Midwifery Personal Statement Example 4

From a young age I have had a desire to help and care for people. Once I was old enough to understand the uniqueness and beauty of all stages of pregnancy and birth, I knew that I wanted it to be a part of my everyday life. As soon as I started researching the role of a midwife, I knew it was the perfect career for me as pregnancy and birth are such significant times in the lives of women and their families.

By arranging a tour of the maternity department at Kingston Hospital, I was given the opportunity to learn about the role of the midwife from a group of working midwives. They helped me understand that the midwife plays an important role from conception until the postnatal period and beyond. I was also interested to learn that the midwife provides help and advice for the partners and families of the women as well as the mother herself.

I feel that all of the subjects that I have chosen to study at A Level enhance the skills I will need as a midwife. Sociology enables me to understand cultures and families from a very open-minded point of view, and therefore have a greater understanding of their specific needs. Philosophy exercises my ability to see situations from more than one point of view, so I can make decisions by considering numerous factors and view points. French is useful as I feel that being I could offer French speaking women the same outstanding service as English speakers.

In addition to my A levels, achieving an A* in GCSE biology gives me confidence that I am more than able to do well in the pure science modules of the course. By reading books such as ‘Midwife Crisis: The Calamities of a Trainee Midwife’ by Hilary Cotterill, I was able to further my understanding of the skills required to be a midwife of the highest standard. In addition, watching documentaries such as ‘Desperate Midwives’ (BBC in 2006) and ‘Confessions of a Nurse’ (Channel 4 in 2009) really increased my interest in being to be part of the rising standards of the NHS and offering an excellent service to women at such a special time in their lives. I have also found working through the StudentMidwife.net “Getting Familiar with Midwifery” workbook invaluable for discovering more about the academic studies of training to be midwife. I feel it has given me great insight into what I will study as a student midwife and made me more confident that is right career for me.

Next summer (2010), I have been given the opportunity to extend my knowledge of the role of the midwife by witnessing the practice of midwives in Malawi. Through the Landirani Trust, a charity working with communities in Malawi, I have been given the chance to work with a Midwife in the local clinic, shadowing her everyday activities and helping out where possible.

Throughout my school life I have always been viewed as hardworking and dedicated in everything I do. I have the ability to work to a high standard both independently and in a group. This is important as midwives need to be able to work as part of a team and autonomously. This has been rewarded by being given important leadership roles such as house captain and school prefect. I also feel that public speaking has greatly improved my communication so that I can clearly convey my ideas and thoughts to a wide range of people of all ages and from all backgrounds.