Why Nottingham (Midwifery)?
After writing my post on Why Midwifery, I realised at times I had to stop myself from writing about Midwifery at Nottingham, because in a way, so much of my excitement for Midwifery now revolves around what Nottingham offers in a course in Midwifery. The two separate entities have entwined themselves in my brain.
I know I keep referring back to Medicine but it was such a big part of my life for so long that it’s hard not to mention it. I apologise in advance.
When applying to Medicine I fell completely in love with two universities. Before applying, I had no idea which university – or even what type of university – I wanted to go to. In fact, the only thing I knew was that I wanted to Medicine. Luckily for me, there aren’t that many universities that offer Medicine so there were only a handful to choose. Unfortunately for my parents, I wanted to go to them all. Yes.
We ended up going to 17 different university open days thanks to my very careful planning and scheduling timetable for summer 2012 and 2013. I loved being able to get a real feel for the different universities and the opportunity to interact with staff and students to not only ask questions but also get a personal touch. I would thoroughly recommend visiting universities before applying.
After all of that, I very easily picked my top two: UCL and Nottingham. As soon as I walked into the universities, I just got a sense that I belonged despite them being total opposites in terms of being city and campus based. Looking back, it was kind of crazy. I never thought I’d get into both so it was a complete shock when I had to choose between them…a story for a different day. Given that UCL didn’t offer Midwifery, it seemed almost obvious to go for Nottingham!
Having spent 3 years in London – and loving it – I decided I wanted to be closer to home. I have a very close family and seeing my cousin and sister come home regularly has been touch so despite people saying you shouldn’t pick a university because of proximity, my personal advice is that it should definitely form a part of the decision.
Having said all that, the most overwhelmingly persuading reason for picking Nottingham for me was quite simply, the course. As soon as I started reading the course information I was taken. Not only does it sound like the perfect balance of clinical practice and theoretical based knowledge, the teaching is done via multiple mechanisms to truly explore all aspects of the field. On top of that is their case-holding policy. I’ve never heard of this before but as soon as I heard of it I thought it was such an incredible opportunity. You are partnered with several patients and follow the entire process of pregnancy, labour, delivery and post-natal of the individual. Being on call for the birth may sound horrible but I’m actually looking forward to it and find the whole idea exhilarating.
My favourite thing though was the two extra courses that come with Nottingham. Funnily enough, my mum said I always make my life harder but I think of it as more of a way to expand my horizons. Both the courses are something that are totally up my alley but even more so, they cover some of my biggest passions and enjoyments.
The first is that the university has the Baby Friendly Award. Simply put this allows me to get the training to feel comfortable with advising and supporting women and babies in all aspects of breast feeding. I am a strong advocate for breast feeding and have been for quite some time. Given that I did a partial course at my first year of university, while studying Birth to 6 weeks, I really loved it so I am incredibly excited to explore this further.
The other course included is the Neonatal and Infant Physical Examination (NIPE) Award. Given that there is a high demand trained midwives with this course in the NHS, this additional qualification will enhance my midwifery career prospects. Plus, it’s another thing I will actually enjoy! Doing birth and 6 week check-ups is one thing I wanted to be involved with as a doctor so being given the opportunity to do it on a similar basis is wonderful.
While the end of my career as a doctor may be over, my final year travel plans don’t have to be. I have always said I wanted to return to Tanzania and be able to help, giving back as a graduate. With Nottingham, they allow you the opportunity to go abroad and I can’t wait.
I think it’s fairly obvious that I am incredibly excited to start this next step in my journey. I honestly can’t wait!
I know I keep referring back to Medicine but it was such a big part of my life for so long that it’s hard not to mention it. I apologise in advance.
When applying to Medicine I fell completely in love with two universities. Before applying, I had no idea which university – or even what type of university – I wanted to go to. In fact, the only thing I knew was that I wanted to Medicine. Luckily for me, there aren’t that many universities that offer Medicine so there were only a handful to choose. Unfortunately for my parents, I wanted to go to them all. Yes.
We ended up going to 17 different university open days thanks to my very careful planning and scheduling timetable for summer 2012 and 2013. I loved being able to get a real feel for the different universities and the opportunity to interact with staff and students to not only ask questions but also get a personal touch. I would thoroughly recommend visiting universities before applying.
After all of that, I very easily picked my top two: UCL and Nottingham. As soon as I walked into the universities, I just got a sense that I belonged despite them being total opposites in terms of being city and campus based. Looking back, it was kind of crazy. I never thought I’d get into both so it was a complete shock when I had to choose between them…a story for a different day. Given that UCL didn’t offer Midwifery, it seemed almost obvious to go for Nottingham!
Having spent 3 years in London – and loving it – I decided I wanted to be closer to home. I have a very close family and seeing my cousin and sister come home regularly has been touch so despite people saying you shouldn’t pick a university because of proximity, my personal advice is that it should definitely form a part of the decision.
Having said all that, the most overwhelmingly persuading reason for picking Nottingham for me was quite simply, the course. As soon as I started reading the course information I was taken. Not only does it sound like the perfect balance of clinical practice and theoretical based knowledge, the teaching is done via multiple mechanisms to truly explore all aspects of the field. On top of that is their case-holding policy. I’ve never heard of this before but as soon as I heard of it I thought it was such an incredible opportunity. You are partnered with several patients and follow the entire process of pregnancy, labour, delivery and post-natal of the individual. Being on call for the birth may sound horrible but I’m actually looking forward to it and find the whole idea exhilarating.
My favourite thing though was the two extra courses that come with Nottingham. Funnily enough, my mum said I always make my life harder but I think of it as more of a way to expand my horizons. Both the courses are something that are totally up my alley but even more so, they cover some of my biggest passions and enjoyments.
The first is that the university has the Baby Friendly Award. Simply put this allows me to get the training to feel comfortable with advising and supporting women and babies in all aspects of breast feeding. I am a strong advocate for breast feeding and have been for quite some time. Given that I did a partial course at my first year of university, while studying Birth to 6 weeks, I really loved it so I am incredibly excited to explore this further.
The other course included is the Neonatal and Infant Physical Examination (NIPE) Award. Given that there is a high demand trained midwives with this course in the NHS, this additional qualification will enhance my midwifery career prospects. Plus, it’s another thing I will actually enjoy! Doing birth and 6 week check-ups is one thing I wanted to be involved with as a doctor so being given the opportunity to do it on a similar basis is wonderful.
While the end of my career as a doctor may be over, my final year travel plans don’t have to be. I have always said I wanted to return to Tanzania and be able to help, giving back as a graduate. With Nottingham, they allow you the opportunity to go abroad and I can’t wait.
I think it’s fairly obvious that I am incredibly excited to start this next step in my journey. I honestly can’t wait!
Why did I pick Nottingham to do my new university course?!
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