Too old to retrain to become a midwife?

vermicious-knid

Hi all, back again... mentioned to hubby whether I should retrain and he wasn't negative about it but did feel that it might be difficult while youngest (2 year old) is still at home and maybe should wait til she is at school.... been searching around as regards costs and not sure where to start really to find out if I would definitely get help with funding etc

What I need to know really is - If I go on an access to nursing course, do I have to be in employment within the NHS for any of the training course?

And as far as I can see, if I progress on to the midwifery course - how do I get a placement? or is that all organised within the course for me?

Feeling a bit like am asking stupid questions... sorry!

Mangadarkogirl - thank you for the idea about the key skills maths course at the adult learning centre - going to look into that now as that is something I would like to do to help me feel more confident about maths.

han182

you could do the access to nursing PT at a local college alternatively do key skills of GCSE level maths (depending what its called where you are) via the open university if its the only thing holding you back.

TBH though i wouldn't bother as most unis give you loads of help and have extra classes in maths, academic writing and sciences for anyone struggling.
As a current nursing student it is full time most of the time (midwifery course has an almost identical timetable) Best thing to do is look at the SLC or SAAS whoever does the funding in your area and it can explain what bursary you will get eg dependants allowance etc
But yea, go for it. There are more mature people than 35 on my course and they are the best students with the highest marks!

han182

vermicious-knid wrote: »

And as far as I can see, if I progress on to the midwifery course - how do I get a placement? or is that all organised within the course for me?

Thats 100% taken care of. :j

princessdon

Re the age - look at it this way

You can't retire before 67 (this could even be longer).

You start work at say 20. so 13 years of work down and 33 to left. You have 3 times as much working life left as passed - so far from being too old, you are still in the beginning of your working life/career so go for it.

helphelphelphelp

Check with your local universities as to what the entrance requirements are. I am studying to be a children's nurse and my local university accepted an OU course (K101) and adult numeracy and literacy level 2. By taking these courses rather than the access course (which can be full time) I was able to continue working for another year.

But the process from enrolling on these courses, passing the exams and applying for university too approx. 18 months so if you are thinking of 2 years time then now would be a good time to start.

With regards to your age, I am 42 with no official nursing experience but the universities also like students with life experience, not just great qualifications.

I would say go for it. Even at 42 I have another 25 years to work. And thats 25 years of doing a job I wouldnt enjoy had I have not done this course.

vermicious-knid

ok. done!

I put the application in for Access to Nursing to my local college and have emailed the Student Services team to beg for help and guidance on what funding to apply for and when and how! as I am totally clueless! :eek::o

now I just have to wait and see if I am invited for interview. :eek:

vermicious-knid

but saying that, now having doubts about whether I should have done a Level 2 progression diploma instead.... If I don't get into the access course because of lack of Maths skills, are they likely to suggest or put me onto the progression diploma course instead?

princessdon

They can ask you to maths at the same time (as long are you not miles off) and offer support for this.

Wait for their reply before stressing because it is really common for mature students to do functional skills Maths on an access or entry to HE course.

flea72

you dont need any qualifications to get on an access course, you just have to prove this isnt a whim and that you arent a quitter (they only get their funding if you finish the course, so they want people to be prepared and sure they are able to devote the required time to study).

you have to take level 2 maths as part of the access course, so this covers the GCSE equivalent that most Unis ask for. level 2 maths is similar to foundation level GCSE, so nothing at all taxing. just basic maths you will need in your career like percentages and conversions. the maths tests that unis set are also fairly simple, ie 'dosage is 25ml, 3 times a day. how many whole days would a 500ml bottle last?'

however, if your college are offering you the chance to do GCSEs alongside your access course, then i would be tempted to take them, as its the cheapest route for an adult to obtain a formal GCSE.

timescale wise, you wont be looking to start uni until 2014, or 2015 if you do the p/t access course. so by then your youngest will be school age.

however the biggest obstacle i can see, would be your childcare situation. unless you have family on hand to look after your children, you are basically stuffed, as midwives work nights and weekends. most people manage if they have no trouble with overnight care for their kids as its easy to find paid childcare for day shifts, but there are very few nurseries/childminders that do nights.

i do agree with everyone else though. if you dont at least try, you will always have that niggling doubt. im 39+ (lol) and its taken me over 15yrs to pluck up the courage to go back to study. originally i applied to do the access course as a way to fill time, as my youngest had just started school. i had a very vague idea i might do to uni some time in the future, but for now i was just going to play it by ear and see if i wasnt as stupid as my school results implied. within 2 months of starting college i had done my uni application, attended interviews and been offered a place, as i realised it was now or never. i start Uni next week to train as a radiographer :j

also have you considered whether midwifery is really for you. alot of women go into it with slightly skewed ideas, ie love babies, or had an awful midwife and want to make someone elses experience nicer, etc. I originally thought i wanted to be a midwife (see reason 2 above), but once i really thought hard about it, i realised i was more interested in womens health in general and not so much the nursing side of things. so ultimately i plan to be a sonographer or mammographer (but thats way off)

F

vermicious-knid

flea72 wrote: »

you dont need any qualifications to get on an access course, you just have to prove this isnt a whim and that you arent a quitter (they only get their funding if you finish the course, so they want people to be prepared and sure they are able to devote the required time to study).

you have to take level 2 maths as part of the access course, so this covers the GCSE equivalent that most Unis ask for. level 2 maths is similar to foundation level GCSE, so nothing at all taxing. just basic maths you will need in your career like percentages and conversions. the maths tests that unis set are also fairly simple, ie 'dosage is 25ml, 3 times a day. how many whole days would a 500ml bottle last?'

however, if your college are offering you the chance to do GCSEs alongside your access course, then i would be tempted to take them, as its the cheapest route for an adult to obtain a formal GCSE.

timescale wise, you wont be looking to start uni until 2014, or 2015 if you do the p/t access course. so by then your youngest will be school age.

however the biggest obstacle i can see, would be your childcare situation. unless you have family on hand to look after your children, you are basically stuffed, as midwives work nights and weekends. most people manage if they have no trouble with overnight care for their kids as its easy to find paid childcare for day shifts, but there are very few nurseries/childminders that do nights.

i do agree with everyone else though. if you dont at least try, you will always have that niggling doubt. im 39+ (lol) and its taken me over 15yrs to pluck up the courage to go back to study. originally i applied to do the access course as a way to fill time, as my youngest had just started school. i had a very vague idea i might do to uni some time in the future, but for now i was just going to play it by ear and see if i wasnt as stupid as my school results implied. within 2 months of starting college i had done my uni application, attended interviews and been offered a place, as i realised it was now or never. i start Uni next week to train as a radiographer :j

also have you considered whether midwifery is really for you. alot of women go into it with slightly skewed ideas, ie love babies, or had an awful midwife and want to make someone elses experience nicer, etc. I originally thought i wanted to be a midwife (see reason 2 above), but once i really thought hard about it, i realised i was more interested in womens health in general and not so much the nursing side of things. so ultimately i plan to be a sonographer or mammographer (but thats way off)

F

You are right about the childcare side of things, actual overnight care wouldn't be a massive issue but sometimes hubby not home until 11pm due to his work and a nightshift for me (were I fully qualified) would begin before then so that would be difficult. and we have absolutely no family near that could help with this either

Midwifery is of interest but ultimately, if it's something I find I can't do in the end, at least I will have qualifications to enable me to do a job which is much more rewarding than my previous work. I want to work at something more rewarding and fulfilling, helping & caring for people than just doing admin or office work the rest of my life!

congrats on your Uni place