Three Tanzanian midwives were welcomed into Bunbury Regional Hospital last week as part of a four-week study tour in Western Australia.
The midwives, all first-time visitors to Australia, were welcomed as part of the Global Health Alliance Western Australia (GHAWA), an initiative of the Department of Health that is supported by the African nation’s Ministry for Health and sponsored by Rotary.
WA Country Health Service coordinator of midwifery Kate Reynolds said the visit was designed to expose the midwives to the Australian healthcare environment, enhance their knowledge of best practice in maternal and neonatal care, help them gain knowledge in leadership and management skills and train them to become trainers.
“The goal of the program is to enable the midwives to return to Tanzania as role models, championing maternal and neonatal care in their homeland by providing professional development and training to their colleagues,” Mrs Reynolds said.
“During their time in Bunbury, the midwives partnered with a Bunbury midwife to obtain exposure to the maternity specialties of particular interest to them, including antenatal clinics, special care nursery, postnatal, high dependency unit and birth suites.”
The midwives also underwent a clinical development program that included training in the principles of adult learning and sessions on critical thinking.
The GHAWA has been providing professional development opportunities for nurses and midwives in Tanzania for the past six years.
