J ™, I think this is a great tool for anyone preparing for interview. Great to read that it has already helped loads of wannabe midwives.

Thought the following may also be interest to those preparing for interview. This is something that I put together for Faloola, when she was preparing for her interview, in answer to her request "Please tell me anything you can about midwifery!" :

• Being a Midwife is quite different to being a nurse. Midwives are what is called "autonomous practitioners" ie the Midwife is trained and qualified to be able to make decisions herself, without referring to doctors and as such is accountable for the decisions that she does make.

• Midwives specialise in the total care of women and babies during "normal" pregnancy, labour and the postnatal period. During training you will have much to learn in the "skills" of midwifery, such as palpating the woman's abdoman, to determine how the baby is lying; listening to the fetal heart and knowing what is normal and what is abnormal; performing vaginal examinations; caring for the woman throughout labour, ensuring her emotional and physical needs are met; administering drugs as needed; conducting normal deliveries; performing an Episiotomy, if required; suturing the perineum; catheterising; cannulating; the list goes on...! You will need to learn lots of jargon, as you can probably tell!

• Midwives are trained to recognise deviations from the norm, in which case they refer onto doctors for their advise. At which point the midwife either follows directions from the doctors, or the doctors will take the lead (e.g. when a baby needs to be delivered by forceps or caesarean.)

• It is important to remember that the majority of women who have babies are fit and well. Pregnancy is not an illness and so they do not need nursing. The atmosphere in a maternity unit is quite different from any other hospital ward. Wherever possible the woman takes responsibility for herself and for her baby. She is encouraged to mobilise in the ward (rather than staying in bed), make herself drinks, get herself snacks, see to her own hygiene needs etc. She will also have the baby with her 24 hrs a day, whenever possible. Women do not tend to stay in hospital long these days, if all is going well. It is normal to go home after just 1 or 2 days.

• Some women opt for a homebirth and community midwives are duty bound to support the woman during childbirth, even if it is felt advisable for her to be in hospital. There are lots of issues surrounding giving women choice and control of their care in pregnancy and childbirth.

• Of course this is different if the woman or baby are ill. In which case midwives are trained to provide nursing care, as needed, such as the administration of drugs, care of intravenous lines, catheters, drains, wound care etc.

• Midwives have a large role to play in the education of women during the antenatal period. This may include encouraging the woman the stop smoking, promoting healthy eating, exercise etc.

• Midwives support the woman as she gains skills in caring for her baby, which is especially important for first time mums. This includes supporting the mother with her choice of feeding her baby, seeing to baby's hygiene needs, maintaining a safe environment etc.

• The midwife is also very aware of the social needs of the women she is caring for. These days I see more and more women in the hospital with poor social backgrounds, who need lots of support. This can include housing needs, history of abuse, other family members being known to be abusive, drugs, alcohol etc.

• Sadly, things do not always go well. Caring for bereaved women and their families, be that where the baby dies during pregnancy, birth or following birth, is an important aspect of midwifery. It's hard, but you do receive lots of support and training to enable you to fulfil this role. Some women choose to terminate their pregnancy for medical reasons. You would not be expected to care for such women, if you were a conscientious objector to termination.

• In addition to the above, some midwives specialise. These opportunities are much greater in the larger trusts. Specialities within midwifery may include: counselling; sonography; breastfeeding; aromatherapy; working with teenagers; working with drug addicts; bereavement; antenatal screening and others.

• Midwives may work in consultant led hospitals, smaller community hospitals, maternity units, community or independently.

• There is a hierarchy within midwifery: There are several "bands" of pay / responsibility that a midwife can work her way up within the hospital or community setting. Within the more senior bands there are supervisory posts, where a midwife is trained to give peer support and encourage her colleague with her personal development. They are also there to deal with any issues of poor practice / misconduct. Above the supervisors there is a regional head of supervisors. Then above this there is the NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council).

• Parallel to the supervisory hierarchy is the management hierarchy, of matrons / managers and directors of midwifery within each trust.

• (I think this is my final point!): Midwives are very aware of the need to defend ones actions. In this "blame-culture" that we now live in, any midwife could be called upon to give evidence in court. Childbirth is a huge area in legal terms, with record payouts being made. With this in mind midwives need to cover themselves at all times by documenting everything that is said or done whilst caring for a woman and her baby. We do spend a lot of time on paperwork / computer work!

Hope this may be of interest to some of you.

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Fabulous, thanks Shoshana, a great resource!

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J
StudentMidwife.NET Founder & Director

"You're braver than you believe. Stronger than you seem. And smarter than you think."
Christopher Robin in Pooh's Grand Adventure

Please help us raise funds for a bereavement room in Honey's memory by taking part in the SMNET Auction & Raffle here thanks x

that is going to be so useful for prep for next years interviews

Hi there nutty..... I have had two knock backs... Worcester and Cardiff...... Just remember, to stay positive, cos it is so compeptive..... I have been told that if you sleep , dream, think, and read midwifery then you are and will be a great midwife. not this year but definatelty next.. so keep your chin up.....
kind reards kazz

Glad to see that you are finding this useful!

__________________
J
StudentMidwife.NET Founder & Director

"You're braver than you believe. Stronger than you seem. And smarter than you think."
Christopher Robin in Pooh's Grand Adventure

Please help us raise funds for a bereavement room in Honey's memory by taking part in the SMNET Auction & Raffle here thanks x

Thanks, I saw that before, but could not find it again!!! I have been reading for a few hours. Need a glass of wine and early night!

Will let you know how it goes. My brain a bit of a fog right now!

Good luck for Tuesday Boris, let us know how you get on xx

__________________
J
StudentMidwife.NET Founder & Director

"You're braver than you believe. Stronger than you seem. And smarter than you think."
Christopher Robin in Pooh's Grand Adventure

Please help us raise funds for a bereavement room in Honey's memory by taking part in the SMNET Auction & Raffle here thanks x