Advice for someone wanting to become midwife

[Addiesmum]

I am a 23 year old mother of two (2 year old and 6 month old) wanting to become a midwife and I want to start in 2010. I have wanted to work with babies since before I could remember so I now want to finally do it!! But I just wanted to get some advice from people who have become or are becoming midwives. I just wanted to see if anyone managed to handle the study load and have young children. I also want to have another baby within the next few years and don't know if that will be possible studying and having a newborn. I don't want to put it off as the longer I do that the longer it will take to finish. Also has anyone studied part time? I'm from Brisbane (Logan) so anyone with info about courses in that area would be helpful too.
But seriously any info at all to do with all aspects of becoming a midwife and or study with young babies would be much appreciated!!!! :doh:

[bunintheoven12]

I'm not a midwife but I think you'll find you have to do four years (full time) of nursing at University. You would have had to apply to Uni in September. Maybe search University websites for more information.

[BabelFish]

You used to have to do a nursing degree first then further training in midwifery. Now you can just do a degree in midwifery that is four years. I would suggest doing it part time, and I would also suggest looking into the government's nursing programme that basically means you do the first two years of straight university and then the rest of it is done in conjunction with working at a hospital, so you would be studying and also getting paid to finish your training on the job.

I know this is an option for nursing but not sure if it's the same for being a mid. I would definitely go to some of the university websites in your area and check it out, and make some calls.

Nursing/midwifery is an awesome occupation for a mother as the hours are very flexible. The study hours (if you go part time) should not overwhelm you either. But no, I would not suggest doing it full time and at your age you can afford to spend eight years in part time study. That time will pass anyway so you may as well reach 30 as a qualified midwife than 30 without having done it because you couldn't manage it full time!

[Lateralus]

I am not sure what the deal is with the MW course, but when I did my nursing degree, part of the course includes blocks of clinical practice where you 'work' in a facility for one, two or four week blocks. The uni is usually pretty inflexible with the shifts you get allocated (usually a morning 7am-3:30pm or evening 1:30-10pm shift - although I had to do night duty when I did my undergrad degree too which was 9pm-7am). Maybe find out what the required prac sessions include to make sure these are workable with your childcare needs!

[NonnyMouse]

You could also look into studying to be a doula.

[RHJ]

If you are wanting to study in 2010, you may well have missed the uni cut off application dates. You will need to check on QTAC ASAP if you are wanting to start in March 2010.

I am doing mid next year, but i am in Melbourne, so my course will be a little different. I have heard ACU is a bit more flexible with their course allowing a bit more for pregnancy and babies. I know mine isn't so flexible.
Direct mid is actually a 3 year degree. If you are only wanting to be a midwife. If you want do do anything such as NICU, then you need both nursing and MID which you can get by doing the double degree which is 4 years.
When you have the next one, you can probably take leave for a year or so from your study.
There are lots of girls down in the study section that are doing MID or Nur/Mid who would better be able to answer your questions, but if you want to do it next year, you are going to have to act now to see if you are still even able to get a first round offer in Jan.

Goodluck.

[Annabella]

I will be doing Midwifery at Australian Catholic Uni in Melbourne in 2011. I'm pretty sure there is a campus in Brisbane offering the same course, 3 yrs full time. I'll be doing PT when I start. As others have said, you have probably missed the cut off for 2010, but it may be worth contacting the uni to ask if they do direct applications. I found all the courses available in Melbourne by looking on the Vtac website, so maybe look on the Qtac site?

As for the load, I just finished a Bachelor of Arts PT (got 2 kids), and I found PT to be a good load, any more would've been pretty hard, and I think a practical based degree such as nursing/Midwifery/Teaching etc would be more full on too with pracs etc.

I'd think about doing a doula course to fill in the year if its too late for next year. It'll probably give you a better chance of getting in when you apply next year too. I think i'm gonna do one next year as it'll be less work than the degree while I have a newborn, but still relevant to my studies.

[Addiesmum]

Silly me i wrote 2010 when i meant 2011!! i nead next year to get more info and to see what i need to do.

Thanks so much for everyones input so far!!! : ) If anyone else has anymore info that would be great!!!

[ladybugblue84]

I started a thread similar to this a little while ago. Check out the midwifery thread I think there is one dedicated to it where people who are actually studying midwifery chat.

I didn't look too far into it but I believe the course at Logan you are thinking of is pretty inflexible. It's more full on than a regular uni course & the semesters are longer. Call the uni & see if you can speak to someone regarding it.

Go onto the qtac website & search for midwifery specific courses. I think from memory there were about 4 in Brisbane. At least one of those seemed to be flexible but I think it was on the other side of town. I think there was one in Ipswich too but not 100% sure.

[The sooper nanny]

I saw your thread and thought... oh my god, why would you want to be a midwife, Im one, and have just had the most crazy 2 shifts.... :laughing: But seriously, it is a great proffession and although the money is crappy, you work every un sociable hour imaginable and you go home exhuasted its all worth it.... If theres anything you want to know just PM me.... if I can do it, you can. The study isnt too bad but I would suggest doing it part time with kiddly winks... I would probably suggest a bachelor of midwifery unless you want to work in the country.... there are certain places that you will work that require you to be a RN and a midwife, but if you want to be just a midwife, skip all the geriatric pracs and go for it.... :thumbsup: You wont regret it.

[lizzymcfizzy]

hi there

I looked into midwifery too to be an early childhood nurse but the study put me off ;) I don't know what state you are in but I still have a few links you might find useful.

Another option was to do a short community services on the job certificate in nursing to skip a year studying.

With my past office experience and my lack of wanting to study so much I decided to just try and get a job working with docs or some type of community service and did a statement in community services before my 2nd baby came. I hope to do a diploma some day and get into the industry.

If you can't study right away, some volunteer would be be a great idea.


http://www.nursing.edu.au/
http://www7.health.nsw.gov.au/healthjobs/Default.cfm?ID=1233
http://www.anmc.org.au/
http://www.nurseinfo.com.au/becoming/becomemidwife


best of luck with your studies :)

[BabyPaparazzi]

Hi, good on you for wanting to study.

I am not doing mw, but I have been studying accounting at griffith at mt gravatt. We have DD and another due in Jan.

I was originally working full time and studying part time, but I am now doing a mixture of part and full time study only. While I was pregnant I was full time, the first semester after DD was born I went part time and then back to full time, we will have to see how this next baby goes to decide how I will study. It really depends on the baby and how you are coping, I went back when DD was 3 months old (and got heaps of oh my's from people) but we had gotten into a really good routine by then. It also helps having DH who is hands on and there for support expecially around times like exams when you need the extra time, and a nanna that you can have drop-in babysit from time to time ;). I found her as a newborn was easier than a 1 year old that needs more playtime attention, but now she is more independent and just does her own thing if I need her to.

If you are dedicated and passionate you will find the time you need, it is amazing how much time you get when you dont turn the tv on and sit down in front of it, I find it more satisying to study.

DD started daycare this last semester two days a week (mainly because I had severe morning sickness and was only on daily injections), she loves it, some uni's have daycares or creche's but they can be a bit hard to get into. I recommend family day care, it is more flexible in the hours and is not as costly.

You have missed the application cut off (it is tomorrow i think) for january offers. But some courses do mid year offers and starts, just depends on the course and uni. I would recommend taking your time to get ready to start and not rush, it costs money to apply so you want to get it right first time.

At 23 you are classed as a mature-age applicant, so there are other options to help you get in the course, such as sitting a STAT test, work history and personal competencies assessment. You will be given an OP equivalant for each one and the highest is used to apply for your course preferences. Everything you need to know is on http://www.qtac.edu.au/Applying-NonYear12/AlternativeEntry.html

You can also pick up a QTAC guide from you news agency, it has all the courses in Qld, their entry requirements etc. I think it is around $15. QTAC also offers some seminars and courses and I highly recommend them if it has been awhile since you studied. Once you also get a place, I recommend the courses the uni's offer in study techniques etc, they are really helpful.

Good luck with it all, it will be well worth it in the end.:thumbsup:

[UmmInayah]

http://www.uq.edu.au/study/program.html?acad_prog=2261

3 years full time, no need to do nursing.

i'm wanting to study when the children are in 2012, hopefully :)