Nursing (adult) degree then midwifery?

Original post by gemmajg123

Is is better, long term and short term, to do a midwifery degree, or a nursing adult degree and then a midwifery degree after?

If you want to be a midwife then just do midwifery from the beginning as conversion courses (to go from adult to midwifery) are far and few between and not always funded.

Reply 2

I agree with above, Go straight for Midwifery if that's your passion. The 18 month top up courses are starting to be phased out in some areas (they usually happen now when each hospital needs new midwifes and not enough will be qualifying that year)

Reply 3

OP

how about if I'm still unsure about a career path? I've always wanted to work in healthcare and I can't see myself doing midwifery my whole life?

Original post by c.w.2015

I agree with above, Go straight for Midwifery if that's your passion. The 18 month top up courses are starting to be phased out in some areas (they usually happen now when each hospital needs new midwifes and not enough will be qualifying that year)

Reply 4

OP

surely a general nursing degree gives me more options later on?

Original post by claireestelle

If you want to be a midwife then just do midwifery from the beginning as conversion courses (to go from adult to midwifery) are far and few between and not always funded.

Reply 5

Original post by gemmajg123

surely a general nursing degree gives me more options later on?

by general you mean adult i presume?
The thing is that if you do your midwifery after adult nursing, its a possibility that you wont be able to stay dual registered under NMC rules for particularly long (you d need to check on that) so if you wanted to be a midwife anyway no reason not to do it in the first place.

You shouldn't bank on doing a conversion course to do midwifery later on as they're incredibly competitive from what i ve heard and you d need your employer to decide its worth it paying for you to do it, which cant be particularly easy.

Original post by gemmajg123

how about if I'm still unsure about a career path? I've always wanted to work in healthcare and I can't see myself doing midwifery my whole life?

To be honest if can't see yourself being a midwife your whole life then maybe nursing could be the better decision for you but don't apply to any course if there's any doubt in your mind at all, not a decision to be rushed whatsoever

Reply 6

Original post by gemmajg123

how about if I'm still unsure about a career path? I've always wanted to work in healthcare and I can't see myself doing midwifery my whole life?

I would think about where you want to work in the end, Here they won't accept you for adult nursing if you plan on being a midwife after. The admissions dept want us to be 100% committed.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Department wise? :smile:

Reply 7

OP

what do you mean staying dual registered with the NMC. thanks for your help by the way

Original post by claireestelle

by general you mean adult i presume?
The thing is that if you do your midwifery after adult nursing, its a possibility that you wont be able to stay dual registered under NMC rules for particularly long (you d need to check on that) so if you wanted to be a midwife anyway no reason not to do it in the first place.

You shouldn't bank on doing a conversion course to do midwifery later on as they're incredibly competitive from what i ve heard and you d need your employer to decide its worth it paying for you to do it, which cant be particularly easy.

To be honest if can't see yourself being a midwife your whole life then maybe nursing could be the better decision for you but don't apply to any course if there's any doubt in your mind at all, not a decision to be rushed whatsoever

Reply 8

Original post by gemmajg123

what do you mean staying dual registered with the NMC. thanks for your help by the way

Dual registered is being registered to train as a Midwife and Nurse, You need to do set hrs in each a year or you cannot work in that area.

Reply 9

OP

how would you loose it though?

Original post by c.w.2015

Dual registered is being registered to train as a Midwife and Nurse, You need to do set hrs in each a year or you cannot work in that area.

Reply 10

Original post by gemmajg123

how would you loose it though?

If you dont do enough hours as a nurse they take your registered nurse status off you

Reply 11

Original post by gemmajg123

how would you loose it though?

To work as a Nurse or midwife you need to work a set number of hrs and pay set fee's, If you don't do this it becomes Illegal for you to work as this profession (a hospital etc won't employ you).

Reply 12

OP

so after you take the midwifery degree are you unable to go back to working as a nurse?

Original post by claireestelle

If you dont do enough hours as a nurse they take your registered nurse status off you

Reply 13

Original post by gemmajg123

so after you take the midwifery degree are you unable to go back to working as a nurse?

You can, but to keep the option open you will have to work (in each area)

•

450 hours of registered practice in the previous three years and

•

35 hours of learning activity (Continuing Professional Development) in the previous three years.

Reply 14

Original post by gemmajg123

so after you take the midwifery degree are you unable to go back to working as a nurse?

I m not sure if its still the same but i ve read if you manage to do 150 hours a year still as a nurse you could keep it and you need CPD hours on top otherwise yes you might not be a nurse anymore afterwards.

Reply 15

OP

so could I work as a nurse for a while, then after I want to change I can take a midwifery short course and then keen a profession as a midwife? so technically the general nursing degree allows me to change in the future? also are you able to change to specialize in pediatric and child?

Original post by c.w.2015

You can, but to keep the option open you will have to work (in each area)

•

450 hours of registered practice in the previous three years and

•

35 hours of learning activity (Continuing Professional Development) in the previous three years.

Reply 16

Original post by gemmajg123

so could I work as a nurse for a while, then after I want to change I can take a midwifery short course and then keen a profession as a midwife? so technically the general nursing degree allows me to change in the future? also are you able to change to specialize in pediatric and child?

You can go from Adult nursing to Midwifery (it's not easy though and some areas have started to phase it out) You cannot go from Adult to Child nursing (each is a separate degree)

Reply 17

OP