Congratulations to Hayley Forbes Winner of the Outstanding Student Midwife Award

Cardiff University student midwife Hayley Forbes won the Outstanding Student Midwife Award at the Cavell Nurses Trust Scholarship Awards in London.

Hayley applied for the Cavell nurses trust award to support her on an overseas elective placement in Nepal and is starting her journey today. The award will be used to spend time in a maternity hospital in Pokara working with midwives and doctors and working as part of the safer motherhood project; it aims to improve knowledge about danger signs, change attitudes in favour of women and raise the status of women. The project focuses on breaking down barriers and communicating key messages to communities that are difficult to reach due to entrenched beliefs and isolation due to remoteness.

Nepal is a country were women have a lower status then men and as it is the men that would traditionally make the decisions it is quite difficult to advocate informed choice for women. There is the added issue that the majority of births take place at home.

Hayley said ‘Being a part of the awards ceremony in London made me feel very proud. There were a lot of people who had made a huge contribution to the profession and to be there with them was a huge honour’

‘Without this award I would not have the finances to travel abroad for my elective. It will allow me to have an experience I would not have thought was possible. This award will contribute to me becoming the exceptional midwife I strive to be, by giving me the opportunity to experience midwifery in an environment I would not otherwise have had the opportunity to’

‘I would recommend for all midwifery students considering an overseas elective to apply for this award. The process for applying involved a written application, followed by an interview for the short listed applicants. The Cavell nurses Trust are very supportive and open to answer any questions the students may have’

‘The opportunities I have gained through Cardiff University have given me the experience to apply for this award. The midwifery team have been incredibly supportive throughout the process. The course is very engaging and the extra-curricular opportunities such as the Midwifery Society and the Wales Health Student Forum allow students to go the extra mile’.

Follow the link to see the full list of Cavell Award Winners.

https://www.cavellnursestrust.org/scholarship-awards/winners