Age: 24
Job Title: Registered Midwife
County and Country of Residence: Groningen, The Netherlands
Years attended Gad’s: 2007-2010
House: Wellington
Contact Lucille Golson-Cromack via Gad’s Hill School
Brief details of job: I care for women during their pregnancy, Labour and delivery, and their postnatal period (after the baby is born). I have only just moved to the Netherlands so have recently worked in a local NHS hospital maternity unit on a rotational post. I hold a First Class Honours Degree In Pre-Registration Midwifery and have been qualified for 2.5 years. I have had to undertake additional training following my degree in teaching in practice, post operative nursing and scrub nursing (passing instruments to the surgeon in the operating theatre).
Attributes needed for this job: A strong stomach, honesty, a willingness to work long hours (hospital midwives work 12-13 hour shifts), an interest in science and internal medicine, excellent communication skills and the ability to work with and lead, if necessary, a team of healthcare professionals in life and death situations. You have to be very motivated to do this job and to meet the many needs of your patients.
How did your time at Gad’s prepare you for your career?: My time at Gad’s taught me good communication skills, good leadership skills (which I went on to develop as vice head of school), a thirst for knowledge and new skills, and resilience. My confidence built at Gad’s surrounding modern foreign languages has enabled me to be confident when embarking on a qualification in Dutch from University College London. I only started my course 8 months ago and have already commenced my work towards my Intermediate Certificate. The residential trips abroad that Gad’s provided me with have also made me far less fearful of taking the leap and moving abroad.
