Frequently Asked Questions

Who is a midwife?

A midwife is a qualified healthcare professional who plays an essential role in protecting, promoting and maintaining the health of mothers, babies, women, families and the community during pregnancy, birth, the postpartum period and newborn care.

Midwives undertake important responsibilities such as antenatal follow-up, monitoring the birth process, conducting normal births, providing postpartum care for mothers and newborns, breastfeeding counselling, reproductive health and family planning services, follow-up of children aged 0-6, health education and counselling. They also play a critical role in the early detection of risky conditions, appropriate referral to healthcare services, and the reduction of maternal and infant mortality.

What are the employment opportunities for graduates of the Department of Midwifery?

Graduates of the Department of Midwifery can work in public, university and private hospitals, family health centres, maternal and child health and family planning centres, community health centres, pregnancy education centres, infertility centres and various institutions related to women’s health.

Midwives may also provide independent midwifery services and specialise in areas such as childbirth preparation education, breastfeeding counselling, pregnancy counselling and postpartum counselling. After completing their undergraduate education, graduates may also pursue master’s and doctoral programmes and build an academic career.

Midwives can work in institutions and organizations such as public, university and private hospitals, family health centers, maternal and child health and family planning centers, community health centers, infertility centers, pregnancy education centers, or they can work freelance. In addition, there are master's and doctorate opportunities after undergraduate education in the midwifery department and they can work as academicians.

What courses are offered in the Department of Midwifery?

In the Department of Midwifery at Lokman Hekim University, in addition to courses in basic medical sciences, behavioural sciences and social sciences, the curriculum mainly includes professional midwifery courses. Professional courses are delivered through theoretical instruction, laboratory practice and clinical/field practice in an integrated manner.

Some of the main professional courses in the programme are:

Fundamental Principles and Practices in Midwifery I-II
Healthy Pregnancy and Care
High-Risk Pregnancy and Care
Normal Birth and Postpartum Period
High-Risk Birth and Postpartum Period
Women’s Health and Diseases and Care
Newborn and Child Health and Diseases
Clinical-Field Integrated Practice I-II

In addition to these core professional courses, the programme also includes field-specific courses that support students’ professional knowledge and skills in women’s health, family health and community health, such as:

Reproductive Health and Family Planning
Sexual Health
Childbirth Preparation Classes

Furthermore, various elective courses offered throughout the undergraduate programme support students in gaining an interdisciplinary perspective.

In addition to theoretical education, our university has well-equipped practice laboratories for applied courses. Students also have the opportunity to complete their clinical practice primarily at three Lokman Hekim Health Group hospitals located in Ankara, as well as at relevant healthcare institutions.

Is clinical practice/internship compulsory in the Department of Midwifery?

Yes. In the undergraduate midwifery programme, students participate in clinical and field practices starting from the first year. In addition, there is a compulsory summer internship in the third year of the programme.

Which score type is required for admission to the Department of Midwifery?

The Department of Midwifery admits students based on the quantitative score type, known as SAY in the Turkish higher education entrance system. Candidates must first take the TYT exam and then answer the Mathematics and Science sections in the AYT exam.

Are there postgraduate education opportunities?

Yes. Graduates of the Department of Midwifery can apply to relevant postgraduate programmes to continue their academic development. Our university offers a master’s programme in Midwifery, as well as master’s and doctoral programmes within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Nursing.

How long is the undergraduate programme in Midwifery?

The undergraduate education period of the Department of Midwifery is 4 years.

What are the graduation requirements for the Department of Midwifery?

In order to graduate from the undergraduate midwifery programme, students must:

Have a grade point average of at least 2.00,
Complete a total of 240 ECTS credits,
Successfully complete all compulsory and elective courses,
Successfully complete the clinical/field practices included in the programme.

In addition, students are expected to fulfil the following professional practice criteria before graduation:

To provide counselling to pregnant women, including at least 100 prenatal examinations,
To carry out pregnancy follow-up and care of at least 40 pregnant women,
To conduct at least 40 births themselves,
To actively participate in breech birth management, or to perform simulation practice if active participation is not possible,
To perform episiotomy practice and suturing practice in perianal repair,
To follow and care for 40 women at risk during pregnancy, birth or the postpartum period,
To follow and care for at least 100 postpartum women and healthy newborn babies; including participation in examination practices,
To observe and care for newborn babies requiring special care, including premature, postmature, low birth weight or sick newborns,
To participate in the care of women with gynaecological and obstetric pathologies,
To take part in medical and surgical care processes.

What is the title that graduates of the Department of Midwifery will receive?

Graduates of the Department of Midwifery receive the title of “Midwife”.

Do students have to pass any exam after graduation in order to start working?

Graduates of the Department of Midwifery can start working in private health institutions or independently. They are not required to have an additional certificate in order to start working. However, they can attend various certificate programmes in order to support their professional development and specialize in certain areas.

Graduates who want to be appointed to public institutions must apply with their KPSS score. Midwifery is one of the professions with strong employment opportunities, and graduates can find employment in different health institutions.

What certificate programmes can midwives receive after graduation?

Midwives can attend various certificate and training programmes in areas they are interested in during the last year of their undergraduate education or after graduation. These programmes support professional specialization after graduation and allow midwives to improve themselves in different working areas.

Some of the training and certificate programmes that can be received in this context are:

Breast milk and breastfeeding counselling
Childbirth preparation education
Trainer training for pregnancy information classes
Prenatal yoga and pilates instructor training
Hypnobirthing / hypnobirth trainings
Neonatal Resuscitation Programme
Pregnancy and postpartum counselling
Infant care and newborn follow-up trainings
Trainings for reproductive health and family planning counselling
Trainings for sexual health counselling

Can students of the Department of Midwifery do double major or minor?

There is no double major opportunity for students of our university’s Department of Midwifery. However, our students can do a minor in the Departments of Nursing, Nutrition and Dietetics, and Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation. For double major and minor opportunities, the current regulations and quota announcements of the relevant academic year should be followed.

Will graduates be able to work at Lokman Hekim Hospitals?

In the employment processes of Lokman Hekim Hospitals, graduates of our university are evaluated with priority.

Is it possible for students to meet with academic staff whenever they want?

Yes. Our students can meet with academic staff and receive their opinions throughout their education process. Each student has an academic advisor. Academic advisors guide students on issues such as course selection, clinical practices, internships, exchange programmes, career planning and postgraduate studies.

Can students of the Department of Midwifery benefit from student exchange programmes such as Erasmus+?

Yes. Student exchange programmes such as Erasmus+, Farabi and Mevlana are implemented at our university. Our students can benefit from Erasmus+ Study Mobility and Erasmus+ Internship Mobility if they meet the application requirements.

Detailed information and announcements about exchange programmes are made during the academic year. Students can receive support from our university’s International/External Relations Office on this subject.

Is there horizontal or vertical transfer opportunity in our department? What are the requirements?

There is lateral transfer opportunity in our department. Horizontal transfer requirements are determined in accordance with the relevant legislation and our university’s lateral transfer regulation. Application dates, quotas and requirements are announced separately for each academic year.

Requirements related to vertical transfer should be evaluated in accordance with the current regulations of the Council of Higher Education and our university.

What qualities should a midwifery student have?

Midwifery is a health profession that requires scientific knowledge, professional skills, ethical sensitivity and strong communication skills. Therefore, midwifery students are expected to:

Be healthy in terms of mental and physical aspects,
Have a sense of professional responsibility,
Be willing to serve people, women’s health, mothers, babies, families and the community,
Be able to empathize,
Have effective communication skills,
Be suitable for teamwork,
Be patient, careful, organized and responsible,
Be able to make quick and correct decisions,
Respect ethical values and human rights,
Be open to following scientific developments and continuously improving themselves.

How are educational processes carried out in distance education?

In extraordinary situations such as pandemics, earthquakes and similar cases, education and training processes are carried out in line with the decisions of the Council of Higher Education and the relevant regulations of our university.

At our university, some compulsory common courses such as Atatürk’s Principles and History of Turkish Revolution I-II, Turkish Language I-II and Information Technologies are carried out through the distance education system. When necessary, other theoretical courses are delivered to students through our university’s distance education infrastructure.

Applied professional courses, laboratory practices and clinical/field practices are planned by taking programme competencies, course learning outcomes and relevant legislation into consideration. When necessary, applied education is supported with simulation practices, make-up programmes, intensive laboratory studies and appropriate clinical/field practices. Thus, it is aimed that students gain the knowledge, skills and professional competencies required for graduation.

For general questions about Lokman Hekim University, you can review our university’s student information page.