Media Release
November 13 2009
Graduate shortages hit country families hardest
Australian
women and children are facing a future without sufficient pre and post
natal care, assistance at births and satisfactory education due to a
shortage of graduating midwives and teaching graduates willing to work
in rural and remote areas.
One contributing factor to the shortage of midwifery graduates is the
pressure placed on students when they spend time completing required
practical placements.
Midwifery students are required to engage in nearly six months of
unpaid practical work as part of their degree, including a minimum of 40
births and 600 hours of face to face contact with patients.
For many students, scholarships are the only way that they can survive
financially until graduation.
Midwifery student Melinda Dedes likens the course to an unpaid, full
time job.
“Financially, study is always hard, but midwifery requires hours of
unpaid work as well as the costs of travelling – all of which are on top
of normal living costs,” she says.
“Even part time work is a challenge.”
In a bid to support students and the profession,
UniSA is proposing scholarships
which will provide $5000 a year to support midwifery students who are
financially disadvantaged.
Education is also being affected by a shortage of graduates. Rural and
remote schools in particular are suffering from a lack of teachers
willing to work outside of urban zones.
It has been found that the most effective way to encourage students to
take a rural or remote teaching post is to expose them to practical
teaching in a remote area during their teaching degree.
UniSA teaching graduate Nicole Brown says that a rural placement during
her program opened her mind to teaching outside of an urban zone.
“Teaching in a rural area is a great springboard to the start of a
successful teaching career,” she says.
“I found that the students were more active than in urban areas and that
there was increased peer support among fellow teachers. It reaffirmed my
intentions of teaching in a rural area.”
UniSA is proposing $3000 scholarships that will help financially
disadvantaged students to undertake their final six week placement in a
rural or remote school in South Australia.
Both the Midwifery Scholarships and the Education Rural Experience
Grants form part of UniSA’s 2010 Community Appeal.
Interested donors can visit
www.unisa.edu.au/giving to find out more.
Media contact
- Heather Leggett office (08) 8302 0096 mobile 0434 078 819 email heather.leggett@unisa.edu.au