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Hi Jan,
In Victoria there is about to be an announcement of
allocation of funding, tomorrow I think, to hospitals who have expressed
interest in caseload midwifery. The funding is limited, but will be extended
over the next 5-10 years. I think this round of funding will be allocated to one
hospital per region. Small steps....
Nicole.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2005 3:31
PM
Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery]
waterbirth
Hi Tina
I'm so upset to hear that this is how most of
you wonderful B Mid women have ended up.
It seems like the Bachelor of
Midwifery courses are turning out similar end-products to the old post-grad
Diploma courses - i.e., swelling the numbers for the existing hospital work
force.
The maternity administrators who are forward-thinking enough to
bring in case load practice are not acting quickly enough to enroll potential
midwifery graduates .
Administrators should already be in contact with
those students planning to graduate this year, offering them the opportunity
experience in a midwifery case load program before their B Mid studies are
completed and they have to start to hunt around for 'shifts' in fragmented
care programs.
I don't see many hospitals advertising that they are going
to set up Community Midwifery Programs this year either.
Where is the
leadership and vision amongst the rank and file? Perhaps some one can email
ozmidwifery and tell me that I am dead wrong? I hope so.
ASIM will be
offering a scholarship to final year UTS students when the current course gets
towards it's end stage. That way the independent midwives and the home birth
community will ensure that the most motivated midwifery students obtain
valuable home birth experience during the last year of their course and will
be able to work with independent practitioners when they
graduate.
Jan
PS Please let the Society know if you ever intend
to re-locate up into NSW Tina.
Jan
Jan Robinson
Independent Midwife Practitioner
National Coordinator Australian Society of
Independent Midwives
8 Robin Crescent South Hurstville NSW 2221 Phone/Fax:
02 9546 4350
e-mail address: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> website:
www.midwiferyeducation.com.au
On 14
Mar, 2005, at 14:42, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
In a message dated
3/14/2005 1:52:01 PM AUS Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
writes:
It
concerns me that Australian midwives are so slow to see the
advantages
in forming partnerships with women, listen to them and work
with them
to provide the types of birth services women want. It is
difficult
in many areas to convince midwives to even contemplate taking
on their
own caseload.
Perhaps
time will alleviate my concerns. I hope I see all Australian
midwives
working 'with women' before I die.
Jan
Hello
Jan and everyone. Jan I couldn't agree more!!
As a
recently graduated midwife, educated via a Bachelor of Midwifery (predicated
on continuity and woman-centred care) I am now working fulltime shift-work
across my scope of practice (rotating thu pregnancy, birth and after birth
care) and I can't believe that midwives feel that full-time shift work is a
wonderful way work!! Having just completed my midwifery studies with full
time uni and a caseload of between 10-15 women a year across the 3 years of
the B Mid...I was NO WHERE nearly as tired I am now with doing the full-time
shift work.....it sucks big time!!!
Where
I work is a large regional midwifery unit in Victoria, and the move is
towards implementing one-to-one midwifery care for women, with a known
midwife throughout their pregnancy, birthing and early parenting journey -
caseload. However, this move is being met with strenuous opposition from
many of the midwives who WILL NOT even contemplate that perhaps there is
another way to be 'with woman' than the current fear based, institution
focused, inflexible rostered based system of maternity care. So like
Jennifairy, I too am also working with a MIPP to keep my skills up of
supporting women in their on own power to birth at home on a partime basis
where I am sharing a small caseload of women with another midwifery
colleague, while continuing to work to educate midwives on the
benefits of one-one midwifery care with known women....whilst continuing to
practice the bulk of my midwifery in what now seems like on planet Mars!!
Yours
in reforming midwifery
Tina
Pettigrew.
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