my name is Megan and I found this forum whilst searching for things about the Bachelor of Midwifery at UniSA.
I am a mum to 4 children (aged 9, 5, 3 and 1) and am about to embark on my second year of nursing at UniSA.
I applied for the Bachelor of Midwifery for this year however missed out by 1 point (my ranking score was 86, the internal cut of was 87 and the external was 88). To say that I am devastated is an understatement. There have been alot of tears, tantrums and reflections along with the what ifs??? over the last 3 days and at the moment I am just trying to get back on track and refocus on the nursing degree. My STAT test when I applied for nursing wasn't high enough for midwifery and for some reason they dropped the midwifery places back to 25 spots this year from around 40 in 2007 so it was harder to get into, even though my rank was high enough for the 2007 entry I don't know if they have done this because it has a high drop out rate or if so many mid students are doing it part-time that they aren't filling the expected classes or wether it just comes down to a funding issue, which is silly if that is the case because there is such a huge shortage of midwives at the moment!
I am trying to work out at the moment wether to do nursing part-time this year and try to improve my grade point average and then reapply to midwifery hoping to get in for 2009, or just accept it and finish nursing and then apply for a post graduate position in 3 years after completing my graduate nurse program. Unfortunately the post graduate positions in Adelaide are becoming quite hard to get into as well. At UniSA this year there was only 10 post grad midwifery positions and Flinders only offered 15. My best friend (who is an RN working on a post natal ward) finally just got an offer of a place in her third year of applying.
Sara - have you checked on SATAC to see if you have an offer for nursing?
To answer some of your questions about the nursing course, there are 4 subjects in the first year that both nursing and midwifery students are required to do (Human Body 1, Human Body 2, Being a Health Professional and Determining Australia's Health). There is a compulsory workshop to attend for being a health professional which was two days and then we had an elective workshop for determining australia's health but I am not sure if this will always be an elective or wether it was just last year. I would check to find out about that one.
Regarding placements, at UniSA nursing your first placement is in the second half of 2nd year and it is done in a Residential Aged Care Facility. It is a 4 week placement either in October or December and it is a full-time placement. You then do 2 x 8 week placements in 3rd year in a hospital setting. From enquiries we have made they do not offer mid ward type placements to nursing students as they are reserved entirely for the midwifery students.
Nina, congratulations on your offer for midwifery that is awesome, and congratulations on your pregnancy. I had the same thing happen to me when I first applied for uni and ended up deferring until after Jack was born, but luckily for me he has been a great baby and I have been able to study with him and I had great pregnancy's as well so it made it a bit easier! Regarding your placements I would definately take Sara's advice and speak to your local hospitals and make sure that they will allow it. I know in nursing most people haven't had a problem with interstate placements but I guess there are alot more hospitals around that the uni can put agreements into place with. I think the issues are something to do with insurance and invigilators etc. I know that on the course rules it says that interstate students may be required to attend placements in Adelaide (which is what they have told you) but I would talk to them and ask. Don't forget too that in order to gain your qualifications with the nursing boards you need to do 40 follow throughs with women for the antepartum, intra partum, post partum and post natal experiences as well as assisting in 30 (that is from memory so may be 40) normal births and there may be a requirement for complicated deliverys that they expect you to get outside of your normal placement times. Delivery's at placements do count but you also need to get extra from what I can tell. I am pretty sure you can start that from your first semester though so I would start seeking out pregnant women! LOL! Just give the nursing and midwifery school a ring (08) 8302 1805 (I had to speak to them today about subject choices so I had the number written down) and ask them about what places are available in Tasmania. They should be able to give you an indication of numbers as well as how hard it is to get hospitals on board if they aren't already.
Anyway, enough rambling from me!
Hope to talk to you guys a bit more and Sara, I will be checking back to see what offer you get! I am thinking that If I do study part-time this year I might look at doing a doula course as well so at least I am making a head start into my career as a midwife (especially as I won't be doing any placements this year doing it part-time!)
Megan - sorry to hear you missed out. Wait until the second round of offers is finalised though before you *completely* write it off! You never know what happens .
Just a few things I'm going to comment on though:
* The reason for the reduced places is because of clinical placement spots being limited. This is, and always will be, the limiting factor in determining the number of spots available on the course, as there is no specific funding for these places under HECS or university funding arrangements.
* In first year, mid students don't do Det Aus Health - that's a 3rd year subject for us because of our workload. First year has Cultural Perspectives on Health though.
* Given my first point, the reason nursing students can't do mid placements is because we have enough trouble getting placements . I can tell you though that if you go to Whyalla and get a placement in the Women's and Children's ward, you get a lot of exposure to pregnant women and immediate post-partum and if there is no other mid student there, you may get to observe a birth. But given you have no "training" in it (from the university's and hospital's point of view only!!!!) they may be reluctant for that to happen, which I think is really sad.
* Follow-through count is 30. You also need 40 normal births (so instrumental, c-section, complicated etc don't count there although you are supposed to be at 40 of those - I think it's easier to get them than normal ones!). Follow-throughs are amazingly time-consuming. For example, I have 14 of them to birth between now and August and I have been literally every day to the hospital for an appointment this year so far, and my holidays are not my own! They are time consuming, challenging and frustrating all at once. They are often boring, or unfulfulling, and a HUGE amount of work that really we get no credit for. They are expensive as well - petrol, parking, food, documentation and time lost from working if you, like me, hold down three jobs at the same time.
BUT
I wouldn't trade them for the world. My FTs are the real part of my studies. I get to know them and I get to welcome their babes into the world and words CANNOT describe how much that thrills me.
I just wanted to say, if you can make it work to be able to see it through then go for it! If you can get the placements plus your follow throughs in Tas then grab it with both hands. The follow throughs are compulsory for both the course and the South Australian Registration Board and I assume the same for most of the other state boards. I am almost positive that you have to finish them to register as a midwife (that is what is says on the UniSA website for the course). Maybe just confirm it with the nursing board of Tasmania that the qualification will be recognised in Tas cause I know I have looked at a couple of courses interstate and have been told that their qualifications aren't automatically recognised here in SA so am not too sure if it works the other way too. (I hope that you understand what I am getting at - having a brain meltdown today )
I am insanely jealous of your offer, but I can totally understand your passion too because that is how I feel and unfortunately at the moment for me it seems like I am going to have to finish my nursing, do my Graduate Nurse Year and then try to get a post grad course (which is now 3 years at UniSA ) . This path is not exciting me right now, but unfortunately it looks like the only way I am going to be able to do it unless I reapply next year and try to improve my STAT test by resitting it. But now not so sure as to wether to just continue on with my nursing as I will only have 12 months to go and maybe it will open up more opportunities. So confused and unsure at the moment and am actually having a meeting with the head of the school at UniSA next week to get some guidance as to which way to go. I thought that I was doing the right thing by starting nursing to give myself a better chance of getting into midwifery and it turns out it doesn't make a scrap of difference because all they went on was my overall STAT score (4 marks under) and my ranking from my GPA (1 point under).
Anyway, congratulations again, and I hope that you get some firm answers from UniSA because I know how ambigious they can be and for interstate placements they should appreciate how important it is that you get the right information.
Good luck with your pregnancy! I know what you mean about forgetting about being pregnant. You should have seen me during my fourth pregnancy ! Poor Jack's photo albumn is alot thinner than the three others particularly our first!!
SARA - any news yet on offers?
Bye for now - back to read more on cardiovascular disorders!
New to Belly Belly
I don't know if they have done this because it has a high drop out rate or if so many mid students are doing it part-time that they aren't filling the expected classes or wether it just comes down to a funding issue, which is silly if that is the case because there is such a huge shortage of midwives at the moment!
Just give the nursing and midwifery school a ring (08) 8302 1805 (I had to speak to them today about subject choices so I had the number written down) and ask them about what places are available in Tasmania. They should be able to give you an indication of numbers as well as how hard it is to get hospitals on board if they aren't already.
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. I can tell you though that if you go to Whyalla and get a placement in the Women's and Children's ward, you get a lot of exposure to pregnant women and immediate post-partum and if there is no other mid student there, you may get to observe a birth. But given you have no "training" in it (from the university's and hospital's point of view only!!!!) they may be reluctant for that to happen, which I think is really sad. 
)
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! Poor Jack's photo albumn is alot thinner than the three others particularly our first!!
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