Placement
Over 50% of the midwifery course is placement, and there truly is no learning experience better than being hands on. Although clinical skills are fantastic for practising and gaining confidence, working with real patients is a completely different experience. I remember seeing a caesarean on my first patient in my first week of placement, and that feeling is what really made me excited to become a midwife and work in health care. I've also made some amazing friends with the other students in my cohort, because you share some really wonderful but also some really difficult experiences together, and only they will really understand.
Being on placement is always the best part of the programme. Spending time with patients, seeing your first birth and making a difference are always special moments. Being such a hands-on programme is the best way to learn. Being sent out on placement in the first term of university was definitely daunting but it made me so much more confident that I made the right career choice. It also prepares you for what your working life will look like. It has given me lots of opportunity to practice the early starts and night shifts, which I now love.