Elizabeth

Aug 08, 2023

QLD

North West Private Hospital will soon be able to offer an enhanced quality of care for maternity patients thanks to Clinical Nurse Educator Elizabeth Shepherd who applied for a group scholarship sponsoring the team's participation in a Maternity Emergency Program Foundation workshop.

Elizabeth applied for the scholarship to upskill the team of midwives for the rare occasions that they are required to respond to emergencies arising during birth.

“Our Maternity unit has a broad skill mix of staff, ranging from experienced to newly graduated midwives/nurses, with a collective goal to provide high quality, safe and evidence-based care to all women and families that present at our unit,” said Elizabeth.

“As a small unit, midwives are often the first responders to emergencies that arise at birth as specialised obstetric and paediatric support. These are infrequent; therefore this course will increase staff confidence and skills to identify, manage and communicate these emergencies within a broad interdisciplinary team that is not necessarily focused on obstetrics. This will improve the quality and safety of care for our patients.”

To keep her own learning and development on track, Elizabeth also applied for, and was awarded, a CPD Individual Scholarship worth $1000.

“I was lucky enough to also be granted an individual scholarship to refresh and learn new skills at an antenatal and birth suite skills workshop.”

As the Clinical Nurse Educator for maternity, Elizabeth ensures the staff on the Maternity/ Women’s Health unit maintain a high standard of safety and quality.

“I help them to stay up to date with policy and procedure changes, mandatory skills assessments, and evidence-based practice,” said Elizabeth.

“I also look after Graduate Midwives ensuring that they integrate into the unit well and have the support they need to develop in their roles as midwives.”

Elizabeth was awarded a CPD Team Scholarship worth $3000 and a CPD Individual Scholarship worth $1000 in the second round of Ramsay’s 2023 National Scholarship Program.