It doesn’t matter how much your course prepares you, stepping out from under that student umbrella into a registered midwife role is daunting. You’re responsible for people’s lives. Talk about the weight of responsibility!
In saying that, I surprised myself in my ability to rise to the challenge of being a midwife, and was constantly grateful for the skills and preparation CDU gave me. Even now, I’m thankful for the foundation knowledge CDU gave that I continue to use every day I put on my uniform.
Did your course at CDU adequately prepare you for a career working in hospitals?
I surprised myself in my ability to rise to the challenge
It’s not easy, especially doing correspondence. I needed to make an active choice each day to dedicate time to my studies, I made a study plan and would stick to it religiously, and thankfully I had an amazing support network at home. It eventually became easier and easier, and just became a part of our lives.
I loved midwifery, I’d found my passion and that kept me motivated. The times I cried with how overwhelming it was, I had amazing support at home and at the university. I was excited to start this new season of my life and I just decided nothing was going to stop me.
How did you find the adjustment of studying after not finishing high school?
As a midwife, I have had the amazing privilege of watching the love between couples and seeing that love expand as they welcome a new baby into their lives. I’ve seen women at their most vulnerable moment, which turned into their most powerful moment.
The strength of women never ceases to amaze me. I have also hugged women as their tears fell for a baby born sleeping, a life taken too early. Even in these situations, being a support for that woman and family is incredibly rewarding. I used to think my job was to empower women, and that is true, however, really, they empower me, and I am so thankful to the many women who have allowed me to care for them and be part of such an amazing time of their lives.
What’s the most rewarding thing about your new career?
Mum-Of-Three Talea Managed a Seamless Career Change, and She Credits It All to This Uni
Though Talea Cottee wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do for work while she was still at school, she had a vague idea. In year 10, she told a teacher she wanted to go to university and work in the medical field. Her teacher’s reply? “Talea, you need to be realistic with your life goals. You will never go to university and you definitely won’t manage a degree in a medical field.”
When Cottee’s marks didn’t improve the following year, she was advised by the head of senior school to drop all her TEE subjects (now called ATAR) if she wanted to pass the year. She did as told, and, though she ended up passing, she didn’t see the point in continuing to year 12 now that she didn’t have any chance of going to university.
What motivated you to keep pushing through to the end of your degree, and how did you juggle studying with your home life?
What advice would you give to other women who are considering a career change like yours?
For those considering a career change like mine, I will give you the same advice my husband gave to me: If this is something you want, then you need to jump in, the timing will never be right, you just need to take that leap. If you take that leap you will surprise yourself at just how capable you are. I was told I need to be realistic with my life goals and I was never going to make it at university.
Not only did I complete my Bachelor of Midwifery on the honours roll, but I then went on to complete a Graduate Diploma of Health Research with CDU followed by a Master of Public Health, where I conducted my own research and wrote a thesis. I am now assisting a large research project happening at our hospital and about to be a co-author. I still can't believe I have achieved this, but I had people in my life who believed in my abilities even when I didn't. I believe in you, if I can do it anyone can!
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If you’re keen to start your own educational journey at Charles Darwin University, applications for courses in nursing, teaching, law, health, psychology, environmental science, social work and more are now open. Applications for the first semester close February 21, 2022.
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“Before that, I didn’t even know midwives existed,”
“I went back and forth between career choices, not really knowing what to do, and then my mum jokingly said, ‘We could really use a hairdresser in the family’,” Cottee says. “So, that’s what I did. I worked my way up and eventually became the manager of the salon I worked at.”
While Cottee says she never hated hairdressing as she worked with some great people, she was never passionate about it — but still didn’t know what else to do. Then, in 2013, all that changed when she had her first child and discovered the career of midwifery.
It seemed like the perfect fit. Delivering online and distance education for more than 30 years, CDU allows for easy switches between part-time and full-time study, depending on your situation. And while it offers degrees in teaching, law, psychology, environmental science, social, nursing, the Bachelor of Midwifery is what Cottee had her eye on.
She submitted her application two days later and, shortly after, received her acceptance letter. “The day I started my degree in 2015, my son was 18 months old and I was eight months pregnant with our daughter,” Cottee says. “I started slow with just one unit and built up to full-time the following year.”
Fast forward to 2018, and another pregnancy later, Cottee had completed her degree with marks she never could’ve imagined getting. Ahead, she shares how she managed to study while looking after three kids, what the most rewarding part of her career now is and what advice she’d give to other women also looking to change careers.
"I started researching correspondence options and Charles Darwin University came up on Google search.”
“I assumed a doctor would be the person to care for me through my pregnancy and birth. How wrong I was! It’s funny now to think there was an entire world I was destined to be a part of and I had no idea the career even existed.”
Though Cottee ended up parking the idea of becoming a midwife soon after, she says she again felt a pull to research midwifery when she fell pregnant with her second child. But being based in Perth, she wasn’t able to attend her local university, which required that she be on-campus, five days a week.
“This just didn’t work with my life,” she says. “I needed the option to complete my degree part-time and from home so I could be the mother I wanted to be.
I was also aware that I made this choice. I chose to have children and study at the same time, and there is no point complaining about a choice I made. I just figured out a way to make it work. I was so glad I did it while having children. If I waited until after, I probably would’ve just gone back to work as a hairdresser. I was at home with my children, I might as well do my degree at the same time. It worked out perfectly.
By the time I finished, my older two children had started school and I had more time to begin working as a midwife. I felt like our whole family was moving into the next chapter for us, not just me in my career but our family was evolving from the baby and toddler stage into primary school children. The university offered amazing flexibility and complete support through my pregnancies.