When your dream job is to be a midwife

She does not really know why exactly she opted for a job in accounting after passing her final exams at the Theresianum upper secondary school in Eisenstadt. After five years in the profession, however, she did something very courageous: she looked for a new professional challenge and is now living her dream. She started the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Midwifery at University of Applied Sciences Burgenland in September and is absolutely enthusiastic.

“In fact, this was the only profession that came into consideration for me. I am simply very interested in pregnancy and childbirth,” she explains.

In Austria, midwifery training takes place at universities of applied sciences. Laura applied to four educational institutions and was promptly accepted at University of Applied Sciences Burgenland. In her year, 18 prospective midwives are currently studying at the University’s location in Pinkafeld. “We are totally different. We are in different life situations, some - like me - have done something completely different before, a few already have experience in the healthcare system. But it works incredibly harmoniously. It’s fun and I thought it would be just as great.”

Overall, Laura describes her degree programme as very practice-oriented. In January, she and her fellow students gained their first practical experience on a postnatal ward. “Ward rounds, examinations of women who have recently given birth and of their newborns were on the programme there.”

The other subjects of the degree programme are also very practical. Much of what the students learn in theory is then tried out in the Skills Lab. They have even tried out taking blood samples on each other - fortunately Laura does not shy away from that. She also benefits from her communicative and open manner when dealing with patients.

Getting back into learning after five years on the job was a challenge for Laura at first. “Physiology and anatomy are quite big chunks, but I feel I’ve arrived in student life.”

Laura can imagine working as a freelancer in the long term. Before that, however, she would like to gain as much experience as possible. She would also like to become a breastfeeding counsellor. We wish her all the best for the future.