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Should I train as a nurse before going into midwifery?

I would LOVE to eventually become a midwife. I am about to start my a levels and I have chosen:
Psychology
Law
Health and Social Care
The guy who interviewed me at college was explaining that competition for midwifery can be fierce and even though psychology is viewed as a social science, somebody with a level biology would be chosen over me. I can't do biology because I'm only doing GCSE core science and not additional.
I was wondering if perhaps training as a nurse & then completing a short course in Midwifery would be an idea?


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Someone with biology will only be chosen over you if you apply for Unis where A Levels *must* include Biology... so no (read prospectuses/entry requirements online of Unis you might be interested in). Go ahead a go for midwifery if that is what you want to do. A nurse is not a midwife and studying for 3 years in a vocational degree for a vocation you don't want does not make sense to me...

Yes it is very competitive, but people have to get those Uni places. Why not you?
There are very very few places for postgraduate midwifery students at the minute and this is only going to decrease. Competition for these spaces is ridiculously hard and they only take the cream of the crop from nursing degrees across the country.

I really couldn't recommend that this is what you do because there is every likelihood that you would have to work as a nurse which isn't what you want to do for the rest of your life. If this is what you really want, contact some other colleges in the area and see if they would allow you to take biology. Although this isn't an ideal solution at the minute, if you work hard you will have a chance of getting straight onto the degree that you want to do.
Charlotte I think you asre under a mis-apprehension aobut the 'average' entrant to Midwifery as a second registration ... the vastest majority of these practitioners are RNs who have consolidated their practice for a number of years , not fresh grads.
Original post by zippyRN
Charlotte I think you asre under a mis-apprehension aobut the 'average' entrant to Midwifery as a second registration ... the vastest majority of these practitioners are RNs who have consolidated their practice for a number of years , not fresh grads.


I didn't see that it was relevant to mention experienced nurses as this doesn't really apply to the OP, since they were asking about training as a nurse then doing a course in midwifery, I assume they doesn't want to actually practice as a nurse for a number of years.

This is why I recommended looking further into a midwifery degree because of the number of years of training then working that would be involved if they went down the route of a nursing degree. Apologies if this was not clear, was trying to be succinct.
Original post by _rhiax
I would LOVE to eventually become a midwife. I am about to start my a levels and I have chosen:
Psychology
Law
Health and Social Care
The guy who interviewed me at college was explaining that competition for midwifery can be fierce and even though psychology is viewed as a social science, somebody with a level biology would be chosen over me. I can't do biology because I'm only doing GCSE core science and not additional.
I was wondering if perhaps training as a nurse & then completing a short course in Midwifery would be an idea?


Posted from TSR Mobile


It's best to pursue the midwifery degree directly. What the guy said was wrong, because universities will not pick another candidate who does A-Level Biology over somebody without it, unless the universities that you have chosen strongly demands that subject.

All universities judge candidates fairly.

The subjects you've picked is completely fine! (Law is the odd one out, so you can change it for sociology or if you want to study that subject then it's fine. As long as you keep psychology and health & social care)

Always check the entry requirements for the uni's you want to apply to and if you're still in doubt, call them.

Don't worry!!!






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Original post by EskimoJo
Someone with biology will only be chosen over you if you apply for Unis where A Levels *must* include Biology... so no (read prospectuses/entry requirements online of Unis you might be interested in). Go ahead a go for midwifery if that is what you want to do. A nurse is not a midwife and studying for 3 years in a vocational degree for a vocation you don't want does not make sense to me...

Yes it is very competitive, but people have to get those Uni places. Why not you?


I completely agree. My university sift according to the grades people get, not the subjects they're taking. Yeah, nursing and midwifery will entail learning anatomy and physiology and a bit of pharmacology but it's all applied -- the people who did science A-Levels haven't done any better on our A&P modules than those of us who've done arts subjects. I shared a flat in halls with a midwife and her course content was completely different to ours from the start, because it's a completely different profession. Sure, you could work as a children's nurse or in obs/gynae/women's health or health visiting, but it's just not the same.

Seriously, if you want to be a midwife, focus on getting some voluntary experience or part-time work in a health and social care setting instead.

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