Burdekin midwife goes the distance without leaving home

A Burdekin-based registered nurse has helped pave the way for more nurses to gain midwifery qualifications without needing to go to a major city.

Cher Vernon was the first nurse to complete a Diploma of Midwifery through Townsville University Hospital (TUH) while working in a rural location.

Typically, nurses employed through the Townsville Hospital and Health Service who wanted the qualification would have to complete the diploma at Townsville University Hospital.

Ms Vernon was able to complete the diploma while staying in Ayr, and she hoped the distance education initiative would encourage more rural healthcare workers to look at professional development opportunities.

“Normally, to get the Diploma of Midwifery you have to do the training through a tertiary hospital, which can be a challenge for nurses in rural communities,” Ms Vernon said.

“There’s the stress of needing to organise travel, work, and family which makes it very difficult and overwhelming.

“This was something I had been wanting to do for 15 years but was never able to do because of those commitments.

“When I approached the director of nursing at the Ayr hospital and told her what I wanted to do, she and the health service moved mountains and worked with JCU to make this training available outside of Townsville.

“Completing the program wasn’t without its challenges, particularly as I was the first to do it through distance education.

“For example, I needed to be at births as part of the training, which can be a challenge in the Burdekin because births are more sporadic compared to somewhere like Townsville.

“So that meant there were a lot of times during my study that I would get a phone call early in the morning, sometimes at 2 am, from the midwife and nursing staff telling me to come in because a baby was on the way.

“I was also put through short placements at TUH to ensure I had a high-risk pregnancy experience, and the knowledge I have gained from that has helped in supporting women in our community.

“The support and encouragement I had from staff in the Burdekin and Townsville to help me meet the strict clinical requirements of the diploma was incredible, and I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Ayr Health Service’s director of nursing Tracey Gabiola said Ms Vernon’s achievements would inspire more locally based healthcare professionals to upskill.

“Access to training and development opportunities can be a barrier for staff in communities like the Burdekin,” Ms Gabiola said.

“What Cher has achieved is truly a credit to her and very inspiring. We are all very proud of her achievements considering the barriers she has overcome.

“By making professional development opportunities such as this available for rural-based health staff, we not only increase access to maternity services for the Burdekin community but also attract and retain our staff for longer.”