Looking at Training to be a Midwife.. has anyone else been back to uni as an adult??

uptomyeyes1984

Hi, not too sure if im in the right forum but i'm looking to train as a midwife this means going to uni, im 25 married with 2 babies (aged 2 and 7months) obviously this isn't possible until at least next september or when my youngest starts playschool in 2011 (lol) but just looking for some advice from people that have gone back to uni later-on in life what kind of experience was this for you? i think i'm a lil nervious especially if you have to go into a class with younger students. I have found a course at a uni near me in chelmsford about 45 min drive from me, and my local hospital southend on sea take on student midwives. its something i really want to do as my future but not something i thought about when i was at school.

So if anyone has any advice (even if you didnt do midwiffery) it would great to hear of your experiences.
Many thanks
Kelly:beer:

ekkygirl

A girl in my office is doing the access course and hoping to get on the midwifery course for next year (tough selection) She is 29 with 2 kids. I think it wont be easy but she really wants it so willing to work hard. She has a supportive mother and partner. If she hets selected she will poss get a NHS bursary (means teasted) lots of "older" people do it are are more experienced. You will have to do some voluntary work to get experience i.e surestart or similar
Hope this helps

Hermia

I have been to uni twice (once doing a normal undergraduate degree and once doing a postgraduate vocational degree). There was mixture of mature and younger students on both courses. There were no problems. Mostly people stuck to their age groups, but everyone muddled along together in lectures.

To be honest I expect a midwifery degree will have a lot of mature students. I used to work in a university library and the university mostly taught medical-related courses. There were very few nursing and midwifery students who were 18. It was mostly mature students.

Going to uni later on can be harder because you have other commitments, but it can also be easier because you are more focused than the young 'uns. Just get organised from day one!

uptomyeyes1984

Thank you, i have to read more into it, i know the course is 3-4 years but with no nursing experience i know it'll be a tuff few years. if anyone else has a better understanding of these course i'd love to have a chat. thank you

Emily1990_2

There were mature students on my non-medical degree and I've heard there are plenty on nursing degrees! One thing you might want to consider is training to be a nurse and then specialising into midwifery? That way you don't go down one road, you'll have plenty of options?

Oldernotwiser

Unless you already have excellent qualifications, you need to look at doing an Access course, or similar, as well as getting some relevant work experience.

Because of the age of your children and the demands of midwifery I'd take my time going about this as working shifts with very young children can be very difficult, even with a supportive partner. Remember that midwives don't work 9-5!

What qualifications do you already have?

Oldernotwiser

Emily1990 wrote: »

There were mature students on my non-medical degree and I've heard there are plenty on nursing degrees! One thing you might want to consider is training to be a nurse and then specialising into midwifery? That way you don't go down one road, you'll have plenty of options?

Although this route is still possible, most people nowadays go directly into midwifery.

uptomyeyes1984

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Unless you already have excellent qualifications, you need to look at doing an Access course, or similar, as well as getting some relevant work experience.

Because of the age of your children and the demands of midwifery I'd take my time going about this as working shifts with very young children can be very difficult, even with a supportive partner. Remember that midwives don't work 9-5!

What qualifications do you already have?

Thank for your reply, I only have school qualifications and then i went on to sith form and studied business so probably not much help. sinch then i've worked in retail (9years) as a Supervisor and running shops as Manager and now for the same company i'm a buyer (stock)

So maybe i need to start some kind of part time hours (evenings if poss) care work maybe that would help?

Oldernotwiser

uptomyeyes1984 wrote: »

Thank for your reply, I only have school qualifications and then i went on to sith form and studied business so probably not much help. sinch then i've worked in retail (9years) as a Supervisor and running shops as Manager and now for the same company i'm a buyer (stock)

So maybe i need to start some kind of part time hours (evenings if poss) care work maybe that would help?

Specifically, what GCSEs do you have at grade C or higher and what qualification did you do in the sixth form? With this information we could see whether you need to do a full Access qualification or whether you already have what's needed.

Care work would be a step in the right direction or even better you could see whether your local hospital employs part time HCAs, possibly on a bank basis,

uptomyeyes1984

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Specifically, what GCSEs do you have at grade C or higher and what qualification did you do in the sixth form? With this information we could see whether you need to do a full Access qualification or whether you already have what's needed.

Care work would be a step in the right direction or even better you could see whether your local hospital employs part time HCAs, possibly on a bank basis,

As far as I can remember...
English - C
Maths - D
IT - B
French - C
Textiles - C
Music - C
i'm sure there was somthing else I wish I could dig out my folder but we just moved house.
As for 6th form I studied Advanced Business and was graded distinction
Is this of any help? sorry i cant be more accurate.

flea72

have you contacted the Uni to see what they suggest? i know this course is very oversubscribed at Chelmsford, and it seems you stand a better chance, if you have already got nursing qualifications/experience under your belt. My friend went via OU access, but its still taken her 3yrs of applying to finally get accepted onto the midwifery course

also being realistic, it is alot of hard work, for someone with such young children, and there is no guarantee of a job at the end of it. yes, there is a dire shortage of midwives out there, but there are very few LHA that are taking on staff at present

i would contact the Uni, and ask them what their requirements are regarding qualifications and experience. Also ask around on facebook/yahoo, as there are chatter groups for most regions. the rcm website, is obviously a good starting point

Flea