By Alesha Capone
Doris says she has a passion for providing support and care to promote positive outcomes for families.
Doris is one of four registered nurses and midwives who participated in additional study in the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) field, while completing a pilot program with Wyndham council.
The council’s Employment Pathways program, in partnership with its MCH Team, delivered the pilot program with funding provided by the Department of Health.
The students, who took part in the pilot to extend their professional development, have all been offered a permanent position with the council’s MCH service.
The pilot program started last month and finished last week.
The students all came from the hospital sector, where they worked in acute settings.
Doris said she completed her General Nursing and Midwifery studies in Nigeria and started working in a childbirth centre, at a Nigerian hospital, before arriving in Australia nearly 20 years ago.
“I have worked in a variety of nursing areas before settling at Werribee Mercy Hospital working predominantly in midwifery for over 11 years,” she said.
“I started my post-graduate diploma studies, part-time in Child and Family Health Nursing in 2020, and just graduated in September, 2021.”
Wyndham mayor Adele Hegedich said that the positive feedback provided by Doris and the other MCH program participants was “was more than we (the council) ever expected”.
“It was a fantastic opportunity for them to get a feel and understanding of the different areas in council and the support that is available,” Cr Hegdich said.
“This is so important as Maternal Child Health nurses need to refer parents and carers to a wide variety of support services.”
Doris said she decided to go into the MCH field because she wanted to work with women for longer periods after they give birth, rather than the few days they spend in hospital after a pregnancy.
Doris, whose sister and niece are also MCH employees, said she was excited to begin her “new adventure” in her role at Wyndham city council (WCC).
“I decided to join WCC MCH because of the amazing support that was provided by the dedicated support team,” Doris said.
“And to top it all, being paid to do the orientation was great incentive.
“I think that I will enjoy my dream job and seeing the child growing and working with families, providing them parenting support and promoting their health and wellbeing.”
Doris said the biggest challenge of working as an MCH staff member during the COVID-19 pandemic was the stress that parents are under.
“They may have lost income, or their family may not have been able to come and support them when they have their new baby,” she said.
“Also, we have been supporting families who have COVID infection or are in isolation.
“They may be frightened about what will happen to them and their family, or just feel really lonely.
“Being flexible and listening to families’ concerns has been very important.”
Another student who participated in the pilot program and is now employed by the council is Olivia, aged 27.
Olivia said she originally studied a Bachelor of Nursing/Bachelor of Midwifery.
“I then worked for a few years in a major tertiary hospital in Melbourne,” she said.
“To become a Maternal and Child Health Nurse I recently studied and completed a graduate diploma in Child and Family Health Nursing.”
Olivia said the part of midwifery that she enjoys the most is “educating and empowering parents on their journey of parenthood”.
“I am a big believer in knowledge is power and the opportunity to work together with parents to provide this knowledge and help them build their confidence is what I love doing,” she said.
“I am enjoying getting to know all the families.
“Building that connection and discovering all the people that make up Wyndham – that human connection is one of the best parts of the job.
“I am very grateful to Wyndham for providing the opportunity for the student pilot program.”
For more information visit: www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/careers/employment-pathways
