New academic year, new challenges: tips for maintaining momentum

At the start of the academic year, the physical signs of progression from one year to the next for student midwives include an additional stripe on an epaulette, a different coloured badge or perhaps a change of uniform. But what about emotional progression? If we think of learning as a continuum, a lifelong process of developing skills and knowledge, then the transition from one year to the next should be seamless. However, in the context of the pre-registration midwifery programme, each academic year places more complex demands on students in both theory and practice as they progress from concentrating on normality in year one, to altered health in year two, to leadership, consolidation of practice and preparation for qualification in year three.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Code requires midwives to be ‘lifelong learners’, basing their practice on the best available evidence—an ethos that should be embedded from day one of midwifery training. After a summer break, returning to studies and the physical and emotional demands of the pre-registration midwifery programme can be daunting; this article will provide tips for students to maintain momentum and motivation as they progress to the next year of their studies.