Here it is......

I was first drawn to the idea of becoming a midwife around the age of 14, when an auntie of mine was expecting twins. I found myself absolutely fascinated and amazed by all aspects of her pregnancy and the self centered care that she received. From this I knew that I would like to develop a career within a caring profession, and that feeling grew stronger as I started to find my own identity when making GCSE and A level choices. Unfortunately I was unable to complete my A levels due to starting a family at a young age. My ambitions were put on hold whilst I earned a wage to support my growing family but I promised myself that when the time became right I would return to college and university to complete a degree in midwifery. I am now financially able and eager to go back to study, and obtain the career I have aspirations for.
I find myself fascinated with pregnancy and the care and assistance families receive from midwives. Through personal experience, whilst being very unwell
throughout my second pregnancy, the care and support, both emotionally and physically that I received was outstanding. I can't wait to deliver such commitment
and care to women throughout their pregnancies and births. My second child was born prematurely at 29 weeks gestation as a result of Placental Abruption. Although my child was taken away from the midwives care and into SCBU, the midwives were there and supported me and my family through a very stressful time in our lives. I feel that this has shown me a small insight and some knowledge of the role that they play.
I have not yet gained any official work experience within the midwifery profession, but am currently applying for work experience or voluntary work at my local hospital and clinics and will take any opportunity that arises. I have subscribed to Midwifery Journal and am currently reading Heart and Hands, A Midwives Guide by Elizabeth Davis. I am extremely eager to obtain some experience in preparation for completing a degree.
For the last four years I have been working as a civil servant for the DWP dealing with the general public making and enquiring about benefit claims. Prior to this, I was employed as a customer service advisor in telephone banking. In both jobs I feel I have developed excellent customer service and care skills. Regularly I deal with frustrated or distressed customers and have developed an understanding for customers needs whilst being able to calm and empathise with them as and when appropriate. Being a busy mother of two and working part-time I am able to manage my time efficiently. I pride myself on being a reliable and approachable person. I have obtained 5 GCSEs, and also have completed a HeartStart emergency life support training course and at present am currently enrolled on an Access to Health professions course at the Afan Campus of Neath Port Talbot College, which I am thoroughly enjoying. My aim is to complete the course in 1 year and then successfully obtain a place in university to complete a degree in midwifery.
My hobbies and interests alongside my ambition are spending time with my family and friends, reading and going out for long walks. Recently my partner and I have taken up windsurfing lessons which is proving to be huge amounts of fun!
I have come to a point in my life, and after talking to close family and friends who are giving me full support, feel that now is the time for me to achieve my true
goal in life. I am determined to be able to give unconditional care and the necessary advice to women and their families during pregnancy, labour and the postpartum period. I am positive, committed and focused about completing a midwifery degree.

Rip it apart!!!!.........

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Cardiff Student Midwife 2008!!

Kate this is fab!!
You sound so good!!

Well done!

Claire xx

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Wolves Sept 2008
SM.NET Project Manager
SM.NET Wolves Student Rep

Thanks Claire!
Lets hope others put theirs on then for people applying. I found the statement really difficult to write because of no examples! Its hard to know what to put in and what they are looking for from it! You have to sell yourself as they only interview a tiny proportion compared to haw many apply. Well thats going for the universities I applied to.
xx

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Cardiff Student Midwife 2008!!

I also found it hard but luckily college helped me when i was doing my access course and they gave us rough guidelines but it was still difficult.
I was told on an open day that i went to that the personal statement is the hardest bit as you need to sell yourself so well as they have not met you yet!

Come on others add yours to help others cause we all know how difficult it can be writing them

Claire xx

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Wolves Sept 2008
SM.NET Project Manager
SM.NET Wolves Student Rep

Fab statements both!!

xx

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Ta Kate!! Wheres yours???
Get it on!
xx
Just finished my nutrition assignment! Yeay!

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Cardiff Student Midwife 2008!!

Here goes;

Midwifery is a part of the health service that has always interested me and has been a career dream of mine for a long time. However, after leaving school my priorities changed and I wanted to earn money so I undertook a training course and completed an NVQ Level 2 in administration. I was lucky enough to complete the course in the Outpatient Department of Neath-Port Talbot Hospital where I trained as a receptionist. I acquired many skills there which I consider vital for midwifery, such as; empathy, communication and good organisational skills along with, reliability, punctuality and practicality. Once I had fulfilled my potential there, I wanted to gain experience in a different health-care setting and moved to London.

I started working as a clinic clerk in the Dental Institute of Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospital in November 2006 and the cultural diversity I encountered there enabled me to improve my interpersonal and social skills. I moved from there to the maternity departments and joined the customer care team which gave me experience that will be invaluable in my future career.

During my time there I became more aware of the midwifery profession and it gave me my first insight into the world of midwifery. I realised that midwifery is not all about delivering babies, it's an all-encompassing, progressive profession which I would be honoured to work in. Being able to act as an advocate for women during this life-changing time and supporting both the woman and her family during pregnancy is what appeals to me most.

I am currently studying full-time for an Access to Health Professions Diploma at the Afan campus of Neath-Port Talbot College and hope to embark on my career as a midwifery student in September 2008. I have no commitments to inhibit my progress enabling me to offer the complete dedication needed towards the hard work that will be expected of me during my student years.

The main elements of the course are; anatomy and physiology, sociology and psychology which are supported by a number of key-skills modules. I am academically competent and am thoroughly enjoying being back in education. Sociology is one of my favourite aspects of the course as it is making me more aware of social differences and the reasoning behind them.

I am a very self-motivated and passionate person who can work alone, using initiative but am also a firm believer in team work and have worked as part of a multi-disciplinary team for the last four years. I am responsible, reliable and extremely hard-working. I enjoy socialising and meeting new people. I am co-operative, practical and can adapt to work in various situations.

In my spare time I enjoy reading, spending time with friends and family and researching the topics I have covered in college. I am currently applying to voluntary agencies to further my social and personal development and hope to gain a placement at my local maternity unit as part of my work experience.

I am very determined and I understand the many challenges that face me if I am successful. I look forward to meeting these challenges head-on with an open mind and the ability to succeed. I know I have the mental agility, emotional and physical stamina and commitment needed to be successful and to help make a significant contribution to public health and awareness during pregnancy.

So, in a nutshell - that's moi!!

Well done Kate! I have almost finished stress essay and have the essay part of nutrition left to do... Hasn't been as bad as I'd expected!

Watching most haunted now... sad, I know!

xx

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Here is mine... hope it helps - I got in first time of applying and got interviews at all three uni's I applied for.

I have a keen interest in women’s health particularly reproductive health. Midwifery is constantly evolving, this will allow me to continuously learn and develop and also have a challenging yet fulfilling career. A midwife can have a massive impact on a woman and her family, this could be the most amazing or the most traumatic experience they will go through together. I have researched the role and the course to ensure this is the career I want to progress into as this will be a lifelong decision. I am in regular contact with an existing student and am aware of the highs and lows of both the profession and the course - this has strengthened my decision to enter the profession.

The Access course has broadened my knowledge of the health service and given me more opportunity to research midwifery and resources where I can learn more. My self-awareness has increased during the course, I have realised there is always more to learn and this will continually develop through my career. It has been interesting seeing how organised I can be and the pace at which I can work, whilst still spending time with my family and having a part-time job. My confidence has grown with each week and made me even more determined and committed to the prospect of going to university and having a new career.

My lengthy call-centre background has given me a great foundation in communication and people skills. I have arranged a midwifery work experience placement; this will take place in January for 1 week at the Bradford Royal Infirmary and 1 week with community midwives. I am really looking forward to this as I hope it will consolidate my enthusiasm for the profession and it will enable me to see how things work in the area that I hope to be working after I qualify.

I have a keen interest in human biology and am an avid watcher of many types of documentary. I like to read news and education articles on the Internet when I can and learn more about the human body and how it works. Spending time with my family is very important to me and I do this as often as I can, quite often boring them with facts I have learned in college! I enjoy reading and crafting, when I get the opportunity to fit them in.

I am proud of my achievements so far on the access course, I have surprised myself at just how much I can achieve. I am committed and determined to excel at anything I challenged to, this will continue through my degree and future career. It is in my nature to help people and fantastic service is very important to me whether it is in my professional life or personal life. I am an eternal optimist and believe anyone can achieve anything if they want it enough; it satisfies me to see people achieving things they are passionate about. Lifelong learning is a passion of mine and I am always trying to learn new things from how to paint to sign language! I am flexible and try to be open-minded with others, trying to understand different points of view and beliefs. I am a strong person who is able to cope well with the highs and lows of the midwifery profession while still being compassionate and caring to the many different women and their families and I am very much a people person, I love to be around people and learn about their lives.

Ultimately I would like to qualify as a midwife and continue my career within the local area. I have a good local knowledge, which I think will help me in my career and I would like to expand my knowledge whilst on the degree to enable me to fulfil my dream and have a very long career as a midwife.

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Fab kated and potbella!
Hope we all help someone/many! Its hard to write with nothing to go off! Wish I had examples to go from as mine took me ages xx

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Cardiff Student Midwife 2008!!

Hiya!

Thought I would add my PS to the fab ones already on here!!

Obviously mine must be sort of ok because it got me my place Also my interviewer said she realy enjoyed reading it!

Here goes....be nice haha:

Midwifery is a career that I have always wished to pursue as I love the idea of diversity and challenges within a job. Despite the role being very demanding and holding many responsibilities, I see midwifery as being a very exciting and rewarding job and as an area in which I feel I can excel in. However it is not just about delivering babies, it is much more than that. I would be a vital presence at all stages of pregnancy, labour and at the early postnatal period. This would be until a health visitor arrived to take over the care I would have been responsible for. Unless there were complications, I would also be the main professional health contact for women and their families, helping them make important decisions with regards to options about their pregnancies. If complications were to occur, I would be there to support and counsel the family and resolve any unanswered questions or problems. I think this would be made easier during this difficult time by a professional relationship I would have had chance to build during the personal care I would have been involved in.

My passion for midwifery is something that has escalated significantly during my three and a half years as a Mothercare Customer Service Advisor. Long have I been fascinated by the stages of pregnancy, and I am always eager to hear about experiences of every mum to be along with their development throughout pregnancy. I feel privileged to be a part of such an important and personal time in their lives and honoured in being able to help them. I serve a diverse and large amount of customers daily but I ensure each one feels special and that they are able to put their full trust in me when making important choices regarding their baby. I am very attentive with excellent listening skills and have a very friendly but professional and approachable manner. When working at Mothercare I feel it is important that women feel totally at ease and confident in their decisions. My Career at Mothercare has inspired me to further my knowledge and interest of pregnancy, taking it to a higher level. By undertaking a midwifery degree I believe I can do this.

Although this will be my second time at university, I have successfully completed one year of a Primary Teaching Degree. I feel the mistake that I made choosing my teaching course only made me think harder about what I wanted to do with my life. I have had a long time to think about what I am suited to and my passion is certainly Midwifery. I am determined to get the qualifications I need in order to become one. I did acquire some useful skills whilst at university however, that would be greatly beneficial to a Midwifery Degree. Time management and organisation are essential for being able to complete assignments whilst being on placement. I feel I can cope with this excellently as I have done it before.

The involvement in the birth of my brothers three years ago was a wonderful experience and something that I would like to witness more in my career. There could not be anything more rewarding then bringing a new life into the world and seeing the gratitude of the family you have assisted.

To become a midwife would enable me to reach my full potential as a valuable member of the health service, to which I believe my kind and caring nature would be an asset. I want to be able to provide the best care and advice possible to women and their families, and give them the confidence to make their own informed decisions for a birth they will be comfortable with.


Emma x

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