Tilda’s story

Mature student Tilda was just starting her final year of a midwifery degree at the University of Hull when she did a 1-day Grit workshop.

It’s high-pressure, training to be a midwife. You go from university to placement and back to university, again and again. It’s a treadmill, hard graft. And it could get frustrating. Often in some areas we just had to muck in using the skills we are confident in and do what has to be done so at times it can be difficult to learn new skills.

I did the Grit workshop about a month after I’d finished one of my placements. The maternity areas had been short-staffed and we were in the middle of the doctors’ strike.  The women coming in for scans and appointments were getting impatient, were a bit short. There are times when the NHS is not a nice place to be: you try your best for the women but it can be overwhelming, isolating. I wasn’t looking after myself - self-care was going on the back burner. I was feeling pretty negative.

Grit gave me the tools to turn my mindset around. Now, when I come home after a bad shift I’m able to step back, understand what’s out of my control – the short staffing, the way the patients are with me – and focus on the things I can control. I’m looking at things in a different way. I’m not expecting the learning to come to me every time - it’s up to me to make the opportunity work. I’m more positive, optimistic, on the front foot.

In the workshop I made some great connections with students in other cohorts and year groups. We’ve got a WhatsApp group to keep in touch, check-in and support each other. I’m able to support some of the students who are earlier in their training with a bit of direction around assignments, around placements. We’ve got a real sense of community.

It’s easy to get stressed out by all the things you have to do but when we looked at using goals in the workshop everything suddenly seemed a lot easier. Now I break everything down into small steps, ticking them off as I get them done. It’s much more motivating. I get much more sense of achievement. It makes everything seem possible.

I’m much more organised. The day after the workshop I went out and bought a diary. And I’ve been able to build-in time to get exercise. This is so important. I feel better and do better. I feel much more set-up for the challenges of the day. It makes me more productive.

I would recommend Grit to every first year, before you go into your first placement. A lot of students drop out because ‘it’s not what I thought it would be.’ Grit gives you the mindset to deal with the mismatch when the reality doesn’t stack up. It’s how you respond that makes the difference.