Personal Statements for UCAS and NMAS

My personal statement which was successful in gaining me a place at Coventry University

I have always wanted to work within the ‘caring’ professions, particularly in a role where I could make a positive impact on the life of the individual. My interest in people led me to undertake my degree in Psychology, which has enhanced my awareness of the needs of the individual and further fuelled my desire to help people. 

Midwifery has fascinated me, since the birth of my brother when I was twelve years old. I have always felt passionately about the issues surrounding birth and the treatment received by women from the professionals who care for them during pregnancy, birth and the post-natal period.  I feel that a positive birth experience and good health education are vital to the well being of the mother and neonate.

I believe myself to be well prepared for the academic demands of Midwifery with an A-level in Biology and a BSc in Clinical Psychology.  I have a solid grounding in human biology and my study skills are well developed. I have a knowledge of developmental psychology from pre-natal, and of the psychological effects of pregnancy and birth as a life event.

During my time at  Hull University I sought out voluntary placements that would give me hands on experience of psychological practices. I was a volunteer for the university’s telephone listening service ‘Nightline’. Which involved an extensive training and selection procedure. Including training in listening skills and some of the issues that affect today’s students i.e. abortion, HIV and AIDS, sexuality and bereavement.

During academic holidays I was a volunteer for North Birmingham Victim Support. Working with victims of crimes such as burglary and violent crime, by providing information and support.  The client group was very varied and included vulnerable groups such as the elderly and disabled.  I also undertook a course in Basic Counselling Skills at Birmingham Counselling Centre, which I found very rewarding. To me the role of the Midwife entails having an empathetic approach, and I feel that with my experiences I can identify with the clients needs and incorporate them into Midwifery Practice.

Since completing my first degree in 1999 I have gained a wide variety of life skills and experiences. I have held positions in office environments, have worked independently and as part of teams and have learned a variety of administrative and customer service skills.  The freedom of not being tied to one position has allowed me to travel extensively.  I spent three months of the summer of 1999, working and travelling on the West Coast of America.  More recently I spent two months driving throughout mainland Europe.  I covered ten countries in eight weeks and particularly enjoyed meeting people from so many different cultures. I enjoy learning new things and have been following a home study course in Homeopathy.

Tanya Porter's Personal Statement that was successful in gaining her a place at Plymouth University

I have been committed to a career in midwifery for a number of years and have worked with a positive attitude towards my goal. I became interested in pursuing a career in midwifery after the birth of my first child. I was impressed and inspired by the midwifery care that was offered to me. The care and understanding that I received led to me taking an active interest in the policies and practices that have developed in the midwifery field. I have had a further three children and would like the opportunity to develop my knowledge and use this together with my own experience to a positive effect in the guidance and teaching of the techniques needed for labour and childbirth, in other women.

I attended a two-week placement at Musgrove Hospital in September 2001. During this period I witnessed the care of women both in the antenatal and postnatal period. I was also privileged to witness a normal delivery. I enjoyed my time on the unit and with the community midwifes enormously. I gained a great deal of insight into the role of the midwife and the care offered to women. I believe that my own personal qualities and my life experiences helped me feel at ease during my placement. This was reinforced by a midwife on Bracken Ward who wrote in my assessment  “ Tanya possess the skill of intuition and appears aware of women’s needs both physically and emotionally”. I also attended a Birth Rate Plus presentation during my time on placement with the community midwifes and found the whole process fascinating. The one thing that stands out from my time with the midwives is the support and knowledge that they share with each other. This was a wonderful atmosphere to work in and I feel that I would be able to offer the same support and eventually knowledge.

In my role as a volunteer for Home Start I have supported women through some difficult and emotional times. I feel that I have been successful when the women are able to cope and manage whatever situation arises. I believe that empowering a woman enables her to make well thought out and educated choices for herself. Recently I supported a new mum who was determined to breastfeed her 3^rd baby, but who lacked confidence in her ability to do so. She had managed to feed her baby for the first 15 days but was still experiencing a few problems. I helped her by talking through good breastfeeding techniques and praised her perseverance. I felt that she needed encouragement and was able to talk to her about breastfeeding relating to my own personal experience. She continued to breastfeed and her baby is now four months old. I am a great believer in the benefits of breastfeeding and have attended some breastfeeding workshops; I also have an empathy with women who are unable to breastfeed and an understanding of those who simple chose not to do so.  

Having been unsuccessful with my application to enter midwifery last year, I was advised to study at a higher level and to take a placement in the midwifery field. I have been studying a HND in Counselling skills and Health and Social care. I am coping well with the pressure of higher education and feel that the subject areas covered further enhance the qualities needed to pursue a career in midwifery. The counselling skills element of the course has already been an enormous benefit to me in my Home Start work and would undoubtedly help me in a midwifery role.

Finally I feel I would be an ideal candidate for you to consider, as I am mature, sensitive and caring. I have the ability to motivate myself and respond enthusiastically to new challenges.  In particular I believe my experience, enthusiasm and commitment will enable me to demonstrate a positive contribution to my midwifery duties.

 Karen Jackson's Personal Statement was successful in gaining her a place at Brighton

Being a mother can be, at times, an arduous and thankless job. I believe that every mother should be able to look back on the birth of her child and say, ‘On that day, I was amazing!’

I am a twenty nine-year-old mother of three and qualified teacher, ready for a change of direction. I have been interested in midwifery for some time and, now that my family is complete, I feel that the time is right for me to make a new start. From my own history, I think that a woman’s birth experiences can affect both her perceptions of herself as a woman, and her confidence in herself as a mother. I feel that as a midwife I could help support and empower women at this time. I have spent time talking to current and former midwives about what is involved, and have thought very carefully about whether I will be able to balance the demands of the course with my family life. I am also embarking on an A level in Sociology at Hastings College (evening classes), to help update my study skills.

In my time as a teacher, I taught students from the age of eleven upwards on GCSE, A level and GNVQ courses. I feel that many of the personal qualities needed in a good midwife are very similar to those found in a good teacher. If a midwife is to put her patients first and treat them as individuals, she would need to be caring and compassionate, to be able to relate well to people of different ages and backgrounds, but above all to be an effective listener. A midwife, as a teacher, needs to be able to ‘think on her feet’, and to be confident in her own abilities and in the decisions she makes. A teacher needs to be able to work effectively both as a team member and as an individual, and to be able to manage time and other resources effectively, skills which I think would be essential in midwifery. In addition, a substantial part of being a midwife involves parent education and, eventually, supporting students. Although working with parents would be very different to teaching in a classroom, as a trained teacher I feel that my experience would be invaluable in this part of the job.

As a wife and mother, I need to be well organised and able to think and plan ahead. I need to be patient at times, stubborn at times, friend, teacher, confidante, referee and a multitude of other things. Above all I need to be able to make use of that most underrated of commodities – common sense.

In my spare time I enjoy reading, and exercising at a local gym. I also enjoy being involved in my local primary school as a parent governor, where I sit on committees that make decisions on the curriculum and discipline policies of the school. This involves reading often-lengthy official documents in preparation for meetings, and being able to ask questions and consider different points of view before reaching a decision. As a governor you need to try to balance the needs of the school, its pupils, and current legislation, and can be held accountable for the decisions that are made.

I want a career where every day is different; where I can meet people and make a difference at a crucial stage of their lives, and possibly help them to change the way they see themselves. I am not afraid of hard work and would expect midwifery to be hard physically, intellectually and emotionally. I am looking forward to the challenge of acquiring the practical skills necessary to be an effective midwife, and to entering a profession where, with constant learning and improvement, I could give the very best care and support to my patients.

Andrea Lea's Personal Statement was successful in gaining her a place at Sheffield

My ultimate ambition is to become a fully registered midwife and I believe I have the motivation, determination and enthusiasm to achieve this as well as personal attributes such as intuition, objectiveness, a caring attitude and professionalism which will help me to develop as a successful student midwife.

I feel that educating and supporting a mother and her family throughout the childbearing process and helping them to adjust to their parental role is a career which really makes a difference to the quality of peoples lives. This is why I want to be a midwife. I am aware that midwifery demands commitment, motivation and hard work, but I also believe that it offers rewards, opportunities and challenges which would be difficult to find in any other career.

After much consideration, dedicated research and visiting University open days, I decided that studying the Advanced Diploma in Midwifery Studies is the best option to progress into midwifery. Studying the course will give me the opportunity to gain both theoretical and practical experience as well as the chance to study subjects of interest such as, Biological Sciences, Applied Sociology and Psychology. Hopefully, it will also prepare me to become a safe, competent midwife and give me the ability to deal with the many demands which are placed upon a midwife.

I am currently enjoying studying Access to Higher Education: Health & Nursing at Doncaster College where I am obtaining further knowledge and understanding of Principles of Care, Psychology, English and Communication, Study Skills and practical experience via work placements with different client groups. I believe this course will prepare me for study on the Advanced Diploma in Midwifery and will further enhance important skills which I will be able to employ as a student midwife, namely, communication skills, the ability to work as a team, the ability to work on my own initiative, organisational skills and time management skills. My past education and experiences have also enabled me to develop excellent IT skills, good written skills, the confidence to deal with people at all levels, the ability to listen, and excellent administrative skills.

At the moment I am in the process of applying to voluntary organisations and local hospitals in order to gain valuable experience relating to midwifery and nursing. It will hopefully enable me to work with people in a care environment and experience the demands of shift work and changing health care needs in preparation for my career as a midwife. I also spend time tutoring a young girl who is dyslexic and struggles with her written English and Mathematics, as well as helping her to develop her study skills and work through assignments. This in return helps me to improve my own academic skills which will contribute towards higher level study.

Thank you for considering my application and I hope you will feel able to give me the opportunity to move towards fulfilling my ambition.

Tilly's Personal Statement was successful in gaining her a place at Nottingham University (Lincoln Campus)

For the past 18 months I have been working as a nursing assistant at Lincoln County Hospital. During this period I have worked in various areas of the hospital including, gynaecology, neonatal, post/ante natal and labour wards, where I have attended both natural and instrumental deliveries. Through dealing with patients and their families I have realised the importance of the confidentiality code of practice, which is also relevant in midwifery.

This working experience has enabled me to develop skills which I feel are essential to effective midwifery. For eg. good communication and listening skills and the ability to work on my own initiative or as part of a multi-disciplinary team. I also possess the ability to assume the role of either leader or follower, depending on the situation at hand. I remain calm in a crisis, work well under pressure and am prepared to deal with situations I have not encountered before.

I see midwifery as an inter-disciplinary profession which draws on many different areas of expertise. The main purpose of which is to provide women and their families with the education and knowledge needed to enjoy a well informed and healthy pregnancy, birth and post-partum period. I believe that during this time the midwife has an excellent opportunity to develop a trusting relationship with the woman, and through this is able to educate, promote good health and exercise woman-centred care.

Before my initial application 2 years ago I studied a GCSE in Human Physiology and Health, obtaining a grade B. As I was unsuccessful I then went on to pursue my current line of work as a nursing assistant. I also completed a counselling course. Since my second application I have enrolled on an Access to University course. My chosen subjects are Chemical and Physical Science and Biology. Also studied are skills in I.T. presentation, communication and research. I also hold certificates in First Aid and Basic Food Hygiene.

As I am an active member of my community I am a committee member for the local 'mums and tots' group. As such it is my responsibility to attend RAF Families Association meetings where I liaise with the RAF Estate Manager and the hierarchy of the Airforce. Through dealing with these people I have become increasingly flexible, approachable and able to delegate where appropriate. I have also recently taken steps to become a member of my local branch of the National Childbirth Trust.

My hobbies include aerobics, reading and gardening. I enjoy work that is varied and challenging and believe that my experiences as both a mother and a nursing assistant will enable me to effectively deal with the demands of being a midwife.

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