Maternity education for rural clinicians

Rural clinicians from across the region took part in newborn and maternity emergency education at East Grampians Health Service.

The Maternity and Newborn Emergencies (MANE) program was facilitated by Paediatric Infant Perinatal Emergency Retrieval (PIPER) and the Maternity Services Education Program (MSEP).

Attendance included six GPs from Ararat Medical Centre, four Deakin University medical students, two midwives from Maryborough, a maternal and child health nurse, lactation consultant and all midwives working at EGHS, including two graduate midwives and one midwifery student

Features of the MANE workshop included simulated perinatal emergencies, practical workstations for the clinicians, the principles of teamwork resource management and site-specific initiatives to improve clinical care outcomes.

Michael Stewart, director of PIPER, said the Maternity and Neonatal Emergency program is a joint initiative between the Royal Women and Royal Children’s Hospital to provide training for Victoria’s rural maternity workforce.

“We are training a multi-disciplinary team – doctors, midwives, nurses and students – to improve their effectiveness in managing maternity and newborn emergencies, enhancing the delivery of safe care and quality outcomes,” he said.

Attendees found the program beneficial and highly relevant to their work across the region, including at East Grampians Health Service.

“We had 100  per cent participation from our midwifery workforce, highlighting their commitment to keeping up to date with current best practice,” Kerry Sturmfels, midwifery team leader at EGHS, said.

Pictured above:  Kerry Sturmfels, Nathan Lay, Dr Chee Sheng Wong receive training from then MANE educator