New England midwives graduate after memorable year

27 January 2011

Four new midwives graduating from Hunter New England Health’s innovative Rural Midwifery Education Program tomorrow (Friday 28 January) will further increase midwife numbers in the New England region this year.

The graduation, to be held at Inverell District Health Service, will be a fitting celebration for Paris Williams (Inverell), Jocelyn Palmer (Armidale), Nicole Lawler (Moree) and Emma McManus (Tamworth).

The midwives will remain with Hunter New England Health after completing a year-long distance education Postgraduate Diploma of Midwifery.

The course is offered by Hunter New England Health through the Rural Midwifery Education Program, in conjunction with Charles Sturt University, and allows the nurses to learn on-the-job by rotating between Armidale, Inverell, Moree and Tamworth Hospital maternity wards.

Paris Williams who completed the majority of her training in Inverell, said the program had provided the best on-the-job training experience she’d ever had.

“I worked closely with hospital midwives to develop relationships with about 15 mums, tracking their progress through pregnancy, birth and postnatal care,” Paris said.

“It was an amazing experience, and I experienced a range of situations, such as assisting a woman who was expecting twins.

“Midwifery is an amazing career. It’s great to work with women and see them become more excited as they got closer to giving birth. It’s a privilege to spend time with future mums as they prepare for one of the biggest events in their life.”

Paris spent her year working with the highly-skilled midwives at Inverell, Armidale and Tamworth.

“Throughout the year I worked with lots of dedicated midwives,” Paris said. “I was able to learn so much from the staff. They are all so passionate about working with women to ensure every new mum has the best possible pregnancy, birth and post-natal experience.”

The Rural Midwifery Education Program has enabled more than 80 midwives to complete their training in the New England region since 1993.

The graduate midwives and the senior Hunter New England Health staff who trained them throughout 2010 will be available for media interviews at the graduation. The ceremony will be held at Inverell District Health Service at 2pm tomorrow (Friday 28 January).

Contact: Emma Gibbs

Phone: 6767 7137