Community Meeting for potential Taranaki Midwifery Students

8 October 2013

Most people know a midwife is the registered health professional who can provide care for women in pregnancy, during labour and birth, and then look after mother and baby in the first 4 to 6 weeks after birth.
What a lot of local people don’t know, though, is that you can complete your education to become a midwife here in Taranaki. Women used to have to move to one of the big cities to enroll as a student midwife. However AUT University now runs a small satellite programme based in New Plymouth, with significant support from Taranaki District Health Board. Through the use of modern technologies students can remain living with their families in the province, and be a part of lectures coming out of AUT University’s campus. The students undertake most of their clinical placements locally, and are supported by a local-based midwife lecturer, Tricia Thompson, who coordinates the Taranaki satellite.

For some years there has been a shortage of midwives in the province, and TDHB realised that by training local women locally, they were more likely to stay and be midwives in their home region. Thus this local satellite option was created. The first three local students have graduated from the course in the past year, and having these first ‘home grown midwives’ is an exciting milestone for the province. 

Applications are open for the course which will begin in March 2014. Women who are interested in the possibility of training as a midwife through the AUT Taranaki satellite are invited to come to a meeting to find out more: what entry level requirements potential students need to be accepted into the course, to find out what is involved in the training, and how it works in the satellite. They will also be able to meet current students and new graduate midwives.

For more details, contact Tricia Thompson, Midwifery lecturer, AUT Taranaki satellite, 021 907 342, tricia.thompson@aut.ac.nz or come to the meeting:
7pm,
Tuesday 22nd October 2013,
Room 5,
Education Centre,
Taranaki Base Hospital, David St,
New Plymouth.                

Last updated: Tuesday, October 8, 2013