I thought I would write about this because this has been one of the things I have struggled with. I feel so honoured to call myself a midwifery student in such a rewarding profession. I am also a university student, who enjoys her social life, and I have noticed that these things do clash. As a midwifery student you are not an ordinary student, and there are things that you are better of not doing.
Going out
A big part of university is the social aspect, in particular nights out. I love going out because I just love to unwind, have a good dance and be with my friends and have a drink (or two…). I don’t think just because you are midwifery student that you shouldn’t do any of these things, but there are a few things you should be careful of. First of all, don’t get so smashed that you start doing things you will regret. If you do, make sure people don’t take pictures or videos of you and post it all online. You are now in a profession, and if you are seen lying in the middle of the road half naked, it doesn’t really look good does it? If you can’t stop people taking embarrassing or inappropriate pictures, then change your settings on Facebook so that you can review what photos you are tagged in. All I am trying to say is have fun, but remember why you are on the course.
Social media
I love sharing things online, but I have become more careful on what I do share. I try not to rant or bash anything on my Twitter, because you never know where it will end up. I try to keep my course and clinical problems away from social media, because it is quite unprofessional to discuss such things online. For example if someone on placement upset you, I don’t think it’s a good idea to put that online. That leads me onto another ‘issue’, pictures of uniform online. There are some people that don’t think that you should put pictures of yourself in uniform online, but I honestly think it depends. I think a picture of yourself in your uniform is harmless, but if you were wearing your uniform on like a night out or something (why would you even do that?) then that can be a problem. I also don’t think it’s a good idea to share information or take pictures of your placement area online, just because, again, its unprofessional.
The course itself
The midwifery programme is so different to other degrees because it is 50% theory and 50% practical. This means you are working and learning at the same time, making it really difficult. It’s so important to manage your time effectively, and this is something I don’t even know how to do well. Even though it’s nice to spend time with friends, it is so bad to leave things in this course last minute. I am such a last minute person, and I have found that has made me struggle with a lot of things. So I guess what I am saying is that you have to prioritise the course above everything, have fun, and you should be able to do well. Hopefully this works for me, and whoever is a midwifery student.
