thinking aobut doing midwifery

Dumyat

I am a nurse...personally however desperate you are to start a family do your degree first. the course work and the placements..and shifts are a nightmare. I know people who have been forced to drop out because of this very reason....one, not to be too dramatic, had a breakdown. Most students have to work extra jobs to survive on the bursary..is that something you could fit in?
Once you are qualified you would be able to work part time or at least on shifts to suit your childcare arrangements....and dont forget the generous year mat. leave.....
22 is young to start a family...you've got years yet. your baby would hardly see you if you try and do both...not trying to put a downer on your plans but please think seriously about it...

rjh090384

how much is the bursary for nusing in northern ireland? put it this way, i just need to be earning enough to pay the mortage and my oh will cover the rest. so i need around 6500 a year. waas hoping between bursary adn student loan i could meet that? what u guys think?

pookie5488

In N.ireland you will get around £5OO per month bursary, no student loan as I said I do nursing at Queens so these details are up to date. You will do a diploma/degree but everyone here gets same bursary whatever they choose to do unlike England. btw unlike England you will not continue to get your bursary paid if you fall pregnant in the middle of your course!!!!!!

themaccas

Personally, I would advise waiting until you have completed the course before you start a family but saying that I couldn't have waited and had a baby before I started the course. She was 6 months old when I started and it was tough and very expensive on childcare costs - it took all my bursary. If you have childcare in place that will be a BIG bonus but remember family can't always be relied on, they will say one thing now but when the time comes.... NHS nurseries usually don't allow students to leave their children there but I think that is gradually changing. Good luck, it can be done but you will have to be incredibly focused and determined.

EJ

rjh090384 wrote:

hiya

i am contemplating going to uni (in 2007 to do degree in midwifery (i live in northern ireland) i understand there is a bursary of around 5000 but i dont know if this is means tested or not. i also am not sure whether i would be entitled to a student loan too. i have just bought a house with my boyfriend and have to pay £540 a month mortgage so i need to make sure i can afford this (he earns 14500). would i be entitled to any benefits?

i also am desperate for a baby (i dont want much) and dont want to have one in the middle of my degree and three or four years is a long time to wait (im 22 and very ready ) so am thinking of starting to try now and having her before i start uni. would this then mean i am entitled to extra help (childcare etc)

please advise...so much to think about.

Hi,

Congrats on wanting to become a midwife .. my fiance (yes, male!) would love to be a midwive and applied last year (got turned down unfortunately but there were 500ppl for 40 places!!) Crazy numbers ...

With this in mind ... it could be that it takes you a few years anyway to get a place on the midwife course (depends on how many qualifications you have and how much relevant experience) so in the meantime, if you want a baby and are in the right time of your life to be able to cope with one, it would be a shame to put it off "just in case" you get a place on a course. I guess you'd be pretty gutted if you didnt get on the degree and had put the brakes on having children.

Also, having a child could give you an interesting insight into the midwifery process from the patients point of view and hopefully would make you more empathetic (not saying those midwives who havent had kids arent tho!) to the mothers you will be working with.

On the other hand ... heard the course is a bit of a killer in terms of workload and really dont think i could cope with having a child and being at Uni (i'm not doing midwifery mind). Plus, you'd find it harder to go out with friends etc an would be generally more tied down. (not saying it's a bad thing but it's something to consider).

Anyway, best of luck and there's a great site for potential and current midwifery students: https://www.studentmidwives.co.uk

EJ xxx

rjh090384

thanks for that. i really thought i would be entitled to a student loan to in doing the degree as per information i found on google but this probably only applies to england. this is something i really really want to do but not sure if i can afford it and i dont think i could cope with a part time job too! i would not plan on getting preganant in the middle of my course.

thanks to the maccas the research i have done so far suggsts i can get up to 85% of my childcare paid or my partner can claim working tax credits which i think includes childcare allowance? i think queens have a nursery but cant find any information on it or any other prices etc. i really am determined and focised and want a good career. i am not one to give up easily. my mum had to practically drag me out of my nursing course and i never took a dyaoff despite being seriously ill. although once i stopped breathing and had to be rushed to hospital i knew i couldnt go on. a nightmare experience but it has made me stronger.

i know i can do this but not without lots of financial help!! lmao

themaccas

I also think that if you know you want to be a midwife then you should go for the direct entry option instead of doing the nursing then the 18 month post reg course. I wish you well, if you can get 85% of your childcare costs covered that will be a great help, my course contributed to the massive debt we are in now but in 2 years we should have paid it off. That said and with hindsight and everything I would stil have done it. 6 months following qualifying we had our 3rd child and now 4 years on from when I qualified I work in one of biggest teaching hospitals in the UK as a level 7 (G grade). I love it and I have no regrets. if you want to pm me please feel free.

rjh090384

thanks fora ll ur help the course i would appky for is direct entry degree i dont knwo how much we would get covered but i would hope for enough. maybe if i wait two years we will have a bit more mortgage paid off then it would be more feasible and i could save more. i am in a decent job at the minute., junior management which pays the bills and a bit more but doesnt satisfy me. i coudl stick it a bit longer though!!

pookie5488

Have you got a previous degree?The only reason I ask is that all the girls who got accepted onto the direct entry course in sept 2004 (when I started my nursing) had a degree. I had applied to do the direct entry and did not even get an interview, this was despite me taking a year out from work to complete an access to university course at castlereagh college. There are only about 20 places for midwifery. Perhaps you would be best doing your nursing and once working applying for the shortened midwifery course. That is what I am intending to do as you keep your wage whilst studying for it. There is a creche attached to Queens but no-one that I know of it on my course uses it as it would only be useful for the 7 weeks you are at uni, you could be on placement in daisy hill or similar places far from Belfast and it is not convenient to use then because you could be working a long day and not able to pick your little one up.
Hope I am not putting a dampner on things for you but I feel it is better to have all the relevant info to make an informed decision.

rjh090384

i havent got a degree unfortunately. if i dont get in i dont get in but worth a try. i definately dont want to do the nursing first. i would hope to get placement a bit closer to belfast r dundonald as i live near ards but i know it isnt always possible. my nursing placement was 40 miles away from my uni!!

ur nto putting a dampner on things. idont even know if i will have the baby first or after. but i will discuss with my partenr and work out my finances.