A new Graduate Diploma of Midwifery offered in Mackay by James Cook University is equipping 15 registered nurses with essential perinatal skills, boosting access to midwifery services across the region while providing flexible study options for local and remote healthcare workers.
JCU Ngudya Yamba (Mackay) campus Nursing and Midwifery site coordinator Dr Maude Chapman said offering the diploma in Mackay removed the need for local nurses to travel to Townsville to study and allowed them to train at Mackay Base and Mater Mothers’ Private hospitals.
“This is a significant step for JCU and the Mackay region as it demonstrates a commitment by JCU to support growing our healthcare workforce,” she said.
Jessica McGair, a mother of two and a nurse with six years of experience at the Mackay Base Hospital, is embracing the opportunity to further her career in midwifery without the need to travel.
“I’m really looking forward to being more confident working with and caring for newborns.
“I’m excited to learn something new and different,” she said.
She is especially grateful for the convenience of studying locally.
“It would have been harder for me, having a family, having to travel if I went through a different Uni, so I’m really happy that JCU is here,” Jessica explained.
Students will be taught the full spectrum of midwifery skills over 18 months, extending to pre-birth care, during labour, and post-natal care.
“There’s a national shortage of midwives and our region is no different,” Dr Chapman said.
“However, if we can educate midwives within our region, that also helps to serve our outlying communities like Moranbah, Dysart, Proserpine and Bowen.”
Grace Prentice, from the coastal mining town of Weipa in Cape York, chose Mackay over other JCU locations because it offered the flexibility to study online.
"I'm travelling all the way from Weipa in Cape York, far north Queensland," Grace said.
"The online course is a lot better for me because I live in a really remote area, and I would have to move my entire life to Sydney to study this degree.
"I only have to come to Mackay for two weeks out of the whole year, and I can do the rest of my study at home, using the hospital in Weipa for all my practical work."
Dr Chapman said local healthcare facilities were “extremely supportive” of the diploma and would provide nursing educators to teach parts of the course.
“All of the clinical education is current and visible for students when they go out into their nominated healthcare facility because we have those nurse educators here,” she said.
Dr Maude Chapman with midwifery students Grace Prentice and Jessica McGair. Photo credit: Hannah McNamara
Access to midwifery services for expectant mothers in the Mackay region and beyond will be boosted with the launch of a new course based right here in the city.
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