Hi Marilyn
The Nurses Board of Victoria can be accessed through www.nbv.org.au
(I am a member of the Board. The following is my opinion - I cannot speak
on behalf of the Board.)
I understand that there are in the range of 100 midwives registered in Vic
who did their education through direct entry courses and are not general
nurses. Also there are several universities that have begun the 3-year B
Mid courses this year, and these courses have Nurses Board accreditation.
I think the Nurses Act 1993 needs to be repealed, and a new Nurses and
Midwives Act, or a separate Midwives Act, brought in. This requires a lot
of work by the midwifery profession with the government Policy branch. As
far as the law is concerned at the moment, midwives in Vic (and the rest of
Australia) are registered nurses. Midwives who are not general nurses have
a 'restriction' placed on their registration:
Registered Nurse (division 1) Midwife with restriction to midwifery (not
sure of the actual wording).
I can understand why a midwife would not choose to come to Victoria, where
no midwife can get visiting access to hospitals; where there is no public
funding for homebirth; where there are only 100 homebirths each year, out
of 60,000; where birth centres have alarmingly high rates of transfer out
to obstetric care; where more than 40% of inductions are for reasons other
than acceptable reasons; where the rate of vaginal birth after a primary
caesarean is only 20% ...
But WA has the Community Midwifery Program, about which I am sure someone
will tell you.
Wherever you go, there will be a great deal of work needed, seeking reform
of the maternity services and humanisation of birth. We need strong women
who can commit themselves to work in a team of consumers and midwives and
others across the country for a very worthy cause.
Joy Johnston
-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 1:52 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject:midwifery positions
Dear List:
As many of you may know I have been hanging out at the list for a while. I
have now finished my midwifery education in the USA (direct entry at
Seattle
Midwifery School), have received my license to practice midwifery in
Washington, and am in the process of applying for registration in
Australia.
I have downloaded application packages from the Nurses Boards in NSW, Qld.,
and SA. and I am in the process of collecting the portfolio of certificates
etc. that are required . I have a couple of questions regarding the NSW
application: they want to know if I have had traffic infringements (the
wording is convictions specifically including traffic infringements), do
they
mean speeding tickets? (yes, I have had 4 in various jurisdictions over the
last 33 years of driving). The other question is more crucial: I had
collected a package (when I was in Australia in January) from the nurses
board for applying to be registered as a midwife only (which is what I am,
I
am not trained/educated as a nurse), I then downloaded stuff from the web
site and on the midwife application it had a sentence which was not there
before: to be completed by midwives who are RN's. Has something changed in
NSW? Should I wait to send in my application in NSW until the new
ammendment
has passed through the parliament?
I have nothing against Victoria or Western Australia, I have been advised
though that the states I have listed above might be more amenable to my
qualification than either Victoria or WA. I am open to input.
I am still an Australian citizen so I don't need a work visa to come to
Australia. I am planning on leaving the USA on May 22nd. However I am
wondering if any of you know of any midwifery or midwifery related
positions
that are available, anywhere in Australia.
Thanking you in advance for any responses.
marilyn
--
This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics.
Visit http://www.acegraphics.com.au to subscribe or unsubscribe.
--
This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics.
Visit http://www.acegraphics.com.au to subscribe or unsubscribe.
