January 24, 2003

Innovative midwifery education in rural areas

Another week is coming to a close. The workshop in Traralgon will conclude today and it has been very successful. The Grad Dip Midwifery students from Monash that we have worked with have been a special bunch of women - very motivated, very woman centred, and enthusiastic to boot. If these are examples the midwives of the future, then birthing women will be very well cared for and the profession is in safe hands.

The School of Midwifery here in East Gippsland, Victoria, is unique in its approach. Most midwifery education in Australia takes place in the large city teaching hospitals where it can be difficult for students to get a rounded education, given that these institutions have set ways of working. Trish David, the Senior Lecturer in charge of this Monash program has negotiated with all the rural hospitals in this half of the State to mentor and support a student or two through their small country hospitals. Many of these may only have 60 - 120 births each year. The students have told us how the midwives and nurses in these units (many women work both roles) have gone out of their way to ensure that they have seen as many births as possible and been given the experiences necessary for their Course. The challenge of having a student has kept the staff on their toes and is a simple way for regular staff to be updated with the latest research and practises. A win all round, it seems.

Many of these hospitals have acute shortages of midwives and so they are encouraged to select nurses from their hospitals to enrol in the Monash program. The hospital helps with fees and provides support and resources and in return they know that in 2 years they will have a fully qualified midwife to add to their pool of staff.

Programs like these are also enabling the smaller units to stay open - they are now “teaching institutions” and this added status can be useful in justifying their retention. Labouring women are finding that they are getting their “own midwife”, perhaps a student, who will follow them through the pregnancy and be there for the birth. This extra, personalised care is very attractive to women and has been a deciding factor for some who have chosen to give birth in a small rural hospital rather than a bigger city or District hospital. This outcome is good for rural health, the midwifery students and of course the women themselves. Let’s hope that Trish David’s program becomes a model for other schemes in other States.

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