Hi...Some advice..please...

Hi, my names Becky, i'm only 16 but a career is something i definately want to do, i'm currently doing my A Levels; Psychology, Sociology, English Combined and Geography. But i would appreciate some advice...yh i no i'm probably being a pain the bum lol., but when i was growing up i wanted to be a doctor, but lost intrest because let me be honest i like science but i hate having to go in so much depth...however i still wanted to stay in the medical profession, and i was always fascinated by pregnant ladies and babies when i was growing up (seriously i'm obsessed...border line weirdo lol) and realised midwifery/nursing was my calling (cheeseyyy!!). However i cant decide which one to choose, so hen i found out i could do a course in nursing and then do 18 mnths as a midwife course. But i was wondering if anyone else has done this, and would i be missing out on things just doing nursing and then midwifery when i could just do the full midwife course? (since at the end of the day i would prefer to be a midwife over a nurse) but dont you get better pay when your both?.....lol did you catch that, sorry i tend to get carried away lolz . thanks anyway, and are there any universities which offer good teaching for midwifery? xxx

hi becky- you sound just like me when i was younger lol! i too wanted to be a doctor, but i didn't think i was clever enough and i found that pregnancy and birth fascinated me alot more! I did a-levels similar to yours i did biology, psychology, english lit and geography too!

You could do the 18mnth course, and i don't know whether the pay is better- if it is its not likely to be a big difference to a midwife who has qualified through the direct entry course. The conversion course is also more competitive to get on to, as not many places run the course.

The massive difference between nursing and midwifery, the majority of the time, is that our ladies aren't ill, you have more of a supporting/advising/holistic role. With nursing you will probably meet a greater variety of people with a great variety of problems.

It's ultimately your decision, maybe you could hang out on here and read some of the posts to find out what the training is like? and research the nursing role a little more too.

good luck whichever you decide, and let us know how you get on! xxxx

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hi there becky. and welcome!

I have read that the conversion may not be on offer in the future, so training as a nurse then doing midwifery may not be an option (I am sure one of the lovely ladies on here has said it, although really unsure about that!).

As for pay - I dont think you will get much more. Like all public sector jobs, you are paid by grades/spans/spines (whatever they are called these days). Of course, if you have more experience in a hospital you may get more, but I wouldnt have thought it were automatic.

One thing I will say, although with medicine you go into depth over a broad range of topics, midwifery (or indeed nursing) are not 'easier' alternatives. For Midwifery in particular, one does more than a regular student would and has to commit themselves to the course completely. You get 2 weeks at easter, 2 at christmas and 3-4 over the summer. If you do not meet your set number of weeks (45 I think) then you do not pass. Every day taken off HAS to be made up.

If you believe your heart lies with midwifery, how about trying to get some work experience, or perhaps trying to volunteer one saturday morning with your local hospital if you can. Go to the website, details of how to do this will be on there.

There are many good universities that offer midwifery in the UK (currently 49 - see UCAS for details). It depends what you are looking for in a uni - stay near home, go away, city life, a more quiet life... all these are factors when choosing.

One thing, if going straight from Alevels, most unis prefer a science subject. note I say prefer - if you get all A's I'm sure they will take that into consideration!

I hope this has helped answer some of your questions, and others will also chip in and help (they're nice like that on here).
Good luck!
Amanda x

Thank you very much ladies, yeah i know what you mean, and now i've had chance to think about it and now that you've imformed me a little more, i think i'm going to do midwifery. lol. yay!
Oh Amanda hope you did not take offense in me saying it was slightly easier...i dont think that at all, it cam eout wrong, i'm sorry, what i meant is midwifery is more hands on, whereas doctoring is alot more academic...but still midwifery is as well. and yes i know it will take alot of work.! And i'm very well imformed and knowledgable of that fact, oh and about the science subject, i'm not completely sure but i think psychlogy comes under science related subject. but thank you so much amanda and butterfly for the advice, and no doubt i'll proberly be on this site all the way until i qualify, lol.xxx

no offence at all! I just wanted to make sure you knew it was hard work. which you do! I think society in general shows the role of the doctor as a lot more difficult than that of midwives and nurses. They are seen as more professional and given greater status and prestige.
Wasnt anything against you - I'm having a grumble at society and media :-)
Good luck with it all!!!

Lol i know what you mean, but i'm lucky i've always had a mother who always trained me to believe (and know) that nurses and midwifes worker harder, lol.

Hi Becky, good for you in whatever you decide, but I think it is true that the conversion is kinda on its way out. I know in Wales where I am from, Cardiff have already stopped it and it looks like the others are about to follow suit. One thing to bear in mind if you do decide you want to do midwifery, is your personal statement has to be very much geared towards midwifery and not nursing, also you cannot apply for both nursing and midwifery. You can apply to different Universities, but not for both professions, otherwise they will think that you really do not know your mind and you may not get an interview for either. You have to really sit and think is it the sick you want to look after through nursing, or do you want a career in something that is normality rather than illness (well most of the time anyway, if you see what I mean). Anyway, like somebody else on here mentioned, you are so young at the mo, u can afford to maybe get some sort of observational work in nursing and midwifery, that way you will have a good insight into which you prefer. Anyway, good luck!!

MEZZYT, i know what you mean, and i have just applied actually at my local hospital to start volunteering to get a better feel about things, but i think i only wanted to because a midwife-nurse if the conversion was still bale, if not then it's definately midwifery all the way then, but thank you anyways.

Hiya Becky, you have had some fab advice already. I can only echo that I think work experience in both nursing and midwifery will be a good idea. Even if you know now that you do not want to do nursing, when they ask you at interview why midwifery and not nursing you can say that the work experience confirmed for you that midwifery was for you and not nursing. Good luck!

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