16-May-2008, 19:20
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 | 2 weeks til 2nd year!! | | | | |
 Re: Interviews with Student Midwives
What year are you in? year 1, but i will be a year 2 in 8 short weeks  Whats are your personal circumstances? i.e. married/kids/single etc single, living in a good old student house 
What did you do before you became a student midwife? at an all girls grammar school, doing my a levels, hating it, and desperate to get out!!
Why did you choose Midwifery? I have no idea, it has always been a part of me and i was obsesessed with it as a kid- birth scenes with the barbies!!!
How did you feel on your first day at uni and in practice?
on my first day at uni- absolutely bloody terrified, i had moved away from home literally the day before and i have never wanted my mom as much as i wanted her that day!! Please share a highlight of being on the course, so far... It's got to be delivering babies, it's different from how i expected, but so, so much more. And when i moved my placement area to worcester from hereford where i had been before- that's when things reall started going right
Please share a low point and how you got through that... I started off being put on placement in hereford (as mentioned above) and it was in the middle of nowhere, didn't know anyone, there were only 2 students from my cohort there and they were'nt anywhere near me, and i just felt incredibly lost, vulnerable and isolated- it wasn't how i imagined my midwifery career starting. I lived in a house with 3 oher student nurses who i didnt particularly get on well with, and i got through it with perseverance, never giving up hope, my beautiful student midwife friends who were my rock and who gladly opened their doors when i needed to get away, and my fantastic lecturer, who listened, understood and finally moved me to worcester, where i am now, and loving it. I am forever greatful to you guys xxx
Do you prefer academic or clinical? I like both actually, academic becausei find it painfully interesting, and clinial because i feel like a 'real' midwife lol! it's when they both come into conflict that the problems start!
What is your favourite midwifery text book? pobably the Myles textbook by fraser and cooper- saved my ass many a time, but pharmacology for midwives by sue jordan stopped me from failing my drugs exam and you can't get very far without a midwifery dictionary either.
What is your favourite midwifery literature book? i.e. babycatcher. babycatcher is great actually especially when you have a bad day- it's sickeningly optimistic, but also very beauiful. I also like spiritual midwifery- what a classic- and teaches you to have hope in normal birth! I also like the midwife's tale, which makes you both thankful, and a little sad, that midwifery has progressed so much in the UK!
What is your shift preference? earlies/lates/long days and what time to they start and finish erm, i dont particularly like earlies because i struggle to get in for them- the buses dont run that early in the morning. they're 7.30 am til 3.30 pm
I don't mind lates- they're 1.20 pm til 9.20 pm
I don't like nights just because of how weird they make you feel, but you get lots of babies, and they can be a laugh they're 9pm til 8 am.
Are you a member of a midwifery organisation? i.e RCM/ARM/LLL erm, weirdly, the RCN, because they were at a uni and someone told me to! now that i have my own mind i will join the RCM when my subscription runs out....
Do you feel supported in practice? if yes/no please tell us why that is. not especially, i don't think the support is as good as at uni, but then the lecturer's are always there to help with whatever problem. I just think the midwives themselves are overworked, tired and stressed alot of the time, and just don't have the energy for students. also, some of the midwives have very bad attitudes towards us, they seem to forget they were students once!!!
Do you feel supported at Uni? if yes/no please tell us why that is. yes it's brilliant, i know i can always go to or email someone and they'll be a sympathetic ear!
Do you prefer antenatal/intrapartum/postnatal? and why? I suppose my favourite so far has been delivery, just because until i got on there i had never experienced birth before, and once you've seen it it changes you and i love the energy on there too. I love newborns and watching the women transform into parents, so i suppose i like that bit too. I find antenatal a bit boring though, or maybe it was because i was such a newbie and couldn't do much!
What are your future plans as a midwife? just to be one at the moment! but i would love to work just in a hospital for a couple of years to gain experience, then get some time in a birth centre because i feel it's a bit medicalised in a hospital and i want to experience more normal birth. I would also love to take my skills abroad, i went on holiday to Africa a couple of years ago and it's got into my blood- i'm desperate to go back! I would also love to be a mentor at some point too, i know what a difference they can make- and what an impression they can have and i would always want a student working with me to have the best experience!
Share your wisdom.... what would you like to pass on to other students/wanabes?
Midwifery is beautiful and an incredible job- but it's often more than that and it is definately more than that when you're a student- you have to be absolutely sure you want it because it takes over your life!
and, no matter how bad your day is, it will get better and you will 'find the light' again if you're devoted enough!
My advice would just be to get in there, because the more you do, the more you learn, and holding back and being shy (like i was) makes everything more difficult to learn.
you get to bring life into the world and watch people transform- what could be better than that
__________________  kelly - student midwife and proud! Nearly a second year x
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