Tag: study

midwifery

I’m now a student midwife!

besspurser

And still enjoying seeing clients for aromatherapy, Indian head massage, reflexology and Ayurvedic yoga massages.

I started the course last month (September 2023) and am due to graduate in summer 2026. So far so good, although it is, inevitably, affecting my availability to see clients. However, I still love giving massage and have no plans to stop for the foreseeable future.

The course is divided into theory blocks of 6-8 weeks, and work-placement blocks of 6-8 weeks. During theory blocks, I’ll be attending university in the week, so I can take appointments for evenings and weekends, plus usually one week day per week.

On work-placement blocks, I will either be working 3/4 shifts per week in a hospital (and therefore will have 3/4 days a week available for appointments) or in the community, which will be Monday to Friday, 8am – 4pm, so will have evenings and weekends free.

I know that there will be times when appointments have to be moved, and I apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused. I will always give as much notice as possible and I appreciate your understanding in this.

The skills I will gain as a midwife, combined with the skills I already possess as a massage therapist, will enhance and deepen my offering to you, my clients. I see the midwifery degree as an extension of my current practice and can’t wait to combine both sides of my work.

Give me a call and I’ll get you booked in for a relaxing massage asap.

midwifery, Uncategorized

Access all areas

besspurser

Phew, thank goodness that’s over! I’m pleased to say that I have completed my ‘Access to Higher Education for Health Professionals’ course and can now breathe a big sigh of relief.  The tutors warned us at the start of the course, in September last year, that it would be stressful, and they weren’t wrong. It’s the equivalent of doing three ‘A’ levels in one year and it has made me a horrible person to be around at times.

But now it’s over, and I am delighted, and very proud too, to say that I have achieved distinctions in every graded module. This means that I can start the Midwifery degree in September feeling much more confident in my academic abilities.  And I have been told by quite a few people that the access course is harder than the first year of university.  I guess I’ll have to wait and see about that.

For although I have many qualifications, none of them are recognised outside of the world of complementary therapies. And although I’ve always considered myself quite bright, I lost my way at the end of secondary school and managed to scrape through my GCSEs, but not achieve any higher (nationally recognised) qualifications, hence having to do the access course.

I do love learning and have continued to learn throughout my career. I am fascinated by how our bodies work and the more I learn, the more I become in awe of the human body. It has been a challenge to my holistic, non-pharmaceutical approach to health to reduce the body to cells, organs, systems, diagnoses and prognoses. Especially considering I have been delving into terrain theory over the last 18 months (more on that to come later), and have always believed that, given the right conditions, the body can heal itself.

I am excited to start the midwifery degree in September, and apprehensive too.  I fell in love with massage and essential oils 20 years ago. I fell in love with supporting women to breastfeed their babies seven years ago.  I don’t know if I’m going to fall in love with being a midwife, and I already know that I don’t like the system in which midwifery sits. However, what has kept me going through this access course, and what will continue to drive me through the degree is that the world needs midwives like me.  Watch this space…

Uncategorized

It’s oh so quiet…

besspurser

I’ve been rather quiet on the blog front in recent months, as I’ve been studying since September. I’m doing an access course with Derby College so that I can start a midwifery degree this autumn. Midwifery feels like a cumulation of my career so far, in that I can pull from all the skills I’ve acquired as a massage therapist, volunteer breastfeeding supporter and care support worker. I’m looking forward to drawing on these experiences so that I can empower and hold space for women at a transformational time of their lives.

The first term of the access course has been tough. I’m a distance learner, so all the lectures are online, and finding my way around the software was the first challenge. Once I’d got the hang of that, getting into the flow of writing academically, learning how to correctly reference sources and going into enough depth to ensure I get the required grades has been an arduous task. I’m happy to say that I’m on target and I now know where the bullseye is. Although at times it’s turned me into a horrible person to be around!

So although I have a long list of blog posts that I would like to write about, it’s going to be a few more months (probably summer) before I have the headspace to put something down on paper. Or online, as the case may be. I still love my massage therapy work, and will always have time and space for aromatherapy, reflexology, Ayurvedic yoga massage, the list goes on. I’d like to do more with the Ayurvedic Yoga massage, including learning how it can be used in pregnancy, and I’ve been hankering after buying a tuning fork or two since my friend Emily reminded me of their healing power a year or so ago. That’s a whole other avenue to explore…

So much to learn, good job I love it!