What To Look For When Choosing A Midwifery Internship Program
A career in midwifery can prove to be a fulfilling one, especially if you’re looking for a professional path where you can make a difference. As a midwife, your profession expects you to be highly trained and qualified enough to assist women as they go through the process of childbirth. These health professionals can deliver babies in birthing centers, private homes or hospitals, giving you flexibility when it comes to your choice of work location.
Becoming a midwife is no easy undertaking. You’ll undergo rigorous training and education to acquire the necessary skills, knowledge and significant experience required by the industry. But if you work hard enough, you’ll find that the result will be worth all your time, effort and perseverance. You might be someone who’s already in the healthcare industry and wants a career shift. Or perhaps you’re considering midwifery now that you’re about to be in college.
Either way, your journey will involve a few significant steps that’ll lead you closer to the goal. Aside from completing the degree, you’ll also need to complete a midwifery graduate program. These programs allow you to earn a master’s degree so you can practice in many states. To further your experience, you can also consider looking for a midwifery internship program for an opportunity to gain extensive training and valuable exposure related to this particular profession.
What to Look For in a Midwifery Internship Program
An internship can help you learn directly from practicing midwives and other healthcare professionals. Aside from giving your job applications a significant boost, interning also gives you the chance to help others, particularly pregnant women. However, knowing there are plenty of midwifery internships available, you might end up having a hard time choosing the right one for you.
To help you out, here are some things you’ll want to look for when choosing a midwifery internship program:
1. Secure Housing and Environment
Security and safety should always be your priority when choosing any educational programs, especially if you’re considering the possibility of having the internship overseas. International midwifery programs are gaining momentum because of their numerous benefits that can help jumpstart your career as a midwife. However, that also means being away from home. Naturally so, the best you can do is ensure that the accommodation will meet your preferences.
Make it a point to ask what the accommodation or housing will look like. Is there accessible transportation so you can move around with ease? What about the condition of the housing itself? Be sure to ask precisely what facilities are included. That way, you’ll know what to expect.
2. A Tailored but Flexible Approach
You might still be clueless as to what department or specialty you want to focus on when you start practicing your career as a midwife. If that’s the case, another thing you should look for when choosing an internship program is its flexibility. Ideally, you want something that can offer a tailored approach so you can select according to what you need or want.
It’s better if the internship offers community outreach work, apart from the expected clinical work. The outreach can help you gain more valuable experience interacting with local people and their birthing needs. You can expect to face various challenges that you don’t normally encounter in clinics and hospitals. While these challenges can prove taxing, you’ll eventually realize those are the instances that let interns like you discover the most unique yet rewarding experiences.
3. A Strong Support Network
Should you choose to join a midwifery internship program abroad, you should also prepare yourself and your family for the temporary long-distance setup. Although you can bring and use your smartphone and laptop overseas, it’s reassuring to know that your family can always have someone to contact when necessary.
Before you select a midwifery internship program, make sure you ask if they have a strong support network in both your home country and the local one where you’ll be going. Your family will surely be more at ease knowing they have a point of contact they can reach anytime and anywhere.
5. Quality Training
Not all internship programs are created equal, and it’s best to keep that in mind. That way, you don’t end up making the wrong decisions. Check with the institute or school first what their program structure looks like and what you can expect to get out of it. Will you be given a chance to witness childbirth, or are you only supposed to shadow other healthcare professionals?
The quality of training matters since you need all the experience and expertise you can get. To add, you can also expect to develop your professional and personal network, which can help open exciting doors in the future.
Final Words
A midwifery internship can contribute to your success in the field in more ways than one. You can stand out from the rest, knowing you have more in-depth and hands-on experience. By the end of the program, you’ll be more confident in your skills. There’s no stopping you from becoming a better midwife. So it’s essential that you know what to look for when choosing a midwifery internship program because your final decision can make or break your internship’s success.
