Help!! Advice on personal Statment!

Former Member

Hello!
I have decided I am wanting to go to uni to work towards either being a Theatre Prationioner or Health Visitor! I am 24 and work in Maternity services currently!
If you have a minute could you read the start of my personal statment to see if I am going in the right Direction! Thank you xxxx

Choosing your career isn’t an easy thing to do in life so I have taken time to explore my options and view different job roles until I have come across a career in an area I enjoy.
I went to college in 2005 to Study Btec in Health Studies and when I finished the course I was still undecided in which Path I wanted to take. I knew I wanted to work in a health care setting so I joined the Nurse Bank at Lincoln county hospital. This allowed me to working in many different areas including Elderly Care, Medical Assessments , Clinics until I deicide to take a full time job on the Labour Ward , in Maternity as a Health Care Support Worker.
In role as a health care support worker I have various jobs I have responsibility of and tasks I have to undertake. I have to be able to support & assist before , during and after the Birth of their new Baby/Babies. As a Mother to my own little boy, I have a good understanding of how a woman and also their partner, can feel scared, venerable and disorientated at this time so the support and advice I offer can be very important. It is my job to also provide a clean and safe environment for the client, Undertaking certain clinical tasks, for example Making accurate records of observations and reporting any abnormal results & helping clients with personal care when needed.
Working in maternity we also have to provide care for babies by Feeding them, washing them and ensuring they show no signs of being affected from their delivery. We also assist women with breast feeding and promote the benefits of this. Some women are unable to give birth naturally so they have to have a c-section in theatre. This can either be scheduled , an emergency or a Crash case, in this case you need to be confident in your work, ensure you know where equipment is so you can prepare it quickly and make sure all equipment remains sterilise.

Former Member

Have you got guidance notes on how to fill it out? How many words do they want, what sort of details etc?

When you have finished it, make sure you put it through a wordprocessor before you hand it in, to pick up on spelling and grammar mistakes.

I would start by making bullet points of what I wanted to say, grouped together around similar themes, and once I was happy with those, start writing the bullet points out into sentences. Any guidance notes you have could help you to arrange your thoughts into these bullet points and sections.

Former Member

I would check your grammar and spelling as you've some random capital letters and really obvious spelling mistakes in there - you also need to be consistent about how you write the word health care - is it one or two words - choose the one most commonly used and stick to it - I think its healthcare.

I think you also need to add in more info about

Why you are applying for the course

What you are able to bring to the course

Why your the best person for them to take on

I'd also add in some information about you outside work

Also you can add in some good points about how you work and the skills you have - for example being a working mother means that i am organised and flexible and able to prioritise my work and other activities.

Former Member

Thank you so much xx I will work on it some more and pop back !

Former Member

A personal statement should be (and this is memory speaking here as the last time I did one was eight years ago) should be why you want to do what you want to do. You should demonstrate your interest for it, your passion, rather than writing a condensed curriculum vitae which is what you've done. They can see the what; you need to tell them the why.

Emma_R

Hello there Holliepop :wave:

Some great advice here from Katralla!

When you have finished it, make sure you put it through a wordprocessor before you hand it in, to pick up on spelling and grammar mistakes.

I would start by making bullet points of what I wanted to say, grouped together around similar themes, and once I was happy with those, start writing the bullet points out into sentences. Any guidance notes you have could help you to arrange your thoughts into these bullet points and sections.

And Wyetry makes a really good point about linking your skills and experience with examples:

Also you can add in some good points about how you work and the skills you have - for example being a working mother means that i am organised and flexible and able to prioritise my work and other activities.

You might find our lifetracks article on writing a covering letter useful. I know this is a personal statement for uni but the principle is similar - it's all about letting the university know why you're the right person to do this course. These tips might help.

Good luck and let us know how it all goes ...!