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Essential Career Skills Getting a Job in Midwifery Careers and Employability Shopping for Success

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Essential Career Skills

Getting a Job in Midwifery

Careers and Employabi l i t y

Shopping for Success

Careers Advisers for Midwifery students Rebecca Nethercott & Lisa Rogers

[email protected]

01925 534235 01244 513066

[email protected]

01244 513066

Binks Building Room 1.04 Chester Campus

Opening Hours: All year round

Monday-Thursday: 8:30 - 5:30 Friday: 8:30 – 4:30 Also in term time

Tuesday evening: 5:30 -7:30

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

© University of Chester Updated October 2008

All Rights Reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the copyright

owner, other than as permitted by current UK legislation or under the terms of a recognised copyright licensing scheme

1

GETTING A JOB IN MIDWIFERY

Contents

Introduction 3

Preparing your CV 4

Additional Information in support of your application 7

Sample CV 9

Examples of career objectives 13

Examples of professional skills and achievements 14

Covering letters 19

Interview skills 20

Post-Registration Education and Practice (PREP) 25

Where to look for jobs 27

Employment Websites and jobsearch advice 28

2

INTRODUCTION

A midwifery qualification is a professional qualification that can open up a wide range of career options. You can start your working life in the hospital or in the community and then develop to take on a specialist role. You could work overseas, or perhaps take advantage of the expanding opportunities and responsibilities in the developing role of the senior midwife. Once you start working as a qualified midwife you will gain new experiences in different areas. This will allow you to develop varied interests and opportunities to explore different roles. To get an idea of what's out there, here are some examples of the range of options for midwives:

• Hospital o Antenatal Care o Intrapartum Care o Postnatal Care o Transitional Care o Neonatal intensive Care

• Community o Holistic role caring for mother and newborn in antenatal,

intrapartum and postnatal phase o Educationalist, taking an active role in parent craft, aqua natal

classes • Specialist roles within the hospital or community

o Domestic violence o Midwife for the homeless o Breast Feeding Co-ordinator o Foetal Services o Sure Start o Child protection o Drug/Alcohol misuse o Smoking cessation

• Working Abroad o Voluntary Service Overseas- VSO o Medicine Sans Frontier- MSF

Career progression can include:

• Senior midwifery roles and specialisms such as forceps deliveries; paediatric examination of the new born

• Supervisor of Midwives • Educator • Advanced Midwifery Practitioner • Midwifery Matron - Community or Hospital

PREPARING YOUR CV

3

When creating your CV you will go through the process of identifying your skills and experiences and highlighting your professional qualifications and clinical experiences as well as additional qualifications and employment experiences. This is a very useful way to be prepared when you approach an employer. Even if you are not required to submit the CV itself, it will help you to complete the application form and prepare for interview. A CV can be a crucial first contact with the employer and first impressions will count - get it wrong and your application will go no further. A CV is a dynamic document which changes and develops as your experience grows. It’s much easier to amend an existing, well prepared CV than to start from scratch, particularly when you’re under pressure because you’ve just seen that dream job advertised! Not all job applications require a CV, but keeping yours up to date means that you have to hand most of the factual information you are likely to need when completing an application form or on-line application. A CV is a factual summary of the key features about you which are relevant to a future employer. But it is more than a dry list of qualifications and previous employers – it is a way to ‘sell yourself’. For each occasion that you may need to use a CV, you need to be sure that the information which you include is relevant. In other words CVs need to be changed, or targeted depending on the use to which they will be put.

Presenting Your CV Although there are various styles for constructing a CV, this booklet will concentrate on a style which works well for a first midwifery post. There are some clear conventions for presenting your CV which are strongly recommended because they are what employers expect:

• No more than two sides of A4 • Word-processed in a clear font like Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, Times

New Roman • Information always presented in reverse chronological order: the most

recent experience first. • Presented in black ink on good quality white paper so that it

photocopies well. • Spaced out well, using indent, bold, underline, and bullet points

consistently and in a way which aids clarity. Avoid at all costs using coloured paper or ink, photographs or illustrations, or elaborate folders. Quite apart from the photocopying problems, flashy presentation is assumed to disguise poor content! Content and Layout

4

On the first page – Whichever format you choose, there is no need to begin with “Curriculum Vitae” – it’s obvious that this is what it is and you are wasting precious space. Start with your name and put your personal details underneath like this:

Sarah Thomas 14 Garden Lane

Chester CH2 3LX 01244 657433

mobile: 0774 397584 email: [email protected]

Career Objective - this is one sentence which describes what you are and what you are looking for, for example: “A soon to qualify midwife seeking a first post in hospital, where I can build on my knowledge and clinical skills gained as a student and develop my understanding of current midwifery practice.” Professional Qualifications - should start with your midwifery diploma/degree course and include the dates of study, the institution attended and the qualification(s) obtained. Professional Skills and Experience - this can be presented as a list of your midwifery placements (with dates – month / year), starting with the most recent (or the most relevant for the job you are applying for) and providing brief details of main experiences and skills gained during each. It is not necessary to repeat skills but rather you should indicate additional skills developed and how skills have advanced throughout different placements. Make the most of the variety of experiences you may have had: e.g.: Aqua natal; Parenting Classes; Transitional Care. Not everyone will have had the same experiences; ensure you stand out. For example: June 2005:

• Managed and supported women during their antenatal care. • Developed communication skills working as a member of the multi-

disciplinary team; supporting patients and relatives and interacting with other professionals.

On the second page –

Additional Qualifications - as far back as secondary school. List any qualifications achieved starting with the most recent subjects passed and grades,

5

including A levels or their equivalents and GCSE subjects (C and above) and grades or their equivalent. Include also short courses and certificates. Employment Experience – again starting with the most recent, list your employment, giving the dates (month/year is enough), name and location of employer and your job title, and a sentence or couple of bullet points which summarise what you did. Think in particular about the “transferable skills” you developed which can be applied to midwifery – communication, interpersonal skills, time management, team working, record keeping. There’s no such thing as irrelevant work experience! If you have done significant voluntary work, include it here – it’s not just about paid employment. Additional Information - this enables you to draw attention to IT skills, languages, sports and coaching, first aid, prizes and awards, driving licence, and other interests and positions of responsibility. You can include membership of organisations e.g.: PTA or Territorial Army in this section. References – You should provide the name, job title, postal address, contact phone number and email of two referees for your application; however, it is optional to include these on your CV. One must be your Personal Academic Tutor, who is the only person who can write your University reference. A good choice for your second referee is a current or previous employer such as a ward manager. It is courteous to ask this person whether they are prepared to be a referee; they are unlikely to refuse! You need only ask them once, not each time you apply for a job. Many job adverts require on-line applications and it is crucial to address the section of the application form that asks for any additional information and supporting evidence. This is your chance to sell yourself and promote the skills you have explored whilst preparing your CV. Please see page 9 for a sample CV, and page 11 for a template to create your own CV.

6

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN SUPPORT OF YOUR APPLICATION If you apply by CV you will need to supply additional information in the form of a covering letter. If you are using an application form there will usually be a section for this purpose.You may be able to attach additional sheets but keep the overall length to two pages. In order to prepare this section of your application form you need information about the job (the job description) and information about the characteristics the employer is seeking in the successful applicant (the person specification). You would also be advised to research the Trust and clinical area you are aiming to work in, in order to market yourself effectively for the job. Your statement or letter should then follow this suggested structure:

• An opening statement describing your current situation and why you are applying for the job

• State why you want the job and why you want to work for this Trust • Describe your own experience and explain why it is relevant to the

post. Include reference to any special features of your course and clinical placements; outline what you could contribute as a nurse

• Refer to the job description and person specification to make sure what you say about yourself matches the expectations of the employer

• Use headings and refer back to the job description for ideas of heading titles eg:

Clinical

Management

Educational

Professional

Sending your CV or application form Unless an envelope has been supplied, send off your CV and covering letter or application form and covering letter in an A4-size envelope. Like the good quality white paper you have used, it will contribute to a positive first impression. If you are using the on-line option you will be able to send your completed application form off with a click the mouse. If however you are approaching an employer on line with an attached CV or application form always ensure that any email messages are checked for spelling and grammar as you would with any letter.

7

The following list of Action Words will help you to write a good application. Accelerated Demonstrated Introduced Reported

Accomplished Designed Invented Resolved Achieved Determined Invested Restricted Activated Developed Investigated Reviewed Acquired Devised Launched Revised

Addressed Directed Led Revitalised Administered Discharged Lightened Reorganised

Advised Disposed Managed Scheduled Amplified Distributed Maintained Selected Analysed Diversified Measured Set Up

Anticipated Documented Merged Shaped Applied Doubled Minimised Simplified

Appraised Edited Modernised Solved Appropriate Effected Monitored Specified Approved Eliminated Observed Staffed Arranged Enacted Obtained Standardised Assessed Enforced Operated Started

Assimilated Engaged Organised Stimulated Augmented Enlarged Originated Streamlined Authorised Established Performed Strengthened

Averted Estimated Persuaded Strengthened Avoided Evaluated Pioneered Structured Bought Executed Planned Studied

Built Expanded Positioned Succeeded Centralised Expedited Predicted Surpassed

Collaborated Extracted Prepared Supported Combined Familiarised Presented Superseded Compiled Forecasted Prevented Supervised

Completed Formed Processed Surveyed Composed Formulated Procured Taught Computed Generated Produced Terminated Conceived Guided Programmed Tested Concluded Implemented Promoted Tightened Condensed Improved Proposed Trained Conducted Improvised Proved Translated

Consolidated Inaugurated Published Treated Controlled Increased Purchased Trimmed Converted Initiated Recommend Tripled Corrected Inspired Redesigned Uncovered

Counselled Installed Reduced Unified Created Instigated Recruited Unravelled

Cultivated Instructed Regulated Utilised Decentralised Insured Rejected Unified

Decreased Integrated Related Delivered Defined Interpreted Renegotiated Intervened

8

Student Midwife 10, Chester Street Chester CH1 234 Tel 01244 123456

Email: [email protected] Career Objective: A recently qualified midwife, keen to use and build on the skills gained as a student. I have a strong commitment to providing patient centred holistic care whilst developing my midwifery knowledge. Professional Qualifications: 2006-2009 Diploma of Higher Education- Midwifery

University of Chester Professional Skills and Experience:

March 2008:

• Team working developed, working well with qualified members of the team, referring for support and advice when required

• Recognise the need to refer to other agencies for support in the community for child protection issues, guidance with domestic violence and homelessness

Jan 2008:

• Used supervisory skills to manage the holistic care of women in the antenatal phase of their pregnancy

• Involved in delivering education programmes for parents to be Sept 2007:

• Developed and built on interpersonal skills, showing empathy and understanding to women and their families

• Gained clinical skills in the area of normal labour and childbirth and ability to assess women’s needs

• Adapted these skills recognising when referral to other members of the team is required

Sept 2006:

• An opportunity to appreciate the need to communicate effectively with women in the antenatal period of their pregnancy

• Gained initial experience working as part of a multi disciplinary team • Appreciated the diverse role of the midwife in community and hospital

settings

9

Additional Qualifications: 1998-2000 Chester High School Chester A levels- Biology (B), English (C) 1991-1998 Chester High School Chester 6 GCSEs including English, Maths & Science (A-C) Employment Experience: 2005-2006: Residential Home- Chester: Support worker:

• Experience working within a team supporting elderly residents

• Opportunity to develop interpersonal skills, listening to and empathising with the residents

2000-2005: Variety of part time work in the retail sector: Chester and Ellesmere Port

• Developed a range of communication skills whilst dealing with the public

• Able to take on roles of responsibility as experience grew: supervising others within the team

Additional Information: Computer skills: Competent with a range of computer packages working towards the ECDL qualification: Able to accurately word process assignments and reports. Sports & social activities: I participate in a range of activities on a regular basis: aerobics, running and I enjoy team games. Responsible for organising social events for group members. Current valid driving licence: References: PAT Employer University of Chester Clinical Manager Health & Social Care Chester Hospital Parkgate Road Hospital Road CH4 2BJ CH1 234 [email protected] [email protected] 345678 01244 456345

10

Student Midwife 10 Chester Street Chester CH1 234 Tel 01244 123456

Email: [email protected] Objective Professional Qualifications

Professional Skills and Experience

11

Additional Qualifications Employment Experience Additional Information References

12

Please see below some examples of Career Objectives

Don’t rely on these directly but take time to consider how to best sell yourself.

• I have a strong academic commitment to providing women centred care

and aim to consolidate my skills and academic knowledge as I begin my career within this trust.

• A committed, mature pre-registration midwife seeking a first post on the

antenatal unit where I can build on my experiences with women and make a valuable contribution to the midwifery team.

• A highly motivated and enthusiastic midwife with high standards of holistic

care, seeking a challenge and expansion of my role, where I can use my maturity, skills and experience to make a valuable contribution to the Trust, to women’s care and develop my career.

• A newly trained midwife with an interest in care of the neonate: I aim to

build on my knowledge and skills caring for the new born, using initiative to plan, monitor and assess care.

• A newly trained midwife with an interest in community midwifery where I

can use excellent communication skills to work within the multi disciplinary team to plan and prioritise care

13

14

Examples of:

Professional skills & achievements:

– Opportunity to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team: able to refer to other professionals for support and advice

– Managed a group of women and planned their midwifery care

– Communication skills highly developed as I gained experience

documenting accurate information and disseminating this within the team

– Opportunity to take part and contribute in case management

meetings – Supported women and their new born during their discharge

planning, liaising with the multi-disciplinary team to provide on-going care

– Flexible and keen to learn new skills and able to prioritise care

– A chance to observe midwifery care in the home environment

working as part of a team supporting women and their families

– Able to empathise and show sensitivity to women, their family and significant others

– Appreciated the role of research based practice supporting and

enhancing care

– Worked under pressure in busy environment, prioritising care safely and effectively

– Supported families at times of stress

– Able to write effective reports and document midwifery records

accurately Focus on the variety of experiences you may have had; those added extras will make your application stand out.

Nursing Skills

Analysis Use the following grid to detail evidence of skills you have. Match these to what an

employer wants: Refer to: Work/University/Social life:

SKILLS

EXAMPLES/EVIDENCE OF:

Communication:

Interpersonal skills- Team skills-

Documentation- Assertiveness-

Conflict resolution- Managing stress-

Delegation-

Clinical skills:

Clinical skills development-

Assessing & planning- Providing treatments-

Improving Health- Enabling others- Reviewing Care-

15

Team work:

Team working- What kind of team

player are you? Multi-professional

teams- Roles & contributions-

Networking- Collaboration

Safe Practice:

Clinical Governance- Managing risk-

Audit- Complaints-

Clinical supervision- Accountability-

Research for practice:

Why research? Evidence based

practice-

16

Equality & diversity:

Diversity- Patient autonomy-

Legislation- Cultural Competence-

Policy:

Context- Understanding policy-

Consultation- Influencing policy-

Reflective Practice:

Reflection- Self awareness-

Engaging in reflective practice-

Professional Development:

Lifelong learning- C.P.D-

Portfolio- Developing others-

PREP-

17

Career Pathways:

Reasons- Exploring options- Future aspirations-

Modernising Nursing Careers-

Other notes in preparation for

approaching employers:

18

WRITING A COVERING LETTER If you are sending your CV in the hope that the Trust may be able to offer you a job, this is called a speculative application, or writing “on spec”. Your covering letter should include:

• An opening paragraph introducing yourself and indicating that you are interested in working for this Trust and why

• One or two paragraphs outlining relevant features of your course and what you could contribute as an employee

• A concluding paragraph stating that you would welcome the opportunity to attend an interview, or alternatively any advice on where and how jobs within the Trust are advertised

If you wanted to apply speculatively by email, the CV should be sent as an attachment but the email itself forms the covering letter. This should therefore be written in the same formal style as for a paper version and should follow the same guidelines as above. Presentation - a covering letter, like a CV, should be word processed on good quality white paper, and set out following the conventions of letter writing i.e. your address and phone number at the top right or centre, and the recipient’s name and address below on the left followed by the date. Begin your letter with the person’s name if you know it, and end with-Yours sincerely. If you don’t know the name and can’t find it out, use Dear Sir or Madam and finish Yours faithfully – but try if you can to find out the person’s name. You letter should be no longer than one page. We are not including model letters in this handbook – it really is better to follow the framework included in the section on “Additional information in support of your application” and write your own! However, there are lots of resources in Careers and Employability for you to consult. Additionally, a careers adviser will be happy to give you feedback on a draft letter. You may be sending a covering letter with a completed application form; this will be of similar structure; however you should not repeat in any detail material included in the section of your application devoted to additional information. More and more jobs are advertised and applied for on-line. In this situation, ensure that you follow all the instructions in order to effectively submit your application. There will be no need to supply a covering letter.

University of Chester Careers and Employability 19

INTERVIEW SKILLS

Preparation is the key part of the interview process Before The Interview: Practical Preparation & Planning

• Research the Hospital Trust / PCT: extra knowledge of the Trust and specific unit involved will demonstrate your interest and enthusiasm for the job. Knowledge of the job description with an understanding of the job specifications is crucial. Understanding about any recent expansions, changes or developments would be useful

• Know what skills are required to do the job - can you talk to people who are already working there? Have you had an opportunity for an informal visit? Have you scrutinised the job specification highlighting essential and desirable criteria needed?

• Have a list of prepared questions: questions about the hospital Trust; job prospects, preceptorship, mentoring, training etc rather than questions about salary

• Make a copy of your application form and CV for your reference. • Make necessary domestic arrangements. Ensure you won’t be interrupted

during the interview time. • Know how to get there: bus, train, walking- How long will this take? • Know where to go: building, floor, room • Know what to take: letter inviting you to the interview, name of interviewer,

file with CV and application form, exam certificates and a list of questions to ask

• Find out beforehand as much as you can about the interview itself. How long is it scheduled for and what format will it take? e.g. one-one, panel, presentation needed

• Decide on what you are going to wear the day before • Arrive promptly

Self Presentation Dress: smart but comfortable.

• Conservative rather than high fashion • Clean shoes, clothes, hands • Personal hygiene • Pay attention to hair and grooming • Not too much jewellery, make up, perfume, after shave

University of Chester Careers and Employability 20

Preparing For The Interview

• Make sure you have recently read through your CV and application form. Have you evidence and examples of the skills and qualities you have highlighted on your CV and application form?

• Think about why you want this job • Think about the skills you have that are desirable and/or essential for the

job • Highlight your strengths and training needs: don’t think in terms of

weaknesses Presenting yourself in the Interview

• Try to relax - do not fidget • Have a firm handshake • Smile and try and remember people’s names • Be aware of your non-verbal communication, body language, eye contact • Speak confidently; slowly. It is acceptable to stop and ask for clarification • Be positive, enthusiastic and motivated. • Keep a balance between one word answers and saying too much and

becoming over powering. Be clear and to the point, expanding on ideas without ‘waffling’

• Do not appear to criticise previous employer or work colleagues • Never say anything that you cannot justify

Questions to ask

• What are the arrangements for induction and preceptorship? • What kind of training opportunities will I have? • What are the further opportunities within this Trust? • Why is this position available? • What skills are needed to succeed? • You may also want to clarify the terms and conditions of the post if these

have not been fully explained. After the Interview

• Make sure you gain feedback from the employer so that you can move on and know what you could do next

• Why were you not successful?: not enough experience, qualifications shortfall, suggestions from the employer as to how they think you could improve

• If you are unsuccessful at the interview make sure that you can gain some positive points from the experience

• DO NOT FORGET:

University of Chester Careers and Employability 21

7-10% is what you say 20-30% is how you say it

60-80 % is your image, body language and the overall impression you create.

Some Typical Interview Questions:

This list has been compiled to help you prepare for your interview - the questions highlight the range of topics and scenarios you may be asked. You will not be asked every question. Questions that relate to you the person and your past experience

• How do you think your work experience will benefit you in this job? • How would your work colleagues describe you? • What do you consider your strengths to be as a team member? • What do you think makes an effective team? • What makes you happy in a job? • In this job there could be some stress. What do you do to unwind? How

generally would you say you coped with stress? • What are your strengths/weaknesses? • Tell me about yourself? • What skills can you bring to this job? • How would you evaluate your training needs? • What has been your main achievement to date? • Tell me how you organise your work and prepare for deadlines • Recall a personal achievement; what strategies did you use to be

successful?

Questions which relate to motivation and the health service

• What attracted you to this job? • What would you hope to learn from your first post as a midwife? • Why did you decide to choose midwifery as a career? • What do you think you have to offer this role? • What do you see as the main challenges of this post? • What do you see as the main challenges facing midwives in the Health

Service today? • How do you see your career path developing over the next two years? • What are you looking for from a career? • Why do you want to work for this Trust? • How would you describe your ideal line manager?

University of Chester Careers and Employability 22

Questions that relate to studies and practical experience

• What criteria did you use to decide where to study midwifery? • What has been your best piece of work? Why? (Or your worst piece and

why)? • Can you tell me about three main things you have learnt from your

practice? • What similarities did you see in the different placements you have

experienced? • Learning new ways of doing things is important for development. Can you

think of an example of some good practice that you would have liked to see adopted elsewhere?

• How do you see your role changing as you start work? • Which placements have you enjoyed least/most? • Tell me about the least satisfying aspects of your current job or last

placement? • Tell me about the key responsibilities you have had? • What are your expectations of your Supervisor of Midwives? Why might

you access a Supervisor of Midwives? Questions that ask you to explain what you have done or what you might do in certain circumstances

• Think of an example when your priorities changed quickly or suddenly. What did you do and what happened?

• Reflect on a situation in which you had to adjust to changes over which you had no control. How did you handle it?

• How do you monitor and evaluate your professional competence? • Describe a situation in which you were able to encourage others to take a

chance with a new idea or project. What did you do? • How do you share professional expertise with others? • Think of a time when you had to handle a tough problem that challenged

fairness or ethical issues. What did you do and what was the outcome? • Think of a time when you have acted with integrity in your work/job

relationships

Specific Scenarios to consider

• What would you do if a woman was in the second stage of labour and the contractions stopped?

• What would you do if a woman at term was admitted with a slight vaginal blood loss and was discharged home?

• If a woman had a post partum haemorrhage immediately following the delivery of her baby, what would you do?

University of Chester Careers and Employability 23

• You are seeing a women whose pregnancy has been assessed as low risk. She wants to see you more often than the NICE guidance suggests. What would you do?

• Why might you see a woman more often in the antenatal clinic? Some issues of concern to clinical managers

Does the applicant have a realistic and sound grasp of midwifery care?

Have they thought about?

• Transition from student to professional midwife • Issues involved in supervising others • Working in a multi-disciplinary team • How the role of midwifery services is changing • Managing their administrative responsibilities • What it means to work in a team • To lead a team • To build a team

University of Chester Careers and Employability 24

POST REGISTRATION EDUCATION & PRACTICE (PREP) Personal portfolios and profiling Profiling involves reviewing what you have done so far, reflecting on what you have learned from that experience and recording the insights you have gained. As well as being a PREP requirement, keeping a portfolio should help you to develop an understanding of the broad range of qualities and skills you possess. Not all these will have developed in your professional life. Managing your portfolio will help you look at what you've done so far and also where you want to go. Once you identify your goals you can look at what you need to do to achieve them. This way, you can channel your efforts to the best effect. PREP: Post Registration Education and Practice is a set of Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) standards that must be met in order for you to show that you have maintained and developed your professional knowledge and competence. This allows you to remain on the register. You must also satisfy the minimum practice standard as follows: Practice Standard: 450 hours every three years: Continuous Professional Development: 5 days or 35 hours in three years: These are the minimum requirements for you to be recognised as ‘Fit to Practice’ and hence remain on the register. To start your PREP you will need a personal professional profile or portfolio: In other words a ring binder. It is the content of this file that is key, not the way the file is presented. You must use your portfolio to document relevant learning activities and the ways in which these have informed and influenced your work: how they have impacted on your practice. PREP is not about going on study days; it is about protecting the public by ensuring that qualified midwifes are up to date, informed and developing their practice. It is about reflecting on new knowledge and planning how it can be used in practice. Your portfolio will always remain a personal private record of development.

Examples of learning experiences that affect practice:

• Articles in the midwifery press can be discussed in team meetings. Issues relating to how your team may change practice can be discussed.

University of Chester Careers and Employability 25

• Experiences on study days can be fed back to team meetings and discussed with a view to informing practice.

• Critical incidents that will affect your practice. Reflect upon these and what you have learnt from them

The key point is to reflect on what has been learnt.

In summary: your portfolio will contain:

A Current CV Reflection on learning experiences

Refection on critical incidents Records of appraisal/supervisory meetings

Career development plan Notes from meetings with the your supervisor

250 words of reflection about each activity:

• Why you chose the activity; how the opportunity came about; where and

how you did it; • What you learnt; how your practice may be improved: describe the

outcome of the learning activity and how it related to your work. • A personal view of how the learning informed and influenced your

practice. • What effect this learning has had on the way you work, or intend to work in

the future. • Have you any plans for follow up learning.

KEY PREP requirements: To stay on the register you will need to:

• Complete a Notification of Practice form when you re-register every three years

• Minimum of 35 hours/5 days of learning activity every three years • Minimum of 450 hours of practice every three years • Maintain a personal professional profile- PPP or portfolio with details of

CPD Continuing Professional Development • Comply with any request from the NMC to audit your portfolio.

Auditing PREP A random sample of practitioners will be asked to provide evidence of their CPD- Continuing Professional Development: You will be asked for a description of your learning activities highlighting the contents of your portfolio: Your 250 words of reflection following the guidelines above will satisfy the NMC requirements.

University of Chester Careers and Employability 26

WHERE TO LOOK FOR JOBS

All NHS vacancies in England and Wales are now advertised via the jobs NHS

website: www.jobs.nhs.uk

This website displays all vacancies and contact details of employers within Primary Care Trusts PCT and Hospital Trusts in England & Wales as well as other National Agencies and Special Health Authorities: Examples include:

Commission for Patient & Public Involvement in Health Department of Health

Department of Health International Campaigns General Social Care Council

Health Protection Agency National Patient Safety Agency

National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT).

NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

NHS Direct If you are looking beyond the local area to Scotland look at www.jobs.scot.nhs.uk and www.show.scot.nhs.uk There is also a useful website aimed at newly qualified health practitioners-www.flyingstart.scot.nhs.uk-there is open access to the information in this website: membership is only for those trained in Scotland Opportunities in Northern Ireland www.n-i.nhs.uk

University of Chester Careers and Employability 27

EMPLOYMENT WEBSITES & JOBSEARCH ADVICE FOR NEWLY QUALIFIED NURSES, MIDWIVES & ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

Make the most of any support you can get when making applications and preparing for interviews. You will be competing with others for vacancies so this is an opportunity for you to sell yourself. Use Careers and Employability, the RCN and tutors from Health & Social Care Ensure you make the best impression on each placement, show enthusiasm, develop and reflect on your skills. Build networks, never burn bridges, keep contact with staff from your placement. Make sure they know you are now looking for a job. Be broad minded when considering options, look at areas where there are slightly more vacancies - theatre nursing, critical care and sexual health. You are aiming to get your first job as a stepping stone to get your nursing careers started. Be creative and look at independent sector, recruitment agencies: i.e Jane Lewis Nursing: www.janelewisnursing.com01244 404080. Key support and Care: www.keysupportandcare.com Don’t forget all NHS post in England and Wales will be advertised on www.jobs.nhs.uk you are advised to register on this site. Look at the NHS Professionals website, this aims to recruit NHS personnel to temporary and flexible posts within the NHS. www.nhsprofessionals.nhs.uk More support is being focused within the Primary Care Trusts (PCT) so consider community vacancies; there may be more on offer. What if I can’t get a job straight away? Try and work in the health sector so that you are gaining relevant experience. Working as a health care assistant will still give you the opportunity to maintain and develop networks, build on your skills, give you confidence, observe nursing practice and hear about jobs that may be coming up in the future. Until you have completed your preceptorship you will not get bank work or agency work as a qualified nurse. You can use your time to undertake further study, such as a top up degree modules. Speak to your nurse tutors from the School of Health and Social Care about your own situation. It is hoped that natural turnover with retirement, promotion and career breaks should free up roles eventually. Be prepared when vacancies arrive by maintaining your professional portfolio. You will need to keep this up to date when registering each year with the NMC. From an NMC point of view, registration can be maintained

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as long as you work 450 hours over a three year period- 20 days a year and complete 35 hours of study activity over a three years period. The employment market is changing constantly with periods of high job vacancies and periods of low job vacancies. Various factors such as retirements, changes to services and staff movements influence the situation greatly.

There are increasingly more providers of health services other than the NHS with opportunities for nurses and midwives in new and different areas. This next pages brings together some of the major web sites that you may find helpful when you are looking for a job as a newly qualified practitioner. These are a few of the major sites (as well as looking in your local NHS trust/s and professional bulletins):

Useful Contact Details

Community practitioners and health visitors association.

www.msfchva.org/

Department of Health

www.dh.gov.uk

NHS careers

www.nhscareers.nhs.uk

National Health Service

www.nhs.uk

Nursing and Midwifery Council

www.nmc-uk.org

Birth Choice UK www.birthchoiceuk.comIolanthe Midwifery Trust- (registered

charity) www.iolanthe.org/

Royal College of Midwives www.rcm.org.uk

Prospects Website

www.prospects.ac.uk

Royal College of Nursing

www.rcn.org.uk

UK nursing jobs and courses

www.nursingnetuk.com/jobsUK site for recruitment into health care

jobs www.healthjobsuk.com

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Midwives Information and Resource Service

www.midirs.org/

Nursing and midwifery jobs www.nursingnetuk.com

NHS jobs web site www.jobs.nhs.uk

www.nhsprofessionals.nhs.uk www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk

www.armymedical.mod.uk

www.royalnavy.mod.uk

www.jobsinhealth.co.uk/

www.jobs4medical.co.uk

www.brook.org.uk

www.prioryhealthcare.com [email protected]

www.pulsestaffing.co.uk

www.mariestopes.org.uk

Radical Midwifes www.radmid.demon.co.uk/Nursing and midwifery council

recruitment site. www.nmc4jobs.com

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