Student Midwifery Societies
Midwifery societies foster a supportive environment, bringing members together across all years of your degree. Joining a midwifery society will help enhance your learning but is also a great source of connection, compassion and building friendships and networking opportunities in both the university and professional settings. Plus, midwifery societies can host some great student events too.
Most universities that offer midwifery programmes have a midwifery society. You can find out if there is a society by asking your fellow students, lecturers, tutors or by searching for a society on your university’s website.
South of England
- Anglia Ruskin
- Bournemouth BU
- Brighton Brighton Midwifery Society
- Bristol (UWE) UWE Midwifery Society
- Canterbury CCSU MidSoc
- Oxford Brookes Oxford Brookes Midwifery Society
- Plymouth Plymouth Midwifery Society
- Southampton MidSoc
- Surrey Surrey Midwifery Society
- Worcester UowMidsoc
London
- City
- Greenwich
- Hertfordshire
- Kings College
- Kingston
- South Bank
- Middlesex
- West London
Midlands and East
- Anglia Ruskin
- Bedfordshire
- Birmingham
- Coventry
- Chester
- De Montford
- Keele
- Lincoln
- Northampton
- Nottingham
- Staffordshire
- Suffolk
- University of East Anglia
- Wolverhampton
North of England
- Bolton
- Bradford
- Cumbria
- Lancashire
- Derby
- Edge Hill
- Huddersfield
- Hull
- Leeds
- Lincoln
- Liverpool John Moores
- Manchester
- Northumbria
- Nottingham
- Salford
- Sheffield Hallam
- Staffordshire
- Teeside
- York
Wales
- Bangor
- Cardiff
- South Wales
- Swansea
Scotland
- Edinburgh Napier
- Robert Gordon
- West Scotland
Northern Ireland
- Queens
If your university doesn’t currently have a midwifery society, you can always set one up yourself. Each student union will have its own guidelines but resources on this webpage will act as a rough guide to setting up a society. If you want support from the RCM, why not contact the RCM Student Midwife Forum who have lots of experience in setting up and running societies.
Level 1 - First steps
- Discuss the idea with other student midwives to gauge interest
- Speak with your student union office for advice – the society’s core activities must not overlap with an existing group
- Check the minimum number of potential members set by the university
Level 2 - Key procedures
- Find out the application process to set up the society, you may get this information from the student union or online. You will be asked to provide the names of the organisers, a constitution/set of objectives for the society, an outline of proposed activities, an outline of what funding you will initially apply for, and a petition of interested members of the society
- Some universities may ask for a declaration of any external organisations who are affiliates of the society at the application stage. Therefore, if may be worth stating if this is going to be an RCM midwifery society.
- The application will need to be submitted to the student union, who will decide whether to accept or decline your application.
- If your application is accepted, you will need to agree to adhere as a group to the relevant policies and procedures
Level 3 - Getting started
- Societies will need to elect key roles: a president, a treasurer and a social secretary/fundraiser.
- Consider developing specific social media accounts to keep your members up to date with activities and events
- Consider your membership fees – the university may set a minimum fee which you can charge
- Set up a society email address, making sure to add all members these to the mailing list
The RCM is keen to support Student Midwifery Societies, helping form strong collaborative links with local RCM Branches by affiliation. To encourage the growth and success of student midwifery societies, the RCM offers an annual grant of £250 payable to any Student Midwifery Society that can meet the required criteria.
Grant requirements
- Download and complete the application form pack, setting out in broad detail the purpose and use of the grant.
- Send form to the RCM [pri.patel@rcm.org.uk] and we will assess your application and will seek any further information, if required
- Funding is to be used for RCM-approved purposes only. The RCM has the right to seek the return of any monies it deems to have been misused
- Applicants must commit to sharing society activities and plans with local RCM Branches
- Failure to demonstrate and evaluate how the grant is used may disqualify societies from any future grants
What can be funded?
Please note, this is not an exhaustive list but should be used as a guide:
- learning events, study days and conferences
- subsidised attendance at RCM Annual Conference or other RCM midwifery conferences
- producing materials that celebrate your midwifery society
- raising awareness about the contribution of midwifery in your community
- organising International Day of the Midwife events and initiatives
- running a joint event/initiative with your local RCM Branch
How will the funding be paid?
- If successful, notification will be given within two weeks via the contact details provided on the form. Payment will be made directly into the midwifery society bank account
- Complete and return an evaluation form within six months of the grant being awarded, showing how the funding has been used and how it has benefited the society.
- If the funding is to be used for an event, RCM event evaluation form should be completed
