To Interview...

In preparation for my interview I made a list of potential questions I might be asked and thought about how I might answer them. With a bit of research I managed to compile 3 sides of A4 paper with questions I could be asked, and I prepared myself to be asked any of them. I made sure I was aware of anything happening in the media that could relate to Midwifery and I read my monthly issue of The Practising Midwife (TPM) cover to cover.

On the day of my interview, I woke up feeling as excited as I used to feel on Christmas morning. I got my bag ready, including my list of questions and a copy of TPM to read. I drove to the University, leaving in plenty of time to allow for traffic. As I pulled into the car park "Greatest Day" by Take That was playing and it really made me feel good about the interview ahead. I made my way to where I had been instructed to go and waited with the others that being interviewed that day.

We were soon taken to a room and had the format of the day explained to us...we'd start with a Maths and English test and providing we passed that, we'd go through to the interview stage. I was not too worried about those tests until that moment but once I turned my paper over I was quite relieved to see it didn't look too difficult. Some of the English questions made me doubt myself a bit due to it being multiple choice....if I'd just had to put the answer it would have been far easier. Anyway I finished first and went to have a coffee. Gradually the others all joined me and we discussed the paper...no-one sounded too worried about it.

Anyway at 11 we returned to the room for our results and only one girl hadn't passed. It was horrid when she was taken from the room as we could all guess why. But that was swiftly forgotten as the relief that we had passed overtook us. We were then given a talk about the course from one of the tutors and then a current student also spoke to us about her experience of the course. We had the opportunity to ask questions and it was really good to hear her opinion and get a "true" view. We then had another short break before the interview itself.

I was one of the first to be interviewed and it was nice not to have to hang around and get nervous. I was interviewed by one of the tutors and a hospital midwife. They were really friendly and made me feel at ease by being so welcoming. They asked me 5 questions, including why I wanted to be a midwife and what I'd seen in the media recently? Due to my preparation I didn't hesitate at all with the answers and could have talked for ages. Everything I said I linked to the role of a midwife and how I thought it would help me. Both the tutor and the midwife smiled and nodded at me throughout so by the time I left, I felt it had gone well. The next 5 days were horrible, waiting for news. I had no clue at all when I might hear but as each day went by, I felt less and less confident....good job I only had to wait 5 days lol.

On the Wednesday I finally got the call and I could not stop smiling when they told me they were offering me a place. Not only offering me a place but offering me the opportunity to begin in May instead of September which was just perfect for me. I was on my way....