Jobs working alongside midwives

Responsibilities

As a midwife, you must be able to:

observe and investigate Women throughout pregnancy create, review, and evaluate personalized care plans.

offer comprehensive prenatal care, including screening tests, exams, and parenting courses

high-risk pregnancies and send them to physicians and other medical professionals

Organize and deliver parenting and health education; provide counseling and advise before and after screenings and testing

provide assistance and advise in the aftermath of events such as miscarriage, termination, stillbirth, newborn abnormalities, and neonatal death supervise and help women in labor, monitoring the state of the foetus, and using medication and pain management expertise

provide assistance and advice on everyday infant care, such as nursing, bathing, and making up feeds

improve health and well-being by providing pregnant moms and their families with balanced information

communicate with agencies and other health and social care providers to ensure care continuity

stay abreast of professional advances so that their skills and expertise remain current engage in the training and supervision of younger colleagues

Salary

Midwives employed by the NHS are paid on a set pay scale known as Agenda for Change. Salaries for newly qualified midwives are established at Band 5, with a starting salary of £25,655.

You may then advance to Band 6, which pays between £32,306 and £39,027.

Salaries in Band 7, where you'll be working at a higher level, such as leading a team, range from £40,057 to £45,839.

A nurse consultant is one of the highest-paid occupations in nursing, with starting wages ranging from £54,764 to £75,874.

Health Careers income data. Figures are solely provided as a guide.

Working times

Unsocial hours are common during working hours. The typical full-time work week is 37.5 hours long and includes day and night shifts, weekends, and bank holidays. Community and independent midwives are often on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and you can expect to be on an on-call rota at some time in your career.

There is part-time job available. Working for yourself or as a freelancer is occasionally feasible, and you may opt to work in independent practice, which may provide greater chances for continuity of treatment. There may be opportunities for career breaks.

What to anticipate

You may work in big hospital maternity units, smaller stand-alone maternity units, private maternity hospitals, group practices, birth centers, general practices, and community settings.

You'll collaborate with a variety of medical and health experts, including maternity support workers, gynecologists, health visitors, GPs, and neonatal nurses, as part of a team.

Despite the fact that men have been permitted to train as midwives since 1975, there are still extremely few males in the field. People from ethnic minorities are underrepresented as well. See Together in Practice for further information on what the NMC is doing to improve equity, diversity, and inclusion in the profession.

The job may be physically and psychologically taxing, and it exposes you to delicate circumstances like mourning and domestic violence.

You may be required to go to patients' homes or attend births throughout the day or night, although overnight absences and international travel are unusual.

Qualifications

To work as a midwife in the United Kingdom, you must be registered with the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC). To register, you must first finish an authorized pre-registration degree-level program, such as a midwifery undergraduate or postgraduate degree, or a degree apprenticeship.

Full-time programs are three years long. The first half of the degree is spent at university, while the second half is spent on clinical assignments to provide you hands-on experience. You'll learn how to comprehend and support normal labor, as well as recognize possible difficulties, take emergency measures, and seek assistance from other specialists as necessary.

Apprenticeships in midwifery combine paid employment in a relevant position with academic education. Find an apprenticeship by searching for openings on NHS Jobs.

Part-time courses are accessible for persons who are already employed in a relevant capacity and typically last five to six years. If you are currently a registered (adult) nurse, you may enroll in a condensed midwifery training program that permits you to dual register with the NMC.

Look for midwifery programs that have been authorized by the MC. Contact universities directly for part-time courses.

Acceptance in a course is contingent on a good health clearance and a criminal background check. A criminal conviction or caution will not immediately exclude you from working in the NHS.

Eligible pre-registration midwifery students studying at an English institution may get funding of up to £5,000 per year. You don't have to pay it back, and you may still get money from the Student Loans Company for tuition and living expenses. More information may be found at Health Careers: Financial Support at University.

Because admission to a midwifery degree is competitive, you should apply as soon as possible. UCAS is the application system for full-time studies. Contact universities directly for part-time courses.

Skills

You will need the following items:

excellent communication and interpersonal skills to be able to communicate clearly with a variety of women, their partners, and families a caring and calm demeanor when dealing with emotional situations the ability to react quickly, decisively, and effectively in times of stress or when immediate decisions need to be made during labor a methodical and disciplined approach to work with the ability to be assertive when necessary

Working knowledge

Pre-employment experience in healthcare or social care is a considerable benefit. Working with breastfeeding groups or organizations dealing with challenges such as birth abnormalities, grief, or miscarriage might be beneficial experience, whether paid or volunteer.

You will need to demonstrate that you understand the job of a midwife and the work they conduct during your interview for a place on a programme. It may be difficult to locate a work placement in a midwifery environment, but you might job shadow or speak with a midwife to learn more about their work.

Learn more about the many types of work experience and internships offered.

Employers

The NHS employs the vast majority of midwives. They are employed in:

hospitals - on prenatal wards, labor wards (obstetric units), postnatal wards, and neonatal units, as well as triage and assessment midwifery-led maternity units and birthing centers the community - at GP surgeries, clinics, children's centers, and women's homes

Employment is also available at private hospitals, independent clinics, and the military forces.

Self-employment is an option. University hospitals hire midwives via collaborative ventures between the trust and the university to serve as lecturer-practitioners or to undertake research. Look for job openings at:

Midwife Career contains information on how to become a midwife and how to make your application stand out.

Professional advancement

As a freshly certified midwife, you will get official assistance under the supervision of an experienced professional colleague. They will be available to provide advise and assistance throughout the first several months of professional practice.

Throughout your career, you'll need to keep your Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) registration current, which must be renewed every three years. To do so, you must demonstrate that you satisfied the NMC revalidation standards within that time frame. These are some examples:

450 hours of practice (or 900 if you are dual registered as both a nurse and midwife)

Continued professional development (CPD) of 35 hours, including 20 hours of participatory learning

five items of comments on practice

five written testimonies of reflection

health and character declaration introspective discussion

professional indemnity contract

confirmation - You must show an appropriate'confirmer' that you have satisfied the revalidation conditions.

The revalidation procedure guarantees that your skills and knowledge are up to date and that you are practicing in a safe and effective manner.

Participatory learning for CPD must entail contact with at least one other professional and may include attending conferences, seminars, or related training courses and activities. More information may be found at NMC Revalidation.

You may broaden your position by attending specialised courses in areas such as improved midwifery practice, family planning, clinical teaching, and research. The Royal College of Midwives provides information on pertinent events, training, and resources.

There are additional chances for advanced study at the degree, master's, and doctoral levels. Look for postgraduate midwifery courses.

Prospects for a Career

You may gain expertise and knowledge in a variety of healthcare settings, including becoming a clinical specialist in one of the following areas:

Antenatal screening, breastfeeding counseling, home birthing, intensive care neonatal units, labor ward monitoring, parental education, public health, ultrasound, and foetal medicine are all available.

You might work as a consultant midwife, spending your time between direct patient care and teaching and directing practice changes.

Alternatively, you might pursue a job in higher management, such as head of midwifery services or midwifery supervisor with the local supervisory authority. Alternatively, you might work in healthcare or academia, teaching or doing research.

Work overseas is possible via organizations such as Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) or Médecins Sans Frontières. Midwives in several countries must also be registered nurses in order to practice, so confirm this before applying.