Congratulations to St John of God Health Care's graduating midwives!

6 Mar 2024

As we applaud our graduating midwives, we’re also celebrating a new wave of 185 graduates starting across nursing, mental health nursing, perioperative nursing and midwifery this month.

Growing our own

‘Growing our own’ is more than just an organisational talent initiative here at St John of God Health Care – it reflects our dedication to developing our people from within.

“We want our caregivers to get the support they need to advance in their careers,” said Chief People Officer Carla Bonev.

Tackling workforce needs head-on, St John of God Health Care is partnering with universities including The University of Notre Dame in Western Australia, Western Sydney University and La Trobe University in Bendigo. This collaborative effort helps the organisation create a pipeline of skilled caregivers ready to navigate the ever-changing health care landscape.

Growing the maternity workforce

In response to the midwifery workforce shortage, St John of God Health Care invested in a number of programs and initiatives since July 2022, which have resulted in a total of 37 new midwives employed, with an additional 37 caregivers currently working towards their midwifery qualification. These programs include:

• Pathways to Practice Graduate Midwife Program
• Midwifery scholarship
• Re-entry to midwifery practice pathway
• Paid Student Midwife Employed Model.

The Student Midwife Employed Model supports registered nurses to meet the clinical requirements of the Graduate Diploma in Midwifery course through regular, rostered and paid student midwife shifts on a St John of God Health Care maternity unit. 

Recent graduate and registered midwife from St John of God Bendigo Hospital, Morgan Keating says she was excited to see an option where she could stay at work while upskilling to care for expectant women and newborns.

 “When I started doing some research about my options for midwifery, I didn't know that there was a Student Midwife Employed Model on offer. As I started looking into it I realised it was a perfect option for me - being able to still use my clinical skills, start to become a midwife and have a stable income coming in.” she said.

Morgan didn’t know she wanted to be a midwife when she started nursing. 

“I was placed at a rural hospital and I was lucky enough to witness a birth because there wasn't much else happening in the hospital - that was the day where I called my mum and said ‘I'm going to be a midwife!’”

“I haven’t looked back,” she said. 

“When you see the parent’s eyes on their newborn baby for the first time, it's just so rewarding. You've supported them and advocated for them to have the birth they planned and wished for, and now they have their baby. I feel so grateful.”

Morgan, who previously completed the Graduate Registered Nurse program at St John of God Bendigo Hospital, said she felt supported and had a variety of experiences during her time as a student midwife.

“I was rostered on days where I was likely to work in special care, the nursery or the postnatal ward. I witnessed and learned so much.”

“Now I’ve graduated I’m really looking forward to the future. I've got a lot of really good role models that I can look up to here at St John of God Health Care.”

Applications for the 2024 mid-year student midwife employed positions open 15 March 2024.

Find out more about St John of God Health Care’s student midwife employed positions on the website.