Gemma Ford, a student midwife from Sheffield Hallam University, has been named Pregnacare® Student Midwife of the Year at the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Annual Midwifery Awards 2018.
from L-R: Marie Forslund Vitabiotics – Pregnacare, Gemma Ford – Winner, Gill Walton CEO RCM and Charlotte Hawkins ITV TV Presenter
The Pregnacare® student midwife of the year award recognises an individual student midwife who makes an outstanding contribution to their future profession. This accolade is awarded to a student midwife who acts as an advocate for midwifery and is a role model to other students. You can read more about the story published in the Media Centre here. But now it’s over to Gemma to give her account of the whole experience:
This week I was delighted to find out that I was the winner of the Royal College of Midwives’ Pregnacare® Student Midwife of the Year award. My experiences at Sheffield Hallam University, detailed below, have greatly contributed to this achievement.
Embracing Opportunities and Experiences
As a mature student, commencing the Midwifery degree at 22 years old, it was important to me that I made the most of the variety of opportunities available at university. I was aware that this would both help me develop useful skills and also improve my employability. Sheffield Hallam University offers a number of experiences that I was able to get involved in throughout the three years; such as being a course and department student representative and working on open days and interview events as a student ambassador. These roles allowed me to work closely with other students, liaise with staff to improve the student experience and talk about my experiences with prospective student midwives. I would encourage any student to look into how they can become more involved with the opportunities provided within the university to help develop their skills and make a difference for future students.
In the last two years I have also been involved with the Sheffield Hallam Student’s Union as a committee member of our Midwifery Society. Involvement in a midwifery society was one of the pre-requisites for qualifying for the Student Midwife of the Year award due to the way societies encourage other students. Running the society this year has given me the opportunity to lead a team and develop a society that works to benefit other student midwives through study days, socials and revision sessions. This year the society has also been involved in organising multidisciplinary events with students from Medicine, Physiotherapy and Radiology. With the support of the Student’s Union, this role has also helped me to develop skills of leadership, organisation and teamwork. There are a number of societies at the Union, some of which are course specific and some interest-specific. It is a great investment in your personal development if you are able to give time to a society committee, as well as being a great place to make friends and have fun.
Awards Experience
The Royal Collage of Midwives is the professional organisation and trade union which supports student midwives, midwives and maternity support workers. The annual Royal College of Midwives Awards aims to recognise outstanding achievement in midwifery throughout the UK. Nominations opened in September 2017 and my course leader encouraged me to apply. Once shortlisted as one of five candidates in December, I was invited to an interview in front of a panel of judges in London. They asked that I conduct a presentation on my contributions to the student experience, a midwifery society and the future profession of midwifery as a whole. While this was a nerve-wracking task, the panel were friendly and I was able to use the skills and experience I’d gained over the previous three years as a foundation on which to base my presentation.
After this, there was a long three month wait until the awards ceremony. My course leader supported me by joining me at the awards ceremony in London. We enjoyed a drinks reception and a three course meal which provided opportunities for networking and catching up with midwifery colleagues. The Pregnacare® Student Midwife of the Year award was the tenth of a total of thirteen awards announced on the day. Shortlisted alongside four other amazing student midwives from across the country, it was both a shock and a privilege to hear my name announced as winner! Throughout this whole process, my fellow student midwives have been thoroughly supportive and have celebrated with me, for which I’m really thankful.
Reflecting on the awards; I’m sure that the combination of the experiences and opportunities I’ve engaged with at university contributed towards me being shortlisted for, and ultimately winning, this award.
