Midwifery or aged care!

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

I would love some details from people within either profession as i am seriously considering looking into courses etc for next year!

AGED CARE - this is something i think i could do, i saw how my nan was treated in aged care facilities (1 good, 1 horrible) and i know i could be there for these people.
It's a position that could quite easily work around having 2 kids (i could do night fill etc)

MIDWIFERY - Is something that is really starting to interest me, i love being around PG people, i love babies and i would love to be a part of the bigger picture bringing these tiny little bundles into the world.
Also since being on BB i have realised the importance in supporting a woman through her birth choices and feel blessed that i had 2 fantastic (if you can call them that) labours that i can use as an example of how things could be for someone else.

I guess what i need to know for each is:

1. How did you know it was for you?

2. How long & expensive are courses etc?

3. What do you consider the downside of your occupation?

4. What should i know BEFORE heading into something like this?

Would love to hear from anyone doing midwifery, aged care or similar.... TIA

[PumpkinZulu]

I haven't started Mid yet (hoping to next year, I'll be applying soon) but just wanted to say I think you'd be a FANTASTIC Middie

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

Awww thanks hun!
Good luck with applying, am trying to figure out things to do, i'm over just doing a 'job' and would really like to find something i can do for the rest of my life IYKWIM.
I know it will take some effort and some $$ but why not give it a shot?

[PumpkinZulu]

Exactly! I'm looking at doing a Bach. of Mid at ACU, they do straight Midwifery and apparently it's great there! Yeah, it's a little exxy, but with HECS (or I think it's called HELP these days??) it's not so bad. Well worth it IMO. I'm sure some actual Middies and people studying will come in soon and help you out, but just wanted to wish you luck

[Eenee]

I work in aged care (well not at the moment) in an in charge role- it sucks- sorry- but basically I don't have much time to spend with the residents my time is spent organising staff, dealing with doctors and paperwork, and popping out pills. Well I can only speak for the facility I work in I guess, I did enjoy it at first but really for me it hasn't been enjoyable. It is really saddening as aged care is so understaffed (due to facility's being tight) and not allowing staff to spend any time with residents, so if you don't want to feel like you are neglecting people, don't go into aged care.

I would love to get into midwifery myself, but given where I live the hosp only takes a certain amount of students on (like 2 or 3), and they give preference to those that already work elsewhere in the hospital. So for me I am waiting til after I have children and then re look at it then, in case I have to travel to go and do it.

[Butterfly Child]

Mum works in aged care shes manager now of an aged care facility she loves it, it is hard work but worth it in the end, when she was working more as an aged care worker her shifs were all over the place but that just comes with that field of work, im sure midwifery is the same.. My mum loves it and the residents there love her. she is great with people as shes a warm and loving and patient person and thats just what they need. i think you would be great at either Leah it just depends what your more passionae about doing xx hth

[feeb]

Aged care is very under funded and understaffed. I worked on a medical ward in a tertiary hospital, I loved looking after the patients who generally were aged.

Midwifery is awesome and rewarding but very much a political fight a lot of the time. I love working in all aspects of care from antenatal clinic, childbirth ed, birth suite, postnatal and domicillary (home visits.)

I did a 3 year bachelor of nursing at la trobe I then 3 years later went to VUT and did a 1 year graduate diploma in mid.

HECS funding made it affordable as u pay it back at tax time once earning.

The juggling study, family, house and placements would be a challenge but with family support it would be doable. When you do placements you will have al; shifts including nights and weekends without much lee way to swap as so many students needing hours.

[mrscricket]

I have no advice except to say I think you'd be a fantastic midwife - I've always had that feeling about you from reading your posts (I sound like a stalker..). I was just reading the newspaper after reading this post and thought I'd pop back and let you know that next Tuesday night on SBS there is a series starting called One Born Every Minute - which is a documentry filmed in a maternity hospital. It sounds like something you'd be interested in! Good luck with your decision.

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

I have no advice except to say I think you'd be a fantastic midwife - I've always had that feeling about you from reading your posts (I sound like a stalker..). I was just reading the newspaper after reading this post and thought I'd pop back and let you know that next Tuesday night on SBS there is a series starting called One Born Every Minute - which is a documentry filmed in a maternity hospital. It sounds like something you'd be interested in! Good luck with your decision.

Aww thanks, i didn't realise i had a stalker... lol YAY ME...

Thanks everyone, i know there will be prons and cons to every situation and aged care would be the 'cheaper' option but i keep looking over peoples posts about midwives and wondering if it's something i could do.
BB has really sparked my interest and to be honest i have never even done a first aid course let alone think about becoming a midwife but it's something that i am realy really contemplating... not sure how i would say to DP hey.. i wanna go study, use all our money and then see how i go... not sure how i would convince him.

[Ella]

Ok I have been doing my RN since 2007 (took 18 months off in the middle). I worked in an aged care hospital for 1 year and whilst I loved helping the patients and I was happy to start with I have to be honest with you and say that is the reason I took 18 months off. Working there for a year was enough to make me not want to be a nurse anymore.
It is such hard work and can be really really demoralising. One of my biggest problems was fellow staff as it is an industry filled with nurses who are older and very set in their ways (eg: not wanting to use correct lifting techniques for patients even though I was 5 months pregnant).
Midwifery is where I'm headed now. I feel that its a sustainable industry and one that seems open to new perpectives and methods of care unlike aged care. Which makes it much better for me.
Time wise: you can get a cert 3 in Aged care through TAFE and it will take you 6 months. you will then be able to work as an AIN in any aged care institution. Keep in mind however that as an AIN (this is what I was working as) most of your time will be spent feeding, toileting and showering patients if you are in a hospital or nursing home.
Midwifery: you can do a bachelor of midwifery and it will take you 3 years full time. The other alternative is what I have done which is a bachelor of nursing then an 18 month postgrad masters in midwifery.

Either way it will be tricky with kids as I have found, but I also believe that having children gives you a drive and dedication that most people without kids find very hard to maintain.

Money wise: midwifery you can get HECS HELP for. This is where the government pays your fees for you then once you are earning over the threshold ($35,000 I think) a percentage of your weekly wage is taken to pay back the loan, keep in mind though that this is not a huge amount eg: if you are earning $35,000 it is 4% and goes up slightly from there.
Cert 3 in Aged care: I think they offer HELP for this but am not sure, I know a few years ago when my DF did it you had to pay as you went (sorry don't know amount)

Hope this helps. Again its all my opinion so other people might have found it really different.

[Eenee]

I worked in an aged care hospital for 1 year and whilst I loved helping the patients and I was happy to start with I have to be honest with you and say that is the reason I took 18 months off. Working there for a year was enough to make me not want to be a nurse anymore.
It is such hard work and can be really really demoralising. One of my biggest problems was fellow staff as it is an industry filled with nurses who are older and very set in their ways (eg: not wanting to use correct lifting techniques for patients even though I was 5 months pregnant).

Oh my goodness totally explains me! I so don't want to be a nurse anymore because of the same reason, lets hope DH will let me have a big break after Bub is born also.

ZF: I say go with your heart, what you feel you really want to do. Are you already a nurse already? If not you have two options for mid- either 3yrs just to be a middy or 3yrs to become a nurse then one year to do mid. From what I understand. It's hard to choose what you want to do when it involves study and sacrifices. I'm sure you'll be great at whatever you choose to do.

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

I was previously in aged care, posting from my phone at the moment so I'll come back and answer later

[tattoo_mama]

eeep you girls have me scared now!
i was choosing between EN and aged care at TAFE, chose aged care caus the course is alot shorter and i struggle to stick with things for a long time. so aged care is 6 months full time and $600, whereas midwifery at uni is 3 yrs full time and thousands of dollars, so that made my choice.

[~Hestia~]

First of all, well done on going back to school!
I have been a nurse for over 10 years, mostly spent in aged care. Before I became a SAHM I'd worked in a facility for about 3 years that I really enjoyed.
Aged care is understaffed & very physical work, you're on your feet all day running against the clock. I never had time to just sit with a resident or take them out for a walk. Of course every place is different but ratios are ratios! In order for the facility to get funding there are mountains of paperwork that needs to be done on a daily basis. We would always have the attitude that resident's care comes first - but if we didn't do the paperwork too our NUM would not be impressed!
On the other hand I have made some lifelong friends & always enjoyed the teamwork that came with aged care nursing. I have such good time management skills now that's really come in handy since becomig a mother LOL! Some of the residents I've known have been amazing, if I had the time I could sit with them all day. There was always a certain satisfaction that came with knowing I'd made my residents happy & comfortable that day.
There are pros & cons to any job but aged care definitely needs more caring individuals like yourself! Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[Glamourcide]

Ahh, perfect thread! Just subbing because I'm intending on getting into midwifery (no doubt in my mind, that's all I want to do, not any other area of nursing) starting next year with the STEPS course and then 2012 begin actual courses... I had assumed that there would be HECS/HELP to pay fees, are there any out-of-pocket costs? Can you do *just* midwifery or do you have to do nursing and then midwifery?
Best of luck Zarava, I think you'd make a fabulous nurse as well, I'm getting into midwifery for similar reasons - to support women and their individual choices, and because I looooooovvvvvvvvve babies but DH doesn't want any more (I don't think we have room for them anyway), so I figure I can get paid to be around pregnant ladies/new mums and it'll work out good for everyone

[Glamourcide]

Whoops, double post! Don't know how *that* happened, I was being patient and didn't click-click-click or anything!

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

Haven't read any of the previous posts, so sorry if it's already been said

1. How did you know it was for you?

My grandma had a stroke a few years earlier, and I was homeschooling for highschool while my sisters were in primary. So for 6 months all my schooling was done in books at the hospital, and then she moved in with us, and it was the only time I actually formed a relationship with her. I enjoyed helping her and making her comfortable, and didn't mind the icky bits, so when I saw the course on a TAFE listing, I decided to go for it!

2. How long & expensive are courses etc?

I did a 6 month TAFE course, Community Services Cert 3 (Aged Care), which was 2 or 3 days a week in the class, and 2 weeks practical at the end of the course. I was only 17, and I had a healthcare card as well, so it cost no more than $500, can't remember the exact figure though.

3. What do you consider the downside of your occupation?

Being so young I wasn't exactly welcomed into the occupation. I originally wanted to go into Palliative Care, but I could not find ANYONE who would allow me to do my practical in a palliative unit. As far as colleagues went, on the whole they were lovely, very helpful and willing to teach. There was one or two 'Old War Matrons' who had no respect for resident's dignity or proper procedures - being the age I was, I was unable to stand up to one, and ended up injuring my back doing something she had told me to do, against proper manual handling procedures. I think if you can get them on side, or are strong enough to stand up to them, you'd have no problem with colleagues. Given that everyone has to have Cert 3 qualification these days, its unlikely you'd have anyone who really didn't care about the residents.

From a resident standpoint, I honestly fell in love with most of them. They were a bit stand offish at first, but once they recognize your caring nature, they open up. The only problems I had were with a couple of dementia patients. One gentleman, who I had taken for a walk at dusk, choked me one day - I still don't know what he was seeing, but he sure had a good grip! Luckily a nurse came by and assisted. Death didn't bother me, generally the residents were comfortable and prepared, but one woman had progressed so far into dementia that she had lost the ability to speak/understand English, and seemed to confuse the nursing staff with SS soldiers. I won't go into detail, but obviously we had to help this woman intimately, and the absolute terror, contempt and revulsion on her face was the most traumatic thing I have ever encountered. Her death was not pleasant or comfortable at all, and gave me nightmares for some time.

4. What should i know BEFORE heading into something like this?
Just stay away from the Old War Matrons, and learn quickly to leave the day's events at the door

[PollyA]

Hey ZF,
Decisions decisions

Aged Care is DESPARATE for good people. And that makes me want to encourage you down that line. But like anywhere that is desparate for good people, good people who end up there often end up used up and burnt out. But when I think of my aging family the "too hard basket" approach makes me really sad IYKWIM? (First time I've used that abbreviation)

Midwifery is a truly magical job. It can be hard, long hours, you are occasionally involved in tragedy's which are hard to put out of your mind at the end of your shift but for a large majority of your time you are dealing with healthy women, and you get to share in a truly magical moment in people's lives. I'm crying just writing this.... can anyone say emotional?

Anyway, my experience is doing Registered nursing, working as a Patient carer during that and going onto do medicine.
During my obstetric rotation I learnt from awesome midwives and would come home to my DH saying "I should have been a midwife" I am not going to be an Obstetrician, they are not there for the magic, they only get to come when things get hairy, and the timeline, intervention model and me....we don't get along. The midwives get to do all the magical stuff. They get be "with women" which is the meaning of the word midwife.

I would suggest having a general nursing degree (Which you can put on HECS) and then do Mid after which you get paid for while training. That way if aged care is your calling you could always go into it, and it makes me a versatile midwife too.

Good luck!
Sorry for all the words....