Too old to retrain to become a midwife?

vermicious-knid

I am 33, have had three children and do not want any more. My youngest is nearly 2 and for a long time it has been on my mind to retrain for a different career from the office job I was doing before.

I am keen to do Midwifery but am worried about my education. I didn't do sciences in school beyond the required level, did administration in college and no other training since. My maths skills are not up to scratch.... I have been looking into doing an Access to Higher Education in Nursing but there are things worrying me.

My lack of maths skills worry me, it was my weakest subject in school and part of the Access course is mathematics.

I am also worried I won't be able to find the time to commit to a full time course like this - I will have two children at school and one still at home and hubby works shifts too.

I really either need a kick up the backside to get on and apply to do the course at my local college

or

get told to forget it as there is no way I will manage it with my lack of necessary education, home commitments & hubby's shift working....

ska_lover

You are definately NOT too old, you are in the prime of your life hun.

Commitment - wise: Some questions are, is the access course availible part time? (I know some are, as a friend of mine in a similar situation has gone down the route of part time for similar reasons as you)
Is there a creche/child care for little one? I think time wise, you would just have to be 'Mrs Organised' around the house if you are going with the full time course option, i.e getting organised the night before with school things, meal planning etc, and rigid bedtimes so you can do homework.

There are other options though, such as getting the desired qualifications for Uni at nightschool? Is this an option? Or it may well present further child care problems if your OH is working shifts.

Don't worry about Maths, if it is a weak subject area they can offer you additional help there (I was poo at Maths myself so can feel your pain here) but they are there to support you

I would deffo advise you to do it now, rather than return to an unfulfilling career. I really hope you do it x

amyloofoo

No such thing as too old When I was doing nursing there was somone in the cohort above who was in their mid 60s and wanted to retrain to continue working! I know lots of nursing and midwifery courses say they're full time because of the placement part - but the actual in uni sessions can sometimes be taken part-time so maybe it's worth asking about this?

As for your maths, most unis are very used to working with people who need additional support and I'm sure they will do everything they can to boost your knowledge and confident. For most 'mature students' universities will assess through interview, so if you let them know your concerns then the admissions team should be able to help.

Good luck with your training and hope all goes well :grouphug:

dizzyrascal

You are certainly not too old so I would stop worrying about that.
I would also post this on the student money saving board as there are often a lot of questions on there about Nursing/Midwifery funding and many answers to funding about childcare costs and issues so I would search through some of the older threads to see if there are any answers.
You can do a Health & Social Care course through the OU. I think people have done this instead of an Access course (I may be wrong but it is worth looking online). That route might solve your childcare issues.
If not, go along to your local college and ask them what is available. They often have nursery's attached to their main buildings or close by.

I wouldn't worry about the maths either. You can get extra help at uni as has been pointed out and if you struggle on the Access course I'm sure there will be help there too, but I bet you are not as bad as you think you are. School has a way of making you feel that you are rubbish at maths but I bet you'll be fine for the level they require.
I wouldn't count on studying your nursing degree part time though. Very few courses do this. You will need to be able to commit to full time study for the degree stage.

nonnatus

PFFFT!

You're a BABY still!!

I retrained as a midwife when I was 35. Started the three year degree that year. Hadn't studied for 16 years. Our cohort of 44 was split right down the middle, 20 of us were school leavers, 24 were older, one was 52!.

They guide you through it slowly. They know the mature students will need "refreshing" with english and maths, that's why they get you doing a 12 month access course first.

BUT it's all VERY competitive to get a place. Get yourself some healthcare experience (a bit of caring for example). Subscribe to a basic journal like The practising Midwife so you are aware of current issues in the profession. Go to the library and borrow a copy of Mayes or Myles (These are the two midwifery "bibles" that explain every aspect of midwifery in great detail) to get yourself "savvy" with some of the abbreviations etc.
Join one of the midwifery Forums as a newbie and you'll get LOADS of friendly advice.

Most of all, get your confidence levels up. The Uni's are looking for strong, passionate women who will be advocates for women at the most vulnerable time in their lives. It's an awesome job and a great priveledge - GO FOR IT!!!

SandC

Certainly not too old, you're less than halfway through your working life (I know that sounds a little depressing!). I would get as much info as possible and try and find some forums where you can ask advice on the best possible routes into it.

I know in my area it is as the above poster said very competitive - in fact my friend didn't get an interview out of any of the 3 local unis unfortunately. She did end up doing and access course to go into nursing but found it wasn't for her after all.

I do remember someone qualified or studying giving a very good piece of advice on a forum somewhere.... and that is when you get to the selection process or filling in of forms where you are asked why you want to go into midwifery - never say it's because you like babies! I think that gives the impression that people think it's a nice cushy number when the reality is.... well, you know.

Good luck and go arm yourself with info!

cbsexec

Just like to add - no you are definitly not too old but you must be committed. Midwifery is very, very competitive with hundreds applying to each Uni for few places. You also have to do a maths and english test at interview now so you will need to get your maths up to speed (but its doable). An access course would be ideal to give you a taste of what study would involve. I don't want to put you off and you may be lucky but some people apply for three or four years to get into midwifery and you must factor that into your decision. Good luck I'm sure you will manage it.

elaine373

I am 48 and training to be an adult nurse.After many years of having a large family (7 children) I decided that I wanted to have a bash. Last september I emrolled on a pre-access course.During the last year I have gained a level 1 and 2 in maths, a level 1 and 2 in English, a level 2 in equality and diversity and I got a distinction in level 2 health and social care.I have been offered a place on level 3 and will be applying to Ucas for a uni place for next year.I will be by far, the eldest student this year but the college have reassured me that I am not the eldest student to do this course. As women, we will be working far longer and I am thrilled to be following my dream. I hate maths but accept that I can probably learn more if I let the barriers down.My biggest problem has been my lack of self belief but I am working on that. I had no qualifications as such this time last year and now I am about to apply to universities!!! I have kids ranging from 29 down to 9 and life will be a juggling act,but I would rather regret what I have done than what I did not do or at least try to do. 33 is young.Go for it!

loubie_lou

Enquire about starting the access course in September with your current life experience. If they think you need a bit more healthcare experience get a volunteering job or part time HCA job to bring your skills up to scratch. But act as quickly as you can as others have said places for Access courses is very competitive.

It's the best decision you could ever make. I have a degree already but my current job is in healthcare already and I want to become an Occupational Therapist. Currently doing a open uni course to get my skills up to speed again to apply next year.

Go for it. We only live once remember xxxx

vermicious-knid

thank you all for being so nice xx got me in tears because you all been so encouraging.

will read through all your responses again later when I have got a clearer head as having a bit of a crap day today and then have to discuss it with hubby I guess as haven't done that yet either....

mangadarkogirl

As the others have said from experience being a mature student at a red brick uni, some of us got extra help with maths and english if we needed it. I've never been great at maths so I did my key skills before I went onto the nursing dip 2 years ago. I did a 2 week course with my local adult learning center for free. As I didn't have the gcse. It was worth it and I really enjoy maths now. In fact the highest grade I got was in drugs calculation, I got 92% in the exam

All I'd say is make sure you have support, especially from your husband, family and friends. As the big change will be the shift patterns. Also as many already know. The NHS is very understaffed and depending on where you work you might have to work over for TOIL or overtime at the drop of a hat. But this comes part and parcel with the industry. You are definitely not too old. I am 28 and weighting up my options for a career change. Best of luck xx