be doing 3 long days a week- however the ward manager did say that arrangments can be made should i need to fit in shifts around my children so im sure that in certain areas there is help.

If you can find help- its so worth it. My 6 yr old is so proud of me and is always telling his teacher about me and my course.

can you get seconded if you already work in NHS?

what does seconded mean?

if you work for the nhs you can apply for 'secondment' onto the midwifery degree which means that you still get paid your normal wage while training, instead of living off the pittance of a bursary that we recieve.

My friend at uni worked on A&E as a HCA and is now seconded on our degree course so picks up her normal wage each month.

oh right that is intresting,
i am a occupational therapy assistant, have been there 5 years and will stay there forever unless i do midwifery cousrse.

i work 20 hours a week so dont get paid a massive ammount but it gets topped up with tax credits, and by the sound of it it may be more than the bursary..

thanks for that

Im sure there will be info on the NHS careers website.

Good luck!

tbh if you cant get family/friends to help with childcare for shift work then its prob best to wait til they are older and be left overnight alone.
At every uni I applied they couldnt stress enough about the importence of reliable childcare and a good support network-you will be expected to work alongside your mentor whatever shift she is doing.
hth