Zara Wynne

Year of Graduation: 2018

  • Course BMid Midwifery
  • School School of Allied Health and Midwifery
  • Nationality British
  • Career industry Healthcare
  • Current job title Midwife
  • Current Company Royal Preston Hospital

University was amazing, hard, fulfilling and gave me memories I will always remember. It got me were I am today and I could never have done that without attending, and with the support from my friends, tutors and mentors.

During my studies I made some excellent friends that I am still in touch with now. Everyone was very supportive and we were all able to support one another. The midwifery lecturers were very good, they were very supportive and were there if you needed them. I went through a tough year and a half during my course, where my dad became very ill and unfortunately passed away, and the lecturers supported me and I still have a card that my personal tutor wrote to me. My favourite memory was going away with Work the World at the end of my final year - our elective placement was only meant to be 2 weeks however my tutor allowed me to extend mine to 4 weeks, enabling me to travel to Zambia to spend 4 weeks working out there, which was a life-changing experience I will never forget.
My course enabled me to become the midwife I am today. Everything the lecturers and my midwife mentors at placement taught me has helped me learn what I need to know. I am still learning some things two years into being qualified, but I couldn’t have done it without their help, support, knowledge and different ways of remembering important information and skills.
My key responsibilities are caring for women and their babies during their pregnancy, their birth, and the postnatal period. I currently work on the birth centre, which allows low-risk women to birth in a natural environment, which is where I feel most comfortable and I feel this is what I have always wanted to do. I also run a clinic for ladies who live out of our catchment area, but wish to birth in Preston and wish to have their care with a Preston midwife, allowing them to have continuity throughout their pregnancy and hopefully, I will be present at their birth.
I would consider a highlight of my career to be when I went to Zambia on a four-week placement. I felt privileged to be part of this and am so glad I got to experience it. The hospital and care in Zambia felt so different to ours in the UK, and it was amazing to see how their daily routine went and also how they really appreciated my knowledge and skills. I also got a baby named after me whilst I was there, something I will never forget.
My advice would be to go for it. If there is something or someone you wish to become, then put your mind to it and you can reach your goal. It’s just a few years of hard work to get where you wish to be.