New midwifery courses target regional workforce needs
CQUniversity is strengthening pathways into midwifery to help address longstanding workforce pressures across regional and rural Queensland, with two new courses offering entry points for school leavers and registered nurses.
The new Bachelor of Midwifery and Master of Midwifery (Graduate Entry) will provide students with the knowledge, clinical skills and hands-on experience to become qualified midwives, with clinical placements available across Queensland.
CQUniversity Head of Course for Midwifery Rachelle Chee said the programs had been developed with the needs of regional health services and communities in mind.
“Maternity services in regional and rural Queensland have been under pressure for years,” Ms Chee said.
“Some services have reduced their birthing services, meaning women can have to travel long distances to give birth away from their families and support networks.
“Behind that sits a workforce problem. We have an ageing midwifery workforce, people leaving in the first few years after registration, and not enough locally trained graduates coming through to replace them.”
Ms Chee said offering both direct-entry and graduate-entry pathways would allow CQUniversity to build the midwifery workforce from two directions.
“Launching a direct entry program and a graduate entry program at the same time means we can build the workforce from two directions at once, which is the fastest responsible way to make a difference,” she said.
For CQUniversity graduate Cassandra Jenkins, the decision to pursue midwifery was shaped by her experiences supporting family members through birth and becoming a mother herself.
“I have a deep passion to try and make a difference to maternal healthcare,” Ms Jenkins said.
“I love the opportunity to be with women during one of the most vulnerable times in their lives and to be that smiling face, reminding them of their strength.”
The Bachelor of Midwifery provides a direct pathway into the profession, allowing students to become midwives rather than first training as nurses before undertaking further study.
“Midwifery is its own profession, with its own philosophy, evidence base and scope of practice,” Ms Chee said.
“From early in the courses, students follow individual women through pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period.
“They learn what it means to be someone’s midwife across months of their life, which is where the learning about trust, advocacy and clinical judgement happens.”
For registered nurses who have discovered a passion for maternity care, the Master of Midwifery (Graduate Entry) offers a one-year pathway that builds on their existing skills and knowledge.
“What is built on top of that is the midwifery scope and the midwifery way of thinking,” Ms Chee said.
Ms Chee said the courses were suited to people with a strong interest in women’s health, a commitment to women’s rights and an understanding of equity in healthcare.
“Women's health does not start at conception and end at discharge,” she said.
“Midwives need to consider contraception, screening, mental health, feeding, violence, the newborn, the partner and the household a woman goes home to.”
Graduates will also need to understand health inequities experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, women living in rural and remote communities and women experiencing complex social circumstances.
The role of the midwife has evolved significantly, with modern midwives increasingly practising autonomously as primary healthcare providers across the full continuum of maternity care.
The Bachelor of Midwifery includes a minimum of 960 hours of clinical learning, while the Master of Midwifery (Graduate Entry) includes a minimum of 792 hours.
Ms Jenkins said the hands-on experience she gained during her studies at CQUniversity had been critical to preparing her for professional practice.
“The clinical placements and hands-on learning were everything for me,” Ms Jenkins said.
“Nothing is really the same as being in a real situation.”
Now working as a midwife at the Bundaberg Family Unit, Ms Jenkins said completing her placement in the workplace had helped make the move into professional practice a positive one.
“I am so grateful to have had so much hands-on experience as a student,” she said.
Ms Jenkins encouraged people considering a career in midwifery to explore the opportunity.
“It is hard work, but it is so rewarding,” she said.
“If you have a deep passion for caring for women and advocating for women, go for it.”
CQUniversity’s flexible delivery model will also allow students to study without necessarily relocating to a major centre, with students attending an intensive three-to-five-day block on campus each term and completing the remainder of their learning online alongside clinical placements.
