Just saying hello!

[Flossy82]

10 hours ago, VERYSTORMY said:

I hope you have researched the issues with a 482. As you are aware, it is temp visa. There is no guarantee of PR from it and lots of things can occur to prevent someone gaining PR down the track such as the occupation being removed. You may think this is unlikely, but actually the government has stated it wants to see medical occupations removed. 

There are financial implications as well, for example, WA is one of the state's that charges for education to people on temp visas. Then there are the partners who can find it very difficult to find work as employers are rightly nervous of hiring someone whose visa isn't in their own hands (main visa holder loses their job and the partner may have to leave the country) 

Hi VERYSTORMY. Yes, I'm quite familiar with the 482 having lived in WA previously on a 457. This is the most common pathway for hospital doctors and I know lots of people who have progressed on to PR without problems. I am very aware that they have mooted taking some medical professions off the skills list, and some have gone e.g. anaesthetics. WA very much struggles to supply its public hospitals with Consultant Obstetricians/ Gynaecologists as most of the local trainees goes straight into private practise. I was going to apply for PR 4 years ago when I first moved back to the UK (really wish I had now!) but a number of life events got in my way, and I unfortunately can't apply for a while as I had (early stage) cancer in 2017 and was advised it was better to be 2-3 years clear to be more confident of passing a PR medical. We don't have kids and my husband has had no problems finding a job as a GP, and going on my visa - and they would be very happy to sponsor him if situations change and he needs a 482 visa. We are planning on a review after 2-3 years to see if we want this move to be permanent, and hopefully will be able to apply for PR before then anyway (either myself or him as main applicant)  which is obviously something we want to achieve as soon as is feasible for the security, ability to buy a house etc

[Flossy82]

7 hours ago, Mamma Midwife said:

Hello Alex! 

And thank you for your post

I'll certainly look into the link you sent me and see what I can do. Because of our children, we are going for the PR visa. I don't fancy paying the elevated school fees as this will detract from the reason of moving. But it's definitely a good option if you don't have children in the equation!

I hope we do get to work together in the future, O&G and Midwifery is a small world so I'm sure we will at some point. 

Congratulations on your Consultant post by the way!! such a big achievement

Thank you! And congratulations on taking the first steps into investigating this new adventure for you. I'm sorry to see that the thread has been highjacked with so many negative comments, on what I'm sure was meant to be a humorous throw away comment.

I totally understand why PR is the best option for you - the schooling thing is something I wasn't aware of. I'd have liked to go out on PR but didn't have time on the job availability, and not sure I'd pass a PR medical at the moment as I had (early stage) cancer in 2017, so will apply once we're there.

If you want any more info about Women's Hospitals in Perth feel free to message me.

Good Luck!

x

[Wonderingaloud]

Thanks for the tag @Amber Snowball

Yes I work as a midwife here, I can’t comment on the visa side as I came on the old 457 and then got the 186 PR visa so never had to do points. Having said that I still needed to do IELTS to register with APHRA.

Yes, the supervised practice is a big issue for UK qualified midwives. When did you qualify Manma Midwife? It sounds like the program has now included continuity of care cases formally in your training which is where the problem lay. As long as the number meets APHRA requirements and is detailed your university  transcript perhaps you might avoid the whole supervised practice. It will make life A LOT easier for you finding a job too. I would be interested to hear what your skills assessment finds. 

Good luck with it all. Happy to answer any midwifery related questions you may have. You may already know but just be aware midwifery here is not the same as in the UK. Very obstetrically focused, high CS and IOL (general intervention) rates. Yes there are birth centres but they are the exception rather than the rule. You have to take it in your stride rather than fight the system but I have seen some very passionate UK midwives get very frustrated and disheartened with it. 

[Mamma Midwife]

On 19/01/2019 at 17:41, Flossy82 said:

Thank you! And congratulations on taking the first steps into investigating this new adventure for you. I'm sorry to see that the thread has been highjacked with so many negative comments, on what I'm sure was meant to be a humorous throw away comment.

I totally understand why PR is the best option for you - the schooling thing is something I wasn't aware of. I'd have liked to go out on PR but didn't have time on the job availability, and not sure I'd pass a PR medical at the moment as I had (early stage) cancer in 2017, so will apply once we're there.

If you want any more info about Women's Hospitals in Perth feel free to message me.

Good Luck!

x

Thank you I'm sorry to hear of what you've been through but I'm so glad you're on the mend! You have to do what is right for your own personal situation, which it sounds like you are. 

X

[Mamma Midwife]

On 19/01/2019 at 21:30, Wonderingaloud said:

Thanks for the tag @Amber Snowball

Yes I work as a midwife here, I can’t comment on the visa side as I came on the old 457 and then got the 186 PR visa so never had to do points. Having said that I still needed to do IELTS to register with APHRA.

Yes, the supervised practice is a big issue for UK qualified midwives. When did you qualify Manma Midwife? It sounds like the program has now included continuity of care cases formally in your training which is where the problem lay. As long as the number meets APHRA requirements and is detailed your university  transcript perhaps you might avoid the whole supervised practice. It will make life A LOT easier for you finding a job too. I would be interested to hear what your skills assessment finds. 

Good luck with it all. Happy to answer any midwifery related questions you may have. You may already know but just be aware midwifery here is not the same as in the UK. Very obstetrically focused, high CS and IOL (general intervention) rates. Yes there are birth centres but they are the exception rather than the rule. You have to take it in your stride rather than fight the system but I have seen some very passionate UK midwives get very frustrated and disheartened with it. 

Hello and thank you for all the information!

I qualified in 2014 but I have just liked at my transcript and it isn't actually on there despite it being an integral part of the course  I'm going to call the uni later this morning and find out why and if there is anything else they can provide. I'll keep you posted re my skills assessment but it's probably going to be later this year before we apply. 

I do find it very confusing with midwifery in Australia. The high expectations of midwives to provide continuity of care and the exceptional quality of research that is produced by Aus and is used globally suggests a very good Midwifery led model of care. But reading blogs and speaking to those working as midwives in Aus you realise it's the exact opposite it is slightly disheartening but, to be honest, it's how the UK is going now

Would you mind if I send you any messages if any questions pop up?

[Wonderingaloud]

No problem at all Mamma Midwife Happy to help. Feel free to PM me if there’s anything you want to know. Though I can only comment on the locality of where I work and not really Australia as a whole.

I don’t want to put you off, it’s really not all doom and gloom, there are things they do exceptionally well here compared to the UK, but you are right, it comes off a bit rich APHRA asking UK midwives for continuity of care, because the entire system is based on that principal. We never needed to make a special effort to get 10 follow through cares because where I trained and worked in the UK we would book women st 10-12 weeks, see them antenatally, be on call if they opted for a home birth and visit them postnatally. That here, minus the homebirthing part, is a special model of care. Most women here are lucky to see the same person twice and everyone delivers in the same place- the obstetric unit so they’re all at the mercy of the intervention-happy doctors.

Private is far far worse. So many social inductions it’s unreal. Weird medications prescribed, odd protocols. That’s another thing to get your head around- public and private. Maybe that’s a story for another day lol. 

BUT, woes aside, coming home in the sunshine and having a glass of wine by the pool after your shift kinda makes it not so bad

All the best

X

 

[tracybayliss]

Hi

 

i have been following your post with interest. I am a uk midwife now in Brisbane and did many many years of research on midwifery group practice.  I had been a community midwife for over 14 years with a high homebirth rate and was looking for a model of care similar to community midwifery. Over several years I had been offered jobs but still couldn't take the final plunge until we arrived here in 2014 with only 8 days left on our visa.  I loved my community job in the UK and my passion for normality and homebirths is what was holding me back. What an experience I have had so far plugs being taken out of baths to prevent women from labouring in water, social inductions so many un necessary interventions and mention homebirth then it's like you've committed a sin. 

I have some family here so came out 3 times on holiday before making the final move I still don't think holidaying can prepare you for the move. For me your job takes up such a massive amount of time in your week and you need to be happy I became a midwife to be with women to be an advocate and provide continuity of care, it is so different here. No matter where research has been done how long we have done waterbirths in the year 2019 some hospitals in Australia still do not allow women in water even for pain relief.

 

Midwifery group practice is case loading and I didn't have to go through any supervision. Most hospitals actually do respect that UK train midwives are trained differently and have more experience than students here, as students often have very little experience out in the community with antenatal or postnatal care.  Don't get me wrong I would never want to work in a hospital environment in the UK as that has its own problems with staff shortages. But coming here I realise even more I did have the best job in the world community midwife.

private midwifery is very interesting and I often wonder how doctors get away with the lack of informed choice they fail to provide women with. 

 

If I was asked honestly if I've felt supported by members of staff as this was an issue for me coming in from the community to a hospital setting I would have to say absoluetly not and I've worked at two different hospitals now whilst I've been here. 

Good luck

 

 

[thebigmove2017]

2 hours ago, tracybayliss said:

Hi

 

i have been following your post with interest. I am a uk midwife now in Brisbane and did many many years of research on midwifery group practice.  I had been a community midwife for over 14 years with a high homebirth rate and was looking for a model of care similar to community midwifery. Over several years I had been offered jobs but still couldn't take the final plunge until we arrived here in 2014 with only 8 days left on our visa.  I loved my community job in the UK and my passion for normality and homebirths is what was holding me back. What an experience I have had so far plugs being taken out of baths to prevent women from labouring in water, social inductions so many un necessary interventions and mention homebirth then it's like you've committed a sin. 

I have some family here so came out 3 times on holiday before making the final move I still don't think holidaying can prepare you for the move. For me your job takes up such a massive amount of time in your week and you need to be happy I became a midwife to be with women to be an advocate and provide continuity of care, it is so different here. No matter where research has been done how long we have done waterbirths in the year 2019 some hospitals in Australia still do not allow women in water even for pain relief.

 

Midwifery group practice is case loading and I didn't have to go through any supervision. Most hospitals actually do respect that UK train midwives are trained differently and have more experience than students here, as students often have very little experience out in the community with antenatal or postnatal care.  Don't get me wrong I would never want to work in a hospital environment in the UK as that has its own problems with staff shortages. But coming here I realise even more I did have the best job in the world community midwife.

private midwifery is very interesting and I often wonder how doctors get away with the lack of informed choice they fail to provide women with. 

 

If I was asked honestly if I've felt supported by members of staff as this was an issue for me coming in from the community to a hospital setting I would have to say absoluetly not and I've worked at two different hospitals now whilst I've been here. 

Good luck

 

 

im currently a student midwife in Ireland, just finishing my second year.i have one more year of Uni then my 9month internship. i already hold P.R will be validating visa in May this year and will make a permanent move in Sept 2021 once i qualify.  i am a bit worried about the supervised practise i feel it may hold me back with getting work as a midwife (even though i will have just completed 9months supervised internship as part of my degree, as far as im aware UK midwives dont have this as part of their midwifery degree, i wonder should i expec tthe supervised practie on my registration? who knows right? hopefully by the time i move permanently it may have changed again.

any advise from those of you who have been there would be great.

i enquired about graduate programs through ramsay jobs, and was told i would be elegible to apply. however i will be 37 qualifying so no spring chicken.

[Mamma Midwife]

On 21/01/2019 at 10:06, Wonderingaloud said:

No problem at all Mamma Midwife Happy to help. Feel free to PM me if there’s anything you want to know. Though I can only comment on the locality of where I work and not really Australia as a whole.

I don’t want to put you off, it’s really not all doom and gloom, there are things they do exceptionally well here compared to the UK, but you are right, it comes off a bit rich APHRA asking UK midwives for continuity of care, because the entire system is based on that principal. We never needed to make a special effort to get 10 follow through cares because where I trained and worked in the UK we would book women st 10-12 weeks, see them antenatally, be on call if they opted for a home birth and visit them postnatally. That here, minus the homebirthing part, is a special model of care. Most women here are lucky to see the same person twice and everyone delivers in the same place- the obstetric unit so they’re all at the mercy of the intervention-happy doctors.

Private is far far worse. So many social inductions it’s unreal. Weird medications prescribed, odd protocols. That’s another thing to get your head around- public and private. Maybe that’s a story for another day lol. 

BUT, woes aside, coming home in the sunshine and having a glass of wine by the pool after your shift kinda makes it not so bad

All the best

X

 

Which locality are you in, if you don't mind me asking?

Also, does the midwife still hold the same role working within the hospitals as uk midwives ie full autonomy in low risk care and referring to obstetricians when appropriate or is it more of an obstetric nurse role and you have to just do what the doctor says?

In your hospital, what are shift patterns like? How many nights would you normally work per month? And doors the advertised salary include extra pay for shift work or do you get that as an extra allowance depending on what shifts you have worked?

X

[Mamma Midwife]

On 21/01/2019 at 11:40, tracybayliss said:

Hi

 

i have been following your post with interest. I am a uk midwife now in Brisbane and did many many years of research on midwifery group practice.  I had been a community midwife for over 14 years with a high homebirth rate and was looking for a model of care similar to community midwifery. Over several years I had been offered jobs but still couldn't take the final plunge until we arrived here in 2014 with only 8 days left on our visa.  I loved my community job in the UK and my passion for normality and homebirths is what was holding me back. What an experience I have had so far plugs being taken out of baths to prevent women from labouring in water, social inductions so many un necessary interventions and mention homebirth then it's like you've committed a sin. 

I have some family here so came out 3 times on holiday before making the final move I still don't think holidaying can prepare you for the move. For me your job takes up such a massive amount of time in your week and you need to be happy I became a midwife to be with women to be an advocate and provide continuity of care, it is so different here. No matter where research has been done how long we have done waterbirths in the year 2019 some hospitals in Australia still do not allow women in water even for pain relief.

 

Midwifery group practice is case loading and I didn't have to go through any supervision. Most hospitals actually do respect that UK train midwives are trained differently and have more experience than students here, as students often have very little experience out in the community with antenatal or postnatal care.  Don't get me wrong I would never want to work in a hospital environment in the UK as that has its own problems with staff shortages. But coming here I realise even more I did have the best job in the world community midwife.

private midwifery is very interesting and I often wonder how doctors get away with the lack of informed choice they fail to provide women with. 

 

If I was asked honestly if I've felt supported by members of staff as this was an issue for me coming in from the community to a hospital setting I would have to say absoluetly not and I've worked at two different hospitals now whilst I've been here. 

Good luck

 

 

Hi tracybalis

Your experience so far sounds awful I'm so sorry to hear you've been through all of this. It is very helpful to know what kind of culture you may be getting in to before you've decided to make the move!

I did used to be quite the fierce protector of birth but sadly the system here has beaten it out of me so I'm sure I could just get on with the job if my lifestyle was better than it is at present it's quite sad reading that back to myself! 

Have you gone over on a PR visa or is it a temp one? Do they have midwifery group practices or independant midwifery in Australia? How long do you have to work as a midwife before you can consider changing careers?

I do hope things improve for you soon.

Take care of yourself xx

Edited January 23, 2019 by Mamma Midwife
Submitted too soon 🤦‍♀️

[ali]

On ‎19‎/‎01‎/‎2019 at 19:31, Mamma Midwife said:

Ah I see, thank you! I did used to watch H&A (I feel good now that I know what that is ) as a child but haven't watched it in years.... I'll keep away

As for WDU, I'm usually in work when it's on but I do enjoy seeing the houses of I ever do get to watch it... it's the only bit I've ever been interested in.

My dream encompasses all you have described. My responsibility now is to not pressure my husband into following it and allowing him to make up his own mind. He is the more cautious one out of the two of us

We didn't have 'the dream' but after visiting my brother in QLD it was hubby who had the inkling that he would like to live in Aus.  We read a lot of (for want of a better word) 'negative' posts about people not settling/what they didn't like/why they wanted to go back - some resonated with us and we discussed the "what if that happened to us" scenario's and others just didn't fit into how we would approach the move so were easily dismissed e.g. we read one woman who made her mind up on the journey from the airport that she didn't like it and that was it they went home lol.  We did come out as a united couple and that if one of us wanted to return we would - although our pact was also that Australia was a big place and if we didn't like Perth we'd try somewhere else.  Whilst it sounds simplistic - we're not a couple to over complicate things and being a family unit was and always has been what's important.  It's helped that neither of us have ever been homesick - just 'people sick' in the early days.

We treated it as an opportunity to live and work in a different country .. we've never looked back.  Cal one of our moderators was on the pilot of WDU, she'll happily tell you how it was edited - after all it is an entertainment programme lol.

Good luck with the job - King Eddies has a good reputation if you end up working there.

[Mamma Midwife]

57 minutes ago, ali said:

We didn't have 'the dream' but after visiting my brother in QLD it was hubby who had the inkling that he would like to live in Aus.  We read a lot of (for want of a better word) 'negative' posts about people not settling/what they didn't like/why they wanted to go back - some resonated with us and we discussed the "what if that happened to us" scenario's and others just didn't fit into how we would approach the move so were easily dismissed e.g. we read one woman who made her mind up on the journey from the airport that she didn't like it and that was it they went home lol.  We did come out as a united couple and that if one of us wanted to return we would - although our pact was also that Australia was a big place and if we didn't like Perth we'd try somewhere else.  Whilst it sounds simplistic - we're not a couple to over complicate things and being a family unit was and always has been what's important.  It's helped that neither of us have ever been homesick - just 'people sick' in the early days.

We treated it as an opportunity to live and work in a different country .. we've never looked back.  Cal one of our moderators was on the pilot of WDU, she'll happily tell you how it was edited - after all it is an entertainment programme lol.

Good luck with the job - King Eddies has a good reputation if you end up working there.

Thank you, this is really helpful!  

[starlight7]

I'd say 'go for it'. We need more good midwives here and although you will find they don't really have things like home births here ( too much litigation- we are similar to the USA in that) most of the hospitals round here are happy places with good morale- that is Victoria, can't speak for other states of course.  A lot of the private hospitals are very good, too ( not all, obviously). The weather is a big plus factor, too even though it seems to be trivial.

[Mamma Midwife]

8 hours ago, starlight7 said:

I'd say 'go for it'. We need more good midwives here and although you will find they don't really have things like home births here ( too much litigation- we are similar to the USA in that) most of the hospitals round here are happy places with good morale- that is Victoria, can't speak for other states of course.  A lot of the private hospitals are very good, too ( not all, obviously). The weather is a big plus factor, too even though it seems to be trivial.

Thank you! the weather is a big plus for us

[Wonderingaloud]

11 hours ago, Mamma Midwife said:

Which locality are you in, if you don't mind me asking?

Also, does the midwife still hold the same role working within the hospitals as uk midwives ie full autonomy in low risk care and referring to obstetricians when appropriate or is it more of an obstetric nurse role and you have to just do what the doctor says?

In your hospital, what are shift patterns like? How many nights would you normally work per month? And doors the advertised salary include extra pay for shift work or do you get that as an extra allowance depending on what shifts you have worked?

X

I will PM you Mamma Midwife

[tracybayliss]

Hi mamma midwife.

I am a group practice midwife, i would not have come over if i had to work in the hospital as a hospital midwife. sadly and honestly i wouldnt want to work in a uk hospital setting so def not australia not even for the lifestyle.  they unfortunately still have similar problems with staffing levels and lots of agency nurses and midwives.  there are private midwives working independantly but i dont believe women should pay for a service i use to do for free so that doesnt really appeal to me not too different to mgp.  absolutely would not work in a private obstetric unit as i really dont just go to work for the money no real advocacy for women in private practice and dont beleive in the old obstetrician walking in just to deliver at the end.

I came over on a PR visa didnt want a temp visa and be held to a hospital incase i didnt like it.  Theres no real specialist jobs for midwives unlike the UK and if there is then they pritty much love you to have a nursing background too.  Sad to see that only recently none of our students who were direct entry mw got offered graduate positions although some were fantastic students.  its still very old fashioned in areas such as child health nursing which is the eqivilent to health visiting as a direct entry midwife with over 21 years experience in all areas you can not apply for these positions to train for where in the UK yes.  another area where we need advancing is post natal depression there is only one mum and baby unit in the whole of qld with only 4 beds i applied for a job there having been a link midwife in mental health in the uk and done many years voluntary work in mental health not even a interview again you need a nurse back ground.  very hard to advance in your career , despite people telling you they love english midwives because of their traning.

Group practice midwifery is good but midwives dont do it for long if you research it you will see many midwives feel burnt out with long hours and you are on call 24 hours a day.  i think most countries are affraid of litigation and there are a lot of things i see very similar to the usa, but women read and research watch tv and still look for us to be their advocates for normality.

 

 

 

[Wonderingaloud]

Whilst I (sadly) agree with a lot of the above I disagree that you can’t advance your career in midwifery here. I find the opportunities here have been amazing compared to in the UK. I worked with midwives who were desperate to do something- anything to advance their knowledge/skills and there were never any opportunities other than to work towards being a supervisor of midwives. Since I started working here in 2011 I have worked as a project midwife, done a research fellowship and now work in midwifery education where I have done simulation training in maternity emergency management (I.e. teaching and facilitating it not just attending the day) and a certificate in training in assessment (paid for by the hospital). All of these opportunities were advertised in house- at the same hospital - I never had to leave, and with plenty of others in the mix I could have applied for. I am a direct entry midwife and have not found this to be an issue at all.

If you go more rural I fully understand why they would want dual trained staff but in the suburbs, not a problem.