[PhoenixFortune]

(Original post by HELPING)
I AM IN THE SAME POSITION AS YOU!!! I HAVE applied for psychology course this year in september and got a plavce at ROYAL HOLLOWAY but i am changing my mind about doing it therefore i am planning to do midwifery in Jan 2013. not sure because what if im making a mistakeee ahhhhh life is soo difficult at timesss x

Have you tried to get work experience in both areas so you can compare them in practice? That's usually the decider for most people.

[Bambinobambina]

Midwifery is very hard ..it's a vocation and there is nothing quite like it ..I know im a midwife ...


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[smd4std]

yes you are. from what i can see you still haven't decided what you want to do with your life. english to midwifery lmao

[molly1412]

(Original post by HELPING)
I AM IN THE SAME POSITION AS YOU!!! I HAVE applied for psychology course this year in september and got a plavce at ROYAL HOLLOWAY but i am changing my mind about doing it therefore i am planning to do midwifery in Jan 2013. not sure because what if im making a mistakeee ahhhhh life is soo difficult at timesss x

I went to Royal Holloway and finnished my degree in Classics last June. I really didn't enjoy the course, especially in the final year as I knew I wanted to be a nurse and my degree was pointless (although arguably it made me the person I am, so not a complete waste of three years). Now I'm due to start Child Nursing in March 2013 and I am far more excited about this course than I ever was about my Classics course. If you know midwifery is what you want to do, go for it!! As long as you have a good understanding of the course and the profession, then you will enjoy it so much more than any other degree (which after three years, you will loathe, trust me!).

[AkDo]

(Original post by sharpesparkle)
I'm in my second year of an English Literature degree at Leeds, and I've been thinking about what I want to do afterwards for some time now. I'd basically decided that I would do a teacher training course and teach for a few years and then try my hand at something else if I want to; it seems the sensible thing to do, considering my degree and skills.

But I secretly have a massive interest in midwifery, and it's been something I've wanted to do since I was little. One of my friends is studying midwifery at the moment, so I'm under no illusions about how challenging and tiring it can be. I read a lot of blogs and articles about pregnancy, childbirth, post-partum care etc and have done for the past year or so, and I still find myself intrigued by the idea of working as a midwife.

I'm just scared at the thought of my degree not meaning anything... if I get onto a midwifery course after uni, what was the point in going to Leeds at all? (It's been very difficult for me emotionally at times- I don't want it to have been pointless). Should I go ahead with my original plan to teach (I would enjoy it anyway) and, after a few years if I'm still interested, go ahead and explore the idea of being a midwife?

I know I have to make this decision for myself, but I just want to get my thoughts out there and see if anyone has been in this situation or have any opinions on it.

Cheers m'dears

No way! I would say more but I have an exam tomorrow - simply if you enjoy it if you don't do it you'll regret it every single day of your life! Don't let yourself regret anything!

[sharpesparkle]

(Original post by AkDo)
No way! I would say more but I have an exam tomorrow - simply if you enjoy it if you don't do it you'll regret it every single day of your life! Don't let yourself regret anything!

I'm coming up to the end of my first year as a student midwife! Thank you for the advice, I pre-emptively took it!

[fox1993]

Hey, I dont think you are crazy to change i have a person in my nursing group who has done a full 3 year english and graduated and now is doing a 4 year nursing degree.

[Becks2889]

Hey I don't think you are crazy at all. You are making a decision to change and not sticking with something that you're unhappy with just because it might seem an easy option. I completed an honours degree in animal behaviour and welfare last June. I was working as a home carer and in a nursing home when I realised nursing has always been for me. And its In my family.And prob should have done that originally! Anyway...I applied to do my nursing and I am about to start this September and have never felt more confident or so sure about something in my life. Go for it! You sound like you really want it. :-) should anything go wrong which I'm sure it won't! You have your English to fall back on!

Good luck!

[madders94]

I'm hopefully going to be doing the same, but after I graduate (I have to get in first ). Wanted to study midwifery for ages but I've been ill and I know that if it's a long term thing, at the moment I won't be able to commit to all the hard work, so for now I'm doing a degree that interests me and once I'm fit and healthy and finished that, I want to study Midwifery

[Goody2Shoes-x]

Follow your dream - you'll regret it if you don't.

[dan1209]

Just come across this thread from Google!

I'm in sort of the same position too, and it's been awful so far.
I've finished the second year of my English degree and I really don't want to study it anymore, let alone find a job with it. I know I really want to work in healthcare (I was planning on doing but I dropped AS Biology and carried on the 'safe route' because I knew I could do English). I've done SO much research over this summer into nursing (adult or mental health), radiography, speech therapy and cardiac physiology as these sound most interesting to me, but I get where you are coming from completely.

Because this was posted a while ago, did you go for midwifery in the end, and are you enjoying it now? (Sorry if you already answered this )

[cs_amy]

Definitely go for it. Can you convert now?

I have a degree in English and Linguistics, it has got me nowhere. I have a job that i HATE in retail and am close to deciding to apply for nursing graduate entry which will take me two years of seriously hardcore work. and poverty....!

If there is any way you can convert now then do it!! It is NHS funded, what you have done isnt a complete waste because with conversion it shortens the course, plus its a dream youve always had!
And even if you do have to do a full three years, what youve done isnt a waste.

You might not use the theory side of things from your degree but with english degrees you learn skills of anaylsing and reflecting, and indirect knowledge like psychology of characters etc... all relevent to a healthcare profession! plus youd have a couple of years life experience on other undergraduate applicants

good luck!

[shanghaichica]

You are not crazy lol You have to do what you enjoy in life otherwise you will only end up miserable and with regrets.

You haven't wasted your previous years of study. Everything is relevant!


I did a degree in molecular biology and a masters in genomics. I worked in the field for a few years and was miserable because it wasn't what I wanted to do. Last year I went back to uni to start a degree in mental health nursing. A lot of my friends and family thought I was crazy for wanting to go into nursing. Most of them have come round to the idea of it and are really supportive of me. My dad is still
Quite negative towards my decision but his attitude has improved a lot over the last year. At first he ranted and raved about me throwing my life away and that he didn't want to know.anything about it. However in the last couple of months he has been asking me questions about it and asking how I'm getting on etc

I'm just about to go into my.second year and I have no regrets at all. I'm happier than I have been in years. I'm doing something that I love and this is one of the best decisions I've ever made.


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[dan1209]

(Original post by shanghaichica)
You are not crazy lol You have to do what you enjoy in life otherwise you will only end up miserable and with regrets.

You haven't wasted your previous years of study. Everything is relevant!


I did a degree in molecular biology and a masters in genomics. I worked in the field for a few years and was miserable because it wasn't what I wanted to do. Last year I went back to uni to start a degree in mental health nursing. A lot of my friends and family thought I was crazy for wanting to go into nursing. Most of them have come round to the idea of it and are really supportive of me. My dad is still
Quite negative towards my decision but his attitude has improved a lot over the last year. At first he ranted and raved about me throwing my life away and that he didn't want to know.anything about it. However in the last couple of months he has been asking me questions about it and asking how I'm getting on etc

I'm just about to go into my.second year and I have no regrets at all. I'm happier than I have been in years. I'm doing something that I love and this is one of the best decisions I've ever made.


This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my GT-N7000

Ah this is good to know! I've got to finish my final year in my degree now but I am definitely applying this time round for nursing to start next September! Just to ask, how you finding the mental health branch? I'm a little undecided yet as to whether adult or mental health is the right branch for me, I would like to work in a hospital but I like the idea that mental health is more communication with patients and I know you can still work on a ward! I've hopefully got some visits sorted soon to have a look round a mental health hospital and to chat to staff.
I also have had people say about the associations with mental health and some people saying oh you'll be in for a rough ride with violence etc. I understand this could be the case but I think there's so much more to it than that!

[dan1209]

(Original post by cs_amy)
Definitely go for it. Can you convert now?

I have a degree in English and Linguistics, it has got me nowhere. I have a job that i HATE in retail and am close to deciding to apply for nursing graduate entry which will take me two years of seriously hardcore work. and poverty....!

If there is any way you can convert now then do it!! It is NHS funded, what you have done isnt a complete waste because with conversion it shortens the course, plus its a dream youve always had!
And even if you do have to do a full three years, what youve done isnt a waste.

You might not use the theory side of things from your degree but with english degrees you learn skills of anaylsing and reflecting, and indirect knowledge like psychology of characters etc... all relevent to a healthcare profession! plus youd have a couple of years life experience on other undergraduate applicants

good luck!

Ah I know, there just seems to be no jobs around! I'm so looking forward to starting something new though, something I have been really interested in I don't think I can convert now but I'm going to finish this degree because I'm on for a 2:1 and apply this Sept for nursing to start next year!

[shanghaichica]

(Original post by dan1209)
Ah this is good to know! I've got to finish my final year in my degree now but I am definitely applying this time round for nursing to start next September! Just to ask, how you finding the mental health branch? I'm a little undecided yet as to whether adult or mental health is the right branch for me, I would like to work in a hospital but I like the idea that mental health is more communication with patients and I know you can still work on a ward! I've hopefully got some visits sorted soon to have a look round a mental health hospital and to chat to staff.
I also have had people say about the associations with mental health and some people saying oh you'll be in for a rough ride with violence etc. I understand this could be the case but I think there's so much more to it than that!

When I was applying I also didn't know whether to do adult or mental Health. I applied for both and got offers for both. My head was telling me to do adult because I thought I would be more suited to it because of my backround in life sciences but my heart/gut was saying mental health. I decided to go with my gut. After being on the course for 3 weeks I reaslised that I had made the right choice. Now I can't imagine doing adult nursing. As you said, it's the ability to form therapeutic relationships with your clients that really draws me to mental health. In adult nursing you just wouldn't have the time/opportunity to have these interactions with your patients. Both of my placements this year have been in the community so are considered to be lower risk. I haven't experienced any really challenging behaviour so far. Of course it's always at the back of mind because when you are working with people you never know how they are going to respond. I'm not really comfortable with this public perception of some kind or association between mental Illness and violence. I think when you work on the frontline there is always a risk of confrontation/violence, so the risk is there whatever branch you go into. You could be working in A&E and you never know who is going to walk through the door and how they will present, that's the way I like to see it.

I did spend a day on a mental health rehabilitation ward during my last placement and I enjoyed it. I'm hopping to get an acute placement next year, however I've really enjoyed working in the community so far.

Good luck in finishing your degree and if it's what you really want to do then go for it and apply to nursing

[Uniround2]

I graduated last year (Psychology) and I am applying do go back next year to study Midwifery!! Crazy!! Really wish that I would have done Midwifery in the first place like I was going to!!


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[Georgie7]

I am so glad I have found other people in the same position!
I studied a year on an English degree, however then transferred to a journalism degree which I have just finished first year of. But I really want to do midwifery and have done for years but I'm afraid I don't have the relevant experience. I have already wasted 2 years, and although I would be happy to continue the journalism degree I just don't see myself being as happy as I would being a midwife. I am going to call my uni tomorrow and see if it is at all possible to transfer again. But did any of you who have transferred, have to have the right things on your cv and the relevant experience?

I'm afraid they will simply say no because I don't have an A Level in science or a years work experience but I would be happy to spend the next 6 months on work experience