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Midwifery Personal Statement | Advice & Template

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Found your dream midwifery role, but stuck on what to write in your personal statement? Here is our expert advice on what to include and how to present your skills and experience to create an excellent first impression and get invited to interview.

Personal statements give you the chance to showcase what you’re all about and where your talents lie. We recommend using this personal profile to promote your strengths, achievements and key skills. Use this 100-150 words to provide examples of how you match the job specifications, and show your desire for this midwifery vacancy.

What should you include in your midwifery personal statement?

Education and training

Provide a brief overview of your previous education and midwifery training (School/University/Higher Education Courses)

Why you are applying for the role?

Demonstrate your knowledge of the position to show awareness of what the role demands. What can you bring to this role? You need to show real passion and enthusiasm for why you want the job.

Activity: Where have you gained midwifery experience?

Provide details of your previous midwifery experience including the name of the hospital and the duration of your experience.

Skills: What have you done?

Examples could include:

• Teaching women how to have a healthy pregnancy journey, including promoting the right diet, the correct medications to take and what exercise they should undertake.
• Communicating effectively with other midwives and medical team and providing regular updates on the status of patients.
• Identifying and explaining risks clearly.
• Using my initiative, acting quickly and identifying whether the patients need a caesarean section.
• Providing support to patients and their relatives, before, during and after the birth to aid the patient’s recovery.
• Maintaining a calm and positive disposition with excellent communication skills.
• Emotional and mental strength.

Evidence: Give examples of your work experience

From conducting one-to-one meetings I have learnt how to communicate confidently with patients and educate pregnant patients on diet, which medications to take and what vitamins they need most and exercises to do to deliver a healthy newborn. I have delivered a number of babies safely and provided aftercare for the mother. I am also experienced in communicating with the medical team and other midwives as well as providing support during caesarean sections.

Midwifery Personal Statement Template

Kind, professional and highly trained midwife with excellent communication skills. I am committed to providing the best quality care and support for mothers and families throughout their pregnancies. 10 years' experience and a first class honours midwifery degree from University of Manchester. I work well under pressure and thrive in a team environment. My positive and friendly disposition means that I get on with all different types of people and put patients at ease which I think is key for this role. I am very knowledgeable about all aspects of pregnancy and am confident communicating this knowledge to patients. My previous experience working at the maternity ward at Barnet Hospital has taught me the importance of acting quickly and calmly. With my skills and experience, I am confident that I would be an asset to your team.

If you are seeking further useful information, then read our expert guide on how to write a personal statement .

Related links

• How to Make Your Personal Statement Pop
• How to Improve Your Job Hunt
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Student Blog

Top tips on how to write a personal statement for midwifery.

To celebrate International Midwives Day on 5 May, current student Jess, shares some tips on how to write a personal statement if your applying for BSc (Hons) Midwifery.

Writing about yourself in general is hard enough but when you only have 4,000 characters to make a great first impression, mention all your transferable skills, talk about your experience, why you want to be a midwife and somehow make it exciting to read is one tall order!

Writing my personal statement I knew already how competitive it is when applying for a place on a midwifery programme. Limiting my chances by only applying to 2 university’s made the process even scarier! I started drafting my personal statement as early as I could, having been through the process before I had a personal statement to work from BUT i am so glad I scrapped the whole thing and started over. The best thing I did was get hold of a book for writing personal statements for midwifery. I made every mistake going when writing my personal statement at 17 and that truly was from a lack of research and understanding of the role of a midwife and not for lack of passion.

Here’s my top tips for writing a personal statement!

1) Start as early as you can! Even if you just start with a bullet pointed list of everything you want to put into your statement… it’s a start.

2) Draft, Draft and Re-Draft! Make the most of support from tutors or other professionals who offer to read your statement. It’s so important to make sure your sentence structure, spelling and grammar are up to scratch.

3) Read it out loud. It helps so much to read it through and you will pick up on so many more typing issues and mistakes by reading it out loud.

4) When you do start writing make sure you type it in a word document or keep a hard copy rather than typing straight into UCAS as this makes it easier for spell check and checking the word limit.

5) If your a few characters over make sure you check the end of your sentences and paragraphs as I didn’t realise that I always put extra spaces on the end which does take up characters and line space!

Now for midwifery specific tips!

1) Don’t talk about babies! The role of a midwife is about supporting women, and that should be the focus of your statement.

2) Research the skills and qualities of a midwife and try to talk about how you have those skills. Try to follow the format of what is the skill? show evidence of you having it ( talk about experience) and then why that skill is important in midwifery practice.

3) BUZZ WORDS! the 6 C’s of care are a great place to start and if you don’t know what they are go and read up about them! Also consider the importance of non-judgemental care especially in the context of the diversity of women and families that you may encounter through midwifery care.

4) The NMC’s code of conduct is a great resource and I would definitely make sure you’ve read it at some point before interviews.

5) Find something about midwifery that gets you excited and talk about it, get that passion across. Look up current ‘hot topics’ if your ensure.

6) Bring that reader in with that very first sentence! I would make use of your buzz words or show something about your understanding of the role of a midwife in that very first sentence!

7) Don’t worry if you can’t summarise why you want to be a midwife! Its not about the why its about how you’ve got to this point now, what have you done to prove that this is the career for you!

8) Remember your applying for a degree and not a job as a midwife just yet, so try and make some acknowledgement to being able to cope with the academic side of the course and your ability to manage your time especially as the midwifery course is 50% study and 50% placement.

9) Make sure you finish that personal statement with a really powerful ending. That will be the very last thing they read and if they haven’t made their mind up by that point that could be what sways it!

10) Make sure that it truly represents you and DON’T LIE! your personal statement will be the only thing they have about you when it comes to interview so they will talk about it with you if you can’t expand on what you’ve said or you seem to not know much about that 6 year placement you did in Antarctica setting up a midwifery unit for Eskimo’s they will realise it was probably a lie!

Just be yourself and if you haven’t got experience or struggle to get it that’s fine! So many transferable skills can come from other jobs. Retail work is about working with people, communicating with customers. Having patience when dealing with frustrated customers. Its all transferable skills so talk about it!

I hope these tips help anyone writing their statement and good luck on your journey to becoming student midwives!

Jess Correia, Midwifery student.

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BSc (Hons) Midwifery

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NARM Preceptors

In validating the apprenticeship model as a valuable form of education and training for midwifery, NARM appreciates the many variations in the preceptor/student relationship. NARM has developed materials to help guide preceptors and students through the process of validating knowledge and skills as part of the certification process.

In order to maintain the integrity of the PEP process, it is necessary to register all midwives who choose to become preceptors of PEP candidates. Current preceptor registration with NARM is required for clinicals to be valid for PEP candidates.

A NARM Registered Preceptor is a midwife who meets requirements for supervising CPM candidates and has current, approved registration through NARM. The Registered Preceptor must be credentialed as a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), Certified Midwife (CM); or must be a licensed practitioner legally recognized by a state/jurisdiction to provide maternity care. A preceptor must have an additional three years of experience after credentialing or fifty primary/co-primary births beyond entry-level CPM requirements. A preceptor must have attended a minimum of ten out-of-hospital births in the last three years.

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Apprenticeship is the foundation of midwifery training for Certified Professional Midwives. Through mentoring student midwives, NARM Registered Preceptors provide learning experiences where students can gain confidence and skill as they work towards meeting their requirements for certification.

Register . . . .

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Effective January 1, 2017, NARM Preceptors must be registered before supervising any clinicals documented on a student’s NARM Application. Skills/clinicals signed off after that date by a preceptor who is not registered with NARM will be invalid.

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Personal statement advice: Midwifery

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How to write a personal statement for midwifery

Some of the key ingredients you need to try and demonstrate include:

• why you want to become a midwife
• your insight and awareness of the role of a midwife and the work they do
• evidence that you've got the necessary skills like communication, time management, teamwork, organisation and empathy — and why you think they are appropriate to the role
• an understanding of diversity and a capacity for being non-judgmental — you'll be dealing with people from the whole spectrum of society

Remember that midwives enable, support, and empower women — it's not just about babies. As an admissions tutor at Anglia Ruskin University described it: 'Can you evidence strong motivation based on a realistic understanding of the nature of midwifery?'.

With so many applicants chasing every place, the best personal statements will demonstrate what the University of York calls 'a real insight and current awareness that goes beyond the obvious aspects of the role or how it's conveyed on television'.

In fact, more than one university has told us, 'if you write about “One Born Every Minute”, you'll be rejected'. They're not joking either.

More midwifery personal statement dos and don'ts

• Be natural: you're likely to be interviewed for a midwifery place, so make sure your personality shines through in your statement — and you can back up claims you've made with evidence.
• Avoid being too generic: as the University of Nottingham puts it, 'we need more information than "I like caring for babies".'
• Evidence everything: don't just list the things you've done without explaining why they're relevant.
• Talk about what you would bring to the profession: not what the profession would do for you.
• Show awareness of maternity care issues: the University of Cumbria asks applicants to 'demonstrate that they have thought carefully about the influences on women's health and the nature of midwifery in the UK in the 21st century'.
• Ensure your spelling and grammar is spot on: many universities won't consider any applications containing errors.

How to make a positive impression in your personal statement

Standing out as a midwifery applicant requires thorough preparation and research.

As University of York's web page explains, you will then need to articulate your thoughts and opinions in a clear and concise way in your personal statement and convey something about who you are as a person, 'as this makes your statement unique and hopefully makes you stand out'.

You can also research which birth centres and labour wards you may like to do your placements on if you're accepted onto a course.

Do you need midwifery-related work experience?

Use your statement to reflect on any experience you've had of shadowing, working with, or just talking to a midwife about the role.

Reflecting on other kinds of care experience may also be relevant, especially in such settings as an antenatal or breastfeeding group, or any insights you've gained into current practice from midwifery journals, books, websites or open days.

Think about what transferable skills you have that would apply to midwifery situations. These could be demonstrated in lots of ways — whether it's the diplomacy you've needed as a customer service assistant, the empathy you've shown through volunteering, the teamwork that got you through your Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition, or the way you've balanced the demands of being a parent yourself.

Insights from midwifery students

Make sure your enthusiasm for the subject and vocation is backed up with an understanding of the demands of the course too.

We spoke to some inspirational midwifery students from Bournemouth University who told us what it's really like:

• And as a male student said, 'It's not babies I like, it's the being there for someone who needs my help’.
• 'The biggest shock is the workload.'
• 'Delivering babies is about 1% of what we do.'
• 'Communication skills are crucial – you must be able to listen.'
• 'Time management is vital, as there's so much to juggle.'
• 'Before you apply, you must do your research.'
• 'It's a baptism of fire, but we love it!'

NHS Constitution

For all degree courses that involve training within an NHS setting, there is likely to be some emphasis on values based selection, and how applicants' own values and behaviours align with the seven core values of the NHS Constitution .

Familiarise yourself with this while writing your personal statement.

Check out our guide on what to include in your personal statement , which covers how you should approach it, how to structure it, and more.

Check out all our personal statement advice and use our personal statement tool to get more specific midwifery tips while you're in the drafting process.

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Preceptorship guide

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Avis M, Mallik M, Fraser DM ‘Practising under your own Pin’-a description of the transition experiences of newly qualified midwives. J Nurs Manag. 2013; 21:(8)1061-71 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2834.2012.01455.x

Benner PUpper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall; 2001

London: DH; 2010

Feltham C The value of preceptorship for newly qualified midwives. British Journal of Midwifery. 2014; 22:(6)427-31 https://doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2014.22.6.427

Nursing and Midwifery Council. 2006. http://tinyurl.com/h6xu5fa (accessed 20 July 2016)

London: NMC; 2009

London: NMC; 2015

Midwifery preceptorship: The next chapter

Alison Power

Senior lecturer (Midwifery), University of Northampton

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Practice development midwife, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

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At the point of registration, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2009: 23) states that student midwives should be able to ‘practise safely and effectively without the need for direct supervision’. However, newly qualified midwives should have a preceptorship period where knowledge and skills are consolidated while confidence in practice is developed. This period is not designed to meet shortfalls in pre-registration education; rather, it is to support registrants during the transition from student to autonomous and accountable practitioner ( Department of Health, 2010 ); in other words, the journey from novice to expert ( Benner, 2001 ). This article describes preceptorship in the context of midwifery practice and summarises the roles and responsibilities of the ‘new registrant’, the preceptor and the employer. It discusses a case study preceptorship programme, with comments from current preceptees and the practice development midwife.

Research has found that, while newly qualified midwives are competent to practise, they would benefit from preceptorship programmes providing a structured, supportive culture to enable them to develop their confidence to become autonomous, accountable practitioners ( Avis et al, 2013 ). Structured preceptorship programmes support newly qualified midwives to enhance their clinical skills and develop their care planning and managerial skills, along with helping to socialise them into the workplace ( Feltham, 2014 ).

The Nursing and Midwifery Council ( NMC, 2006: 1 ) defines preceptorship as ‘providing support and guidance enabling ‘new registrants’ to make the transition from student to accountable practitioner, to practise in accordance with the NMC (2015) Code and develop confidence in their competence as a nurse, midwife or specialist community public health nurse.

To facilitate this, the new registrant should have learning time protected in their first year of qualified practice, and access to a preceptor with whom regular meetings are held.

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Principles of preceptorship

Preceptorship is the structured start for newly registered nurses, midwives and nursing associates.

Download our principles of preceptorship  ( Cymraeg )

What is preceptorship?

The main aim of preceptorship is to welcome and integrate newly registered professionals into their new team and place of work. It helps these professionals translate their knowledge into everyday practice, grow in confidence and understand how to apply the Code in their day to day work.

Preceptorship isn't designed to replace appraisals, be a substitute for a formal induction and mandatory training, or be a way to re-test or repeat any knowledge and skills that a professional needs to register on the NMC register.

What are the benefits of preceptorship?

Although voluntary, we know preceptorship helps newly registered professionals have the best possible start as a registered professional in the UK.

We know preceptorship has a variety of benefits for employers and preceptees, among others.

Benefits for nurses, midwives and nursing associates:

• Preceptorship offers the structured support needed to transition their knowledge into everyday practice successfully.
• It provides a lifelong journey of reflection and the ability to self-identify continuing professional development needs.
• A positive preceptorship experience is reported to result in newly registered nurses, midwives and nursing associates having increased confidence and sense of belonging, feeling valued by their employer.

Benefits for employers:

• Effective preceptorship outcomes are linked to improved recruitment and retention. Attracting and retaining skilled nurses, midwives, and nursing associates is important for delivering better, safe and effective care.

Who are our principles of preceptorship for?

Our principles for preceptorship are for professionals who design and oversee preceptorship programmes, those engaged on preceptorship programmes (preceptees) and those who support preceptees (preceptors).

Our principles are there to support organisations and employers across the UK to achieve consistently high quality and effective preceptorship for every newly registered nurse, midwife and nursing associate in the UK. These principles can be applied to registered professionals joining a new part of the NMC register, people returning to practise after re-joining the register and those coming to work in the UK from within or outside the EEA/EU.

How we developed our principles of preceptorship?

We created the principles in collaboration with the four Chief Nursing and Chief Midwifery Officers in the UK in recognition of this important period in a professional's nursing, midwifery or nursing associates career.

It was timely to update our previous position on preceptorship and align our principles to our new pre-registration standards.

Principles of Preceptorship

Egwyddorion tiwtoriaeth

Organisational culture and preceptorship 

A period of preceptorship immerses the newly registered nurse, midwife and nursing associate into their professional role and into the ways of working and culture of their new workplace. A good organisational culture that supports preceptorship will have the following characteristics:

1.1 It is kind, fair, impartial, transparent, collaborative and fosters good interprofessional and multi-agency relationships

1.2 There is an understanding of the importance of having systems and processes in place to support and build confidence of newly registered nurses, midwives and nursing associates

1.3 There is an approach to preceptorship that prioritises individual mental and physical health and wellbeing, and promotes accountability, self-reflection and safe practice in accordance with the Code.

Quality and oversight of preceptorship

Being committed to the Principles of Preceptorship and having preceptorship programmes available/running are seen as key activities within the organisation. There is evidence of management of the process, and evaluation of its efficacy and outcome.

To ensure effective preceptorship:

2.1 There are processes in place to identify those who require preceptorship

2.2 There is sufficient preceptor capacity to support all of those who require preceptorship

2.3 The employer, preceptees and preceptors understand and comply with national and local policies, and the relevant governance requirements required by the four countries of the UK

2.4 Preceptorship activities should complement the preceptees’ induction and orientation into the local workplace

2.5 There is recognition of the impact of system challenges on effective preceptorship and how to mitigate these

2.6 Processes are in place to monitor, evaluate and review preceptorship programmes

2.7 There is a governance framework around preceptorship which allows the process to be audited and reported.

Preceptee empowerment

Preceptorship is tailored to the individual nurse, midwife and nursing associate preceptee’s new role and the health or care setting. It seeks to recognise and support the needs of the preceptee to promote their confidence in their professional healthcare role. In effective preceptorship models, preceptees:

3.1 Are provided with the appropriate resources to enable them to develop confidence as newly registered nurses, midwives and nursing associates

3.2 Are supported according to their individual learning needs

3.3 Are supported by a nominated preceptor

3.4 Have opportunities for reflection and feedback to support their approach to preparing for revalidation

3.5 Are empowered to work in partnership with preceptors and are able to influence the content and length of their preceptorship programme to meet both individual and organisational needs.

Preparing preceptors for their supporting role

Preceptors should receive appropriate preparation to understand and undertake their role.

In effective preceptorship models, preceptors:

4.1 Act as professional role models

4.2 Receive ongoing support and actively engage in professional development 

4.3 Are supportive and constructive in their approach to the preceptee 4.4 Share effective practice and learn from others

4.5  Seek and are given feedback on the quality of all aspects of their preceptorship role. 

The preceptorship programme 

Preceptorship should take account of the setting in which the individual nurse, midwife and nursing associate is working and providing care. These principles apply to any health or social care setting across UK, including the NHS, the social care sector, and the independent and charitable sectors.

Preceptorship programmes will:

5.1 Be timely and align with the start of a new employment role

5.2 Recognise the knowledge, skills, attributes and competence nurses, midwives and nursing associates have at the point of registration

5.3 Seek to ensure that activities within the programme are agreed with the individual preceptee

5.4 Vary in length and content according to the needs of the individual nurse, midwife and nursing associate and the organisation. Individual countries, regions or organisations may set minimum or maximum lengths for preceptorship

5.5 Include activities designed to welcome and integrate the preceptee into the team and place of work

5.6 Be designed to ensure that it is possible for the preceptee to meet the aims and outcomes of the preceptorship programme within the agreed timeframe.

• Last updated: 05/12/2023

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National preceptorship framework for midwifery

The framework is intended for midwives and can be used as a core set of standards where multidisciplinary preceptorship programmes are in place.

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Accessible version of the National preceptorship framework for midwifery.

National preceptorship model for midwifery

Accessible version of the National preceptorship model for midwifery.

Appendix 1: Meeting templates

• Microsoft Word

Word template.

Appendix 2: Role descriptors

Appendix 3: Midwifery framework charter