Preparing for Midwifery: Bridging Gaps, Setting Goals, and Crafting a Path to Success

Section 1

Identification of the job advert and personal specification

A midwife refers to a trained health professional who assists women at the time of labor, delivery, and even after childbirth. Often, midwife delivers babies at home or at the birthing center as well as hospital, etc. Some of the specific roles includes abnormal condition detection, emergency measures execution especially in absence of medical professional, examining child’s position and health, assisting with hospital bookings and routine checks, giving support and advice, preparing women for labor and birth, giving women information, encouragement and emotional support, monitoring the heartbeat of a child, etc. Other roles of a midwife after birth of a baby include; helping with setting and breastfeeding of a child, showing women how to bathe the baby and among other roles, administering pain relief if needed.

Midwifery has been my fascination since the age of ten years when my step-mother became pregnant. This promoted my interest in all elements of pregnancy. From this experience, I discovered the importance of midwives in society. After having this fascination for some time, I have a feeling that midwifery is what I require in my life to assist the community, therefore, attending formal training in a university will enable me to gain a better understanding of the practical and medical of midwifery side. Moreover, for a long time, I was always drawn to the feeling of responsibility, care, and support towards others. I strongly believe midwives to be a meaningful and significant profession in women’s lives and I came to envy such a rewarding profession. Also after wide reading about women's unique experiences, I became thirsty for knowledge concerning motherhood, pregnancy and the moments of birth, therefore, it has become evident that midwifery is all that I desire to pursue.

Looking at my personality, job experience and academics, I am fully qualified for midwifery. From my personality, I am self-motivated, enthusiastic, hardworking, and a positive individual who always strives to be the best. Nevertheless, I strongly consider myself a flexible individual with the core skills required in midwifery. Besides, I possess all qualities listed in the midwifery 6Cs model values. For instance, I care for women and children, I am compassionate, competent in all what I do, my communication skills are excellent, and I am courageous and committed. All these traits make me the most qualified individual for midwifery. From my job history, I have been working as an operation director at Beauty Basics11 Broad Street Parade, Barry where I have learned management and teamwork management which is crucial to midwifery. Besides, at EkJ12 Limted45-47 Charles Street Cardiff working as a general manager, I have learned communication skills, management skill among other skills which I believe makes me most qualified individual for midwifery. Furthermore, I worked at Auto Trader GroupAccount Manager as a business manager which taught me people skill and other skills which are crucial to midwifery. Academically, I studied GCSEs at St Cyres School Penarth where I specialized in Mathematics and English and also pursued Levels 3 English, History and Business. I also pursued Business Administration and Information Technology at Cardiff ITEC which I believe are critical to midwifery. However, I am limited in that, I lack direct experience in the midwifery sector. This means that I need more training in the field.

SWOT Analysis

Strength

Have all personal traits required for midwifery

Have working experience with skills related to midwifery

Weakness

I do not have the basic training for midwifery

I do not have work experience related to midwifery

Opportunity

With little training, I can be very competent

I like learning and enjoy work experience training

The opportunity offers part time working hours/shift.

Threat

Midwifery is challenging and therefore need persistent individual

Section 2

Job Description and Person Specification

From the job description, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board Merthyr Tydfil, UK has an opportunity for Band 5/6 Midwives to be part of the Maternity Team in the institution’s Board. The position offered includes both part-time and full-time working sessions. The institution also offers opportunities to work in a community setting, Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend and Obstetric Services in Prince Charles Hospital Merthyr Tydfil. The institution's most recommendable requirement is an individual who is passionate about providing women-focused care and who is fully qualified for midwives. Moreover, the institution gives an email address to enquire for more information about this exciting opportunity. Lastly, the institution also suggests that the ability to speak Welsh is an added advantage though, English speakers also have equal chances. From the description of the job, I am fluent in English, therefore, qualifies for this position. Moreover, I have all desirable skills required in midwifery, which makes me a suitable candidate for consideration, however, it's unfortunate that I lack the midwifery training and experience which though a weakness, my skills are an opportunity and strength for this position.

Section 3

Self-Analysis and Reflection

After discovering the importance of midwives in society and having been fascinated by the sector, I believe that midwifery is what I require in my life to assist the community. Moreover, I have a strong feeling of responsibility, care, and support towards others and especially women and children. I hope that midwife is a meaningful and vital profession in women’s lives and I came to envy such a rewarding profession, therefore, it has become evident that midwifery is all that I desire to pursue. In the future, I want to be helpful to women who lack better attendance during pregnancy and who have been neglected by society. Moreover, it is my wish to improve how pregnant women and their children are handled and assist in the achievement of the UN sustainable development goals. However, as described in section one, I am fully qualified based on my trait, academically and work experience. Therefore, I can say that partially, I meet the qualifications described in chapter two in the job description. However, it’s also critical to note that, I lack midwifery training and direct job experience which seems to be a limitation as per the job description, though as noted in chapter two, my skills and experience give me an opportunity and an added advantage. To bridge the limitation, formal training and additional practical training would make me the most qualified midwife desired by any organization.

Section 4

Personal Development Plan

Personal goal refers to goals that are set by an individual who requires to meet the objectives that will promote his/her situation. It follows a systematic process that includes; thoughts, determination, and executions (Jaeggi et al., 2011).

Short Term Goals

These are plans or goals which an individual wants to achieve shortly. This means they are limited to a span of almost one year (Jaeggi et al., 2011). From my SWOT analysis in section one, it's notable that I lack formal training in midwifery. However, I have set short term goals to perfect my skills, training, and knowledge in midwife as soon as possible. This will be achieved via attending seminars, workshops and short term training to perfect my skills in midwifery. Moreover, I am planning to be a wide reader and consultant within one year to perfect my skills in midwifery. Lastly, I am planning to enroll for a degree in midwife later though within twelve months to start formal training in my career. A study conducted by Chopra (2015), reveals that workshops, seminars and short term training of employees are very effective in sharpening employees' skills and expertise. The study also noted that short term training is particularly important for new employees. This makes me believe, I would be the best after being offered little training. Another study notes that university training and personal training transform people's lives via education and have a wider impact on student's skills and research as well as knowledge which employers need (Yuan & Powell, 2013). This makes me believe I will overcome my weakness soon.

Medium-Term Goals

Medium-term goals are goals that are aimed to be achieved between a person’s long-term goals and short-term goals. Based on various scholars, these goals can be achieved with a maximum period of four years (Look AHEAD Research Group, 2010). Concerning my threat and weakness, I am planning to graduate from university in four years, joining other professionals as a trained professional and possessing all necessary certification for midwifery. This will be achieved via working hard to pass all my exams in time and graduating and sitting for all certification body exams to be a qualified and legal midwife. Studies by Smith, (2014), suggest that often most midwives undergo nurse training before joining the midwives profession. However, the study also reveals that one can become a midwife by directly studying midwifery courses. To achieve this, a student requires to study at a university for a midwifery degree. The course is designed to offer students a blend of theory and practice. Furthermore, the course prepares students for the responsibilities of being a midwife. However, Kinnell & Hughes (2010), also note that any individual who aspires to be a midwife in the UK must register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Registration requires successful completion of an approved course in the midwifery sector and meet the NMC requirements of character and health. This is an indication that my professional and midterm goals are all in line which is an opportunity in my roles.

Long Term Goals

These are strategies which an individual need to achieve in the future. Therefore, they require time and planning. Sometimes based on scholars, it takes from 12 months to a lifetime (Look AHEAD Research Group, 2010). By this time I would have overcome all the current limitations and threats as per the SWOT analysis and the job description. However, my personal life goals and fascination make this section very significant. For my long term goals, I am planning to further my studies to achieve MSc in a midwife, better the society and actively participate in UN millennium sustainable development goals to achieve a better world. To achieve these goals, I will enroll in the university for further education and be an active participant of the millennial goals. In 2015, 195 states came to an agreement that, that they can change the world for the better. The states agreed to come together and bringing together their respective business, governments, institutions of higher education, media as well as local NGOs to improve the lives of the people in their country by 2030 (Nilsson et al., 2016). As per Tangcharoensathien et al., (2015), one of the goals is to establish good health and well-being. Therefore participating to achieve these goals will be very critical in making the society habitable and improving the wellbeing of society and the world in general. Concerning my goals to enroll in a master's degree, a study by Janks (2014), suggest that, master’s degree/higher education provides in-depth knowledge in an individual’s field, better networking skills, flexibility, and lifelong learning. The study also notes that learning a master's degree is an opportunity for financial gain. In this case, this is an opportunity to use my resources to assist less fortunate pregnant mothers to better their lives.

Continue your journey with our comprehensive guide to Journey of Self-Discovery.

References

Chopra, B., 2015. Importance of training and development in an organization. The Economic Times.

Jaeggi, S.M., Buschkuehl, M., Jonides, J. and Shah, P., 2011. Short-and long-term benefits of cognitive training. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(25), pp.10081-10086.

Janks, H., 2014. Critical literacy's ongoing importance for education. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 57(5), pp.349-356.

Kinnell, D. and Hughes, P., 2010. Mentoring nursing and healthcare students. Sage.

Look AHEAD Research Group, 2010. Long term effects of a lifestyle intervention on weight and cardiovascular risk factors in individuals with type 2 diabetes: four year results of the Look AHEAD trial. Archives of internal medicine, 170(17), p.1566.

Nilsson, M., Griggs, D. and Visbeck, M., 2016. Policy: map the interactions between Sustainable Development Goals. Nature, 534(7607), pp.320-322.

Smith, M., 2014. Midwife. The Virginia Quarterly Review, 90(4), p.124.

Tangcharoensathien, V., Mills, A. and Palu, T., 2015. Accelerating health equity: the key role of universal health coverage in the Sustainable Development Goals. BMC medicine, 13(1), p.101.

Yuan, L. and Powell, S.J., 2013. MOOCs and open education: Implications for higher education.