What our students say
Three BSc Midwifery students - first years Sam Frewin (40) and Frances Rivers (39), and third year Jennifer Drummond (30) - compare notes on their experiences of the course...
What attracted you to study here with us?
Jennifer: “The Faculty has a really good reputation. The location also works well for me in terms of both the university campuses and the hospitals where I’m doing my clinical placements.”
Sam: “To begin with it was all about location for me. Then I discovered just how good the training is here. I met people while on placement who trained here and who I assumed had been midwives for several years - then discovered they only qualified a few months ago!”
Frances: “I liked the combination of studying near where I live in Kingston, with being linked to a prestigious teaching hospital at St George’s. The campus in Kingston is very modern, and also green and leafy. I like the fact that you have access to double the resources, such as the libraries at both Kingston and St George’s.”
How are you finding the course?
Jennifer: “We’ve covered a real variety of subjects – not just the biology and clinical aspects of midwifery, but also public health and policy issues. By the third year you really get to grips with evidence-based practice, and what it means to be a midwife in terms of being accountable for your decisions. Studying for a professional healthcare degree is very different to my first degree. It’s more like working full-time than being a student, and at times it can be quite physically and emotionally challenging. The support from the tutors has been really good - if you need help, they have an ‘open door’ approach.”
Sam: “It’s great, I really love it. The lecturers in the Faculty are really approachable. If you have a query or problem with anything at all you can email them or make an appointment for a chat, so there’s plenty of support.”
Frances: “I like the balance between the academic and practical side. Some of the lecturers are still in practice which I find really useful, as we might be discussing a topic and they’ll say ‘I saw a woman in this situation last week’ and they can relate the theory to their personal experience of what’s happening right now in maternity services. The library staff are really helpful too. They offer sessions on how to search the various medical databases which has been great for me, not coming from a healthcare background. One of the best things about the course is that we’re all from different backgrounds and at different ages and lifestages, so we all bring a variety of experiences. You don’t have to be one type of person to be a midwife.”
How about your experiences on clinical placement?
Jennifer: “There are two placements, one of two years’ duration and one of one year. Within each placement you experience a variety of environments, in both community services and hospital-based services – including ante-natal clinics, labour wards and post-natal wards. I think it’s a really good idea to do two placements (not every university does). I did my two year placement at Epsom Hospital and I’m currently doing my one year placement at St George’s Hospital in Tooting. Epsom is a smaller, local unit dealing mainly with normal deliveries, while St George’s takes more high risk cases from the surrounding areas. It’s hard to leave your first placement and start over somewhere else, but it’s definitely beneficial to have two different experiences, as different maternity units work in different ways.
“I think your real learning is done on placement. It’s a great opportunity to chat through the theory you’ve learned at university and how it works in practice, so you really understand how and why things are done the way they are. I’ve had some placement mentors who’ve been really inspiring, giving me a taste of the kind of midwife I aspire to be.”
Sam: “On placement, you’re assigned a mentor who you work with all the time, so you form a relationship with them. You’re observing and shadowing them, then over time they let you do more and monitor your progress. There’s a range of processes you have to witness, and a range you have to practice a given number of times. For example, you have to deliver at least 40 babies over the three years of the course. Your mentor will note when you’ve achieved each process in your practice assessment document. My current mentor is great, I really like her approach. She explains everything and has a way of doing things that makes it clear and simple. A good mentor is supportive but also gently pushes you outside your comfort zone.
“We also have a clinical placement facilitator who schedules your shifts, checks how you’re doing and works with you occasionally, and is available to talk to if you have any problems or concerns. I and the other students meet with our clinical placement facilitator about every three weeks, and she’s also created a Facebook group where we can all keep in touch.”
Frances: “My first placement was six weeks into the course - which sounds daunting as you think ‘but I haven’t learnt anything yet!’. But actually it’s really useful because you see what’s happening and how a maternity unit operates, so you can go back to your lectures and really understand more and put it into context. It all starts to click. Obviously in the early stages you’re not expected to know all about pregnancy and birth; it’s more about communication – learning to communicate with women, listen to them and care for them as people, which is always an important part of the job.
At the moment I’m on placement in the maternity ward at Kingston Hospital. At the start of each shift there’s a handover meeting with the midwives from the previous shift where we run through who there is to look after and what’s been happening. Then my mentor and I will decide who we’re going to look after. Last night we had a woman who was having her second baby; she was already very near the end of her labour and she wanted a water birth, so we had rush to get the pool running as it takes about 40 minutes to fill! We helped her to stay calm, as at that point in labour women can be quite distressed. You also have to listen to the baby’s heartbeat and work out where the baby is position-wise, go through the mother’s notes so you know all about her medical history and how the pregnancy has been – all while building up a relationship with the mother. Once in the pool, the mother gave birth within about 10 minutes. In the water it’s very much a hands-off approach. You’re encouraging the mother as she pushes and letting her know what’s happening.
I’ve delivered 15 babies so far. It’s a completely different experience than giving birth yourself. I find it quite emotional – I still get a lump in my throat every time! I love being on placement. It’s the best way to learn, as you’re being a midwife.”
And finally, do you have any advice for other students considering this course?
Jennifer: “Do your homework – find out what being a midwife really means. Get some practical experience if you can. For example, some people work as maternity assistants or healthcare assistants.”
Sam: “I agree. Having worked as a maternity assistant, when I went on placement I knew what to expect and there were no real surprises. ”
Frances: “Come to an open day at the university. I found it really helpful because you can talk to current students and get a real feel for what the course is like day to day. You can also meet the lecturers which again I found really useful. After talking to them about not having a science background, I decided to take some evening classes in biology and also volunteered at West Middlesex Hospital in a neo-natal unit and a breastfeeding clinic. That gave me a real flavour of what the job is like in practice, and I was able to meet midwives and talk to them about their roles and experiences.”
