Stewart McLaren - BSc Midwifery
Newly qualified midwife Stewart McLaren, who lives in Kingswells, is feeling thankful to have pushed outside his comfort zone and follow his true calling as he graduates from Robert Gordon University, the top provider of midwives in the North East of Scotland.
“Midwifery is a very female-dominated profession. During my three years at university, I have been the only male-identifying student on the course. At times it was daunting, but after many conversations with healthcare staff in practice, I’m glad to be pleasantly surprising people with the fact that men can work well in a caring and compassionate role, especially one so focussed on female reproductive and obstetric health.
“During high school, I really struggled to find my career path. It was my mum who suggested midwifery while we were watching ‘Call the Midwife’. Once I started looking into it, I connected with how everyone always talked about how rewarding the role was and appreciated the difference it made on the road to parenthood.
“I was thankful when my teacher showed me there was a course available to me on my doorstep, so I took part in RGU’s Nursing and Midwifery Summer School, which allowed me to get a feel for what midwives do and helped me realise that becoming a midwife was the right call.”
The journey towards accomplishing the degree was challenging as the pandemic prevented Stewart from his placements, causing him to fall behind in his 40 deliveries quote, a requirement to qualify as a midwife. Reflecting on this unprecedented time and the support provided by RGU, he said: “I have a great deal of respect and appreciation for the midwifery lecturers at RGU. The hours of placement which we missed out on due to the first lockdown were factored into our second and third years so we could keep up with our skills and qualify on time.
“I’m also overwhelmingly proud of myself and my fellow healthcare and social work colleagues for pulling through and continuing to provide care throughout this challenging time. A personal highlight was facilitating the birth of a baby boy and his family giving him my name as a middle name. It was a truly humbling moment which made it all worth it.”
The graduate is doubling on the celebrations as he recently joined the NHS Grampian Midwifery team. He is looking forward to a long career as a midwife, with experiences globally and outwith the UK, and credits RGU for providing key skills to help him succeed professionally: “The amount of placement we were able to have has helped me become confident in my skills. I have enjoyed great experiences across Scotland from Aberdeen all the way to Inverness. I was able to start my career with an understanding of not only theoretical midwifery care but how it is applied in practice as well.”
As advice for future graduates, he wants to share the same advice he got when he first started the course: “Soak everything up like a sponge and ask as many questions as you need to feel comfortable”.