University interview, prep & Q's to ask?

Hi all,

My wife has an interview for midwifery and I was wondering what the best way to prepare and what sort of question she could ask the interviewer?

Cheers in advance.

[Messie]

Brilliant!
She'll be asked all sorts of questions over and above her academic knowledge, as the person spec for such as role is just as important. She'll likely be asked questions about how she copes under pressure and how she deals with difficult people and situations. She may be asked about her views on equal opportunities and diversity as well. Quite often students are asked about lifelike examples, either in scenarios provided for them or in terms of situations they have been in. She'll need to be very self aware about her strengths (hopefully calm under pressure, sensitivity, sense of humour, teamwork, ability to follow leadership) and weaknesses (needs to learn a lot, never been under extreme pressure maybe).
But her most important feature will be what she has learned in any hands on experience - hopefully she has had some placement experience or job shadowing or something similar. In my experienec of getting students onto midwifery and nursing courses, this is the deal breaker.
I wish her well - we need more midwives!

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by SUPERSTARDJ01

Hi all,

My wife has an interview for midwifery and I was wondering what the best way to prepare and what sort of question she could ask the interviewer?

Cheers in advance.

PM Fenjer - she just finished a midwifery course recently from memory.

She applied to volunteer at our local hospital last year but because of a c*ck up on their behalf she only just got a placement and starts on sunday her interview is Monday, but she's a childminder with lots of experience and has had 4 children and helps the local midwives at the weigh in's in the local community centre, she has also got a degree in an unrelated subject and has been studying with the OU while working and nursing a new born so she's used to pressure, I think her main weakness is her lack of work experience but by the time the course starts she will have 8 mths experience and is very aware what the job involves and that it's just as much about paperwork etc as it is about child birth through to after care etc.

Melody on here is a midwife and has been for a number of years, might be worth a pm.

Best of luck to your wife.

[Messie]

Absolutely agree with asking a current midwife about what's going on.
She also needs to stress the working with midwives bit of her work experienece. To them, that is the most important bit. They may well ask about what she has learned from that experience and what was most difficult about it. They won't be too concerned about having had children. I know it might seem relevant but it really is a different perspective on the birthing process!
Good luch!

We have 'selection days' for our prospective student midwives. This involves a simple math test, group work and a one to one interview.

In the group work, the main aim is to see how each individual interacts with others. Dominating the group is not a positive trait, nor is being painfully shy without initiative.

The sort of questions your wife may be asked are,

• why have you chosen to be a midwife?
• what are the roles of a midwife?
• what support network do you have?
• how would you deal with a difficult situation such as a stillbirth?
• what recent govt. initiatives are you aware of in relation to midwifery?
• what have you seen in the media recently,about midwifery, that has interested you?
• what is your work experience and how has this been of benefit to you?
• what are the qualities and skills of a good midwife?
• how does a midwife differ from a nurse?

On our 'selection days' we also have student midwives present to speak with the prospective students about the reality of studying midwifery.

Midwives also give the prospective students the 'hard talk'. It is a rewarding career, but it's not all about cute little babies. It's about working long hours, working night shifts, working week ends, working bank holidays, working with grieving families, thinking on your feet, making life saving decisions, working within a team etc.

Having children of your own is irrelevant. Work experience is also not mandatory. As well as mature students with a whole lot of life experience, we also accept young students, fresh from school.

It's all about showing one's passion for midwifery. Your wife needs to stand out in a group, but show respect to the other prospective students. She needs to demonstrate that she has the qualities of a good midwife as well as her awareness that it's not all about cute little babies.

Good luck to your wife and PM me if you would like any further advice.

[dizzyblonde]

^^^voice of experience...... and a damn good midwife, who truely knows her stuff!

I have a great question for when the interviewer asks if they have any questions, just ask how they got started/begun in the profession/field and then not only do you not need to talk much but you might also gain a bit more insight and seem more interested in the subject, plus there might be some only smaller aspects you can ask about to show more interest.

Wow Mel that is a barnstormer of an answer