海角直播

Mature student midwife lands dream job after work placement

A soon-to-be-qualified midwife from 海角直播 has a job lined up at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust once she graduates.

Nicola Riley, 37, decided to retrain after wanting to become a midwife throughout her adult life and having children of her own. The Hartlepool mother of two was accepted onto 海角直播鈥檚 midwife programme after completing her access course and has trained at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust on a work placement.

She has previously worked as a waitress, cleaner and an administration assistant for a haulage firm.

Nicola said: 鈥淚 always wanted to be a midwife. My own experience of having my children inspired me.

鈥淢y partner Louis has been a huge support. You need your family behind you at this age because when you get in from the ward or university, there鈥檚 more academic work to do. He鈥檚 really done his bit.鈥�

Training to become a midwife during a pandemic has also brought some challenges. Nicola added: 鈥淥nline distance learning isn鈥檛 the same and we鈥檝e not been able to do all of our practical training sessions, we鈥檝e had to find new ways of training. But the university staff have been great and so have my midwifery colleagues and mentors. There鈥檚 so much support from everyone around you.鈥�

海角直播鈥檚 School of Health and Life Sciences is committed to developing highly skilled graduates who are confident and prepared to enter the real-world environment when they begin their careers.

Carlie Johnston-Blyth, Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching) in the School of Health and Life Sciences, said: 鈥淭his is a fantastic achievement and we are delighted to hear that Nicola is fulfilling her dreams and making a success of her career after retraining in something she is passionate about.

鈥淲e are extremely pleased to have been able to support her on this journey and that her work is making an impact at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust.鈥�

Becky Eggleston, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust鈥檚 Deputy Head of Midwifery, said: 鈥淣icola has worked incredibly hard to get to where she has. This isn鈥檛 an easy job to train for at any time, but to do it with a family shows real commitment and drive.

鈥淓ven during her training Nicola is a great addition to our team so we鈥檙e thrilled she鈥檚 going to stay with us when she qualifies in September.鈥�

Nicola is encouraging other adults who are considering a return to education to retrain. She said: 鈥淒o it. It鈥檚 never too late to go back into education, to better yourself and to learn more.

鈥淒on鈥檛 let anyone tell you it鈥檚 too late to change your life.鈥�