Vicky McNally

BSc Midwifery

What made you want to get into nursing?

Midwifery was something I wanted to do when I was at school. However, none of my family went to university so it wasn’t the norm. I didn’t really know how to go about it, so I left school and got a job. It was when I had my first little boy, who’s now 7, that I started to think how can I get into this? I now have another boy, who’s 4. I still wanted to do it having been through the experience and my sons came to my graduation which was really nice and I hope it will inspire them.

Why did you choose to come to Northumbria?

I came to Northumbria based on my circumstances. I was a single mother so it wasn’t feasible to go elsewhere as I needed the support of my family for childcare.

What have you enjoyed most about the course?

While you’re studying it’s so busy – you don’t really realise what you’ve achieved until afterwards. It was really challenging to get through the course and I look at my classmates and realise just what we have achieved. I had a couple of acute situations whilst on placement. Towards the end of your third year, when you’re about to qualify, you’re given a lot more responsibility and have a caseload of women whose care you lead, although you are very well supported. There were situations where things can change quite quickly and I was faced with a couple of situations where that happened. I’m not going to lie, it was quite challenging, however, the support was excellent. It’s been amazing. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done!