During a ceremony in Armidale last week, she received her Postgraduate Diploma of Midwifery and was addressed by NSW Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Susan Pearce.

Liz was one of only four registered nurses to graduate from the fulltime Hunter New England Health’s Rural Midwifery Education Program and she said the twelve months had been challenging, but “fully worth” the effort. 

During the year of paid-study, Liz was employed as a fulltime student midwife at the Moree hospital. 

The program requires students to complete a certain number of hours, and objectives such as 29 normal births, a certain amount of antenatal care, and in different subdivisions. Since the 29-year-old finished her Bachelor of Nursing in 2011 she has worked as a ‘gypsy’ nurse around the country.

“That was for an agency… I quite like doing the rural remote work.

“I’ve done my nurse training at Wee Waa hospital, worked out at Walgett, Warialda, Western Australia, Queensland … and in 2012 worked in Inverell for the first time in my nursing career. 

Liz’s aim is to eventually get stationed as a midwife in a rural place like Inverell, but not before consolidating her skills at a bigger district hospital.

She has sent out applications and while waiting for response – and the official paperwork that will register her as a midwife - she’ll keep working as a registered nurse at Moree. 

What does Liz think is the best part of her new profession?

“The majority of the women are well. It is just beautiful being a part of their journey. 

“They never forget the person that was there when they had their babies. 

“It is just a support network. It is beautiful.”

A good midwife does not only have good medical knowledge and good people skills, she also needs to know her way around the different community organisations and support groups in an area.

“We look at the women as a whole and at their individual needs.  

“If you’ve got a single mum and it is their first baby, you know, it is very hard. 

“You need to link them in with specific support networks.  

“We are a referral network.”