Midwifery without going to University

I am an graduate in the finance field with a graduate job in this position however, I have had a keen interest midwifery from a young age. I did not receive the grades required to get into Midwifery therefore was left heartbroken to say the least!I was just going to ask whether anyone knows of a Midwifery course to get into the field without attending university? Ive done a bit of research myself however, I have not been able to find any form of course which leads you straight into midwifery without a Bachelors. The reason behind this is I believe it is very unfair for disadvantaged students who have always dreamt of being a midwife but have been unable to gain the grades required to get accepted. I would like to create my own syllabus as an idea (which may possibly take years) but hopefully allow students to have a

I am an graduate in the finance field with a graduate job in this position however, I have had a keen interest midwifery from a young age. I did not receive the grades required to get into Midwifery therefore was left heartbroken to say the least!I was just going to ask whether anyone knows of a Midwifery course to get into the field without attending university? Ive done a bit of research myself however, I have not been able to find any form of course which leads you straight into midwifery without a Bachelors. The reason behind this is I believe it is very unfair for disadvantaged students who have always dreamt of being a midwife but have been unable to gain the grades required to get accepted. I would like to create my own syllabus as an idea (which may possibly take years) but hopefully allow students to have a

I am an graduate in the finance field with a graduate job in this position however, I have had a keen interest midwifery from a young age. I did not receive the grades required to get into Midwifery therefore was left heartbroken to say the least!I was just going to ask whether anyone knows of a Midwifery course to get into the field without attending university? Ive done a bit of research myself however, I have not been able to find any form of course which leads you straight into midwifery without a Bachelors. The reason behind this is I believe it is very unfair for disadvantaged students who have always dreamt of being a midwife but have been unable to gain the grades required to get accepted. I would like to create my own syllabus as an idea (which may possibly take years) but hopefully allow students to have a

Hiya Naeema, I am currently a student midwife. There is a new midwifery apprenticeship that is due to start in 2019 https://www.rcm.org.uk/news-views-and-analysis/views/maternity-apprenticeships-take-shape. But, i'm not entierly clear on what the qualification on completion of the course will actually be but it seems as though it could be a bridge to get you the qualifications you need to get onto the midwifery course. Some of the ladies on the course started as Maternity support workers and were seconded by their hospitals after completing the access course. Speaking of which I would reccommend looking into the access course which is the alternative to A levels to meet the entry requirements (if you didn't know that already).
But unfortunately there are no "short cuts", to qualify as a midwife you need to hold a degree in midwifery, no getting around that I'm afraid. Also creating your own syllabus would not wash with the Nursing & Midwifery council (the governing body for nurses and midwives in the UK) otherwise I am sure that would have been done already. On a serious note, midwifery is ultimately about safeguarding the lives and wellbeing of women and their babies, so you need to know the biology behind what you are doing and the signs of symptoms of developing problems, you need the maths so that you know how to give drugs without overdosing the woman. So, the entry requirements that are put in place by universities are there for good reason. Good luck!

I’ve seen this regarding the apprentiships but can’t find any info anywhere else?

It's new, so more information should come out this year at some point. But in the meantime doing the access course seems like it would be a suitable option for you.

I would speak to a careers advisor https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/contact-us/home

With Maths and English, as long as it hasn't changed, it you didn't pass you are able to do it free as an adult with the Adult Education service but again you would have to double check on that one.

I think I’d have to do two years, 1 Access, then 1 GCSE, then 3 years for the degree. I’d be 46 by the time I’d finish.

Well I guess then it depends on whether you feel the 5 years will be worth it for the end goal of becoming a midwife. Nothing worth doing is easy for the most part when it comes to careers. There are other at least 3 students in my cohort that are in their 40's so is being 46 on qualifying a big enough deterrent for you?

If you want "quicker" entrance into the maternity field you could look into the roles of the maternity support worker, doula, breastfeeding consultant. I guess it depends how much you want to be a midwife specifically or whether your desire is to work with pregnant women.

I think it also boils down to the role of the midwife, I assume you are already aware of the role but it involves a lot more than is sometimes portrayed and frankly I would question whether an individual (who was not already medically qualified to some degree e.g. a nurse) who has any less than 3 years training would be appropriately qualified for the role?

No they wouldn’t be qualified at all. It’s just if I can squeeze in the Acces course and gcse into one year. I’ve spoke to the National careers service and they have given me some contacts.
I completely understand midwifery isn’t a bed of roses. I had one easy pregnancy that followed with a horrific birth and my second pregnancy was traumatic with a stress free two hour labour. To me it’s first and foremost about the women and impowering them to take control of their pregnancies labour and post baby. The access course is Health and Social Care so if I wasn’t successful with a University application I could use it for HCA perhaps.

That sounds like it could be a plan, doing the access course and GCSE in a year. Sorry, by my statement about the length of training and the role of the midwife I'm not saying that it's not challenging and downright difficult at times (it is don't get me wrong). But I am saying there is a lot of biology involved and it's a lot more scientific and technical then I could have imagined before I started the course. So you definitely do need the 3 years to learn, it's brilliant that you want to empower women - I think the interviewers would be very impressed to hear that. If you were to go down the maternity support worker (MSW) route than while it would be favourable to have the health and social qualification it isn't actually necessary in the entry requirements. You would need to demonstrate literacy and numeracy skills which could be from functional skills numeracy & literacy depending on which hospital you apply to (although as I am aware most would be looking for GCSEs). https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/Explore-roles/wider-healthcare-team/roles-wider-healthcare-team/clinical-support-staff/maternity-support-worker

Thank you. I’m going to make some calls this week and see how I can go forward with gaining the GCSE I need.