A unified call to action from Australian nursing and midwifery leaders: ensuring that Black lives matter.

Nurses and midwives of Australia now is the time for change! As powerfully placed, Indigenous and non-Indigenous nursing and midwifery professionals, together we can ensure an effective and robust Indigenous curriculum in our nursing and midwifery schools of education. Today, Australia finds itself in a shifting tide of social change, where the voices for better and safer health care ring out loud. Voices for justice, equity and equality reverberate across our cities, our streets, homes, and institutions of learning. It is a call for new songlines of reform. The need to embed meaningful Indigenous health curricula is stronger now than it ever was for Australian nursing and midwifery. It is essential that nursing and midwifery leadership continue to build an authentic collaborative environment for Indigenous curriculum development. Bipartisan alliance is imperative for all academic staff to be confident in their teaching and learning experiences with Indigenous health syllabus. This paper is a call out. Now is the time for Indigenous and non-Indigenous nurses and midwives to make a stand together, for justice and equity in our teaching, learning, and practice. Together we will dismantle systems, policy, and practices in health that oppress. The Black Lives Matter movement provides us with a 'now window' of accepted dialogue to build a better, culturally safe Australian nursing and midwifery workforce, ensuring that Black Lives Matter in all aspects of health care.

The mentoring experiences of new graduate midwives working in midwifery continuity of care models in Australia.

The aim of this paper was to explore the mentoring experiences of new graduate midwives working in midwifery continuity of care models in Australia. Most new graduates find employment in hospitals and undertake a new graduate program rotating through different wards. A limited number of new graduate midwives were found to be working in midwifery continuity of care. The new graduate midwives in this study were mentored by more experienced midwives. Mentoring in midwifery has been described as being concerned with confidence building based through a personal relationship. A qualitative descriptive study was undertaken and the data were analysed using continuity of care as a framework. We found having a mentor was important, knowing the mentor made it easier for the new graduate to call their mentor at any time. The new graduate midwives had respect for their mentors and the support helped build their confidence in transitioning from student to midwife. With the expansion of midwifery continuity of care models in Australia mentoring should be provided for transition midwives working in this way.

The challenge of employing and managing new graduate midwives in midwifery group practices in hospitals.

AIM(S): This study explores the views of midwifery managers and key stakeholders, regarding the facilitators and barriers to employing new graduate midwives in midwifery continuity of care models. BACKGROUND: Maternity services in Australia are shifting towards midwifery continuity of care models, where midwives work in small group practices, requiring a change to the management of staff. Public policy in Australia supports maternity services to be reconfigured in this way. Historically, experienced midwives work in these models, as demand grows; new graduates are employed to staff the models. METHOD(S): A qualitative descriptive approach exploring the manager's experience of employing new graduate's in the models. Managers, clinical educators and hospital midwifery consultants (n = 15) were recruited by purposeful sampling. RESULTS: Drivers, enablers, facilitators and barriers to employing new graduates in the models were identified. Visionary leadership enabled the managers to employ new graduates in the models through initial and ongoing support. Managing the myths stemming from fear of employing new graduates to work in midwifery continuity of care models was challenging. CONCLUSION: Managers and other key stakeholders provide initial and ongoing support through orientation and providing a reduced workload. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Visionary leadership can be seen as critical to supporting new graduates into midwifery continuity of care models. The challenges for management to overcome include managing the myths stemming from fear of employing new graduates to work in a flexible way around the needs of the women within an organisation culture.

Obesity prevention in early life: an opportunity to better support the role of Maternal and Child Health Nurses in Australia.

BACKGROUND: Because parents with young children access primary health care services frequently, a key opportunity arises for Maternal and Child Health (MCH) nurses to actively work with families to support healthy infant feeding practices and lifestyle behaviours. However, little is known regarding the extent to which MCH nurses promote obesity prevention practices and how such practices could be better supported. METHODS: This mixed methods study involved a survey of 56 MCH nurses (response rate 84.8 %), 16 of whom participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews. Both components aimed to examine the extent to which nurses addressed healthy infant feeding practices, healthy eating, active play and limiting sedentary behavior during routine consultations with young children 0-5 years. Key factors influencing such practices and how they could be best supported were also investigated. All data were collected from September to December 2013. Survey data were analysed descriptively and triangulated with qualitative interview findings, the analysis of which was guided by grounded theory principles. RESULTS: Although nurses reported measuring height/length and weight in most consultations, almost one quarter (22.2 %) reported never/rarely using growth charts to identify infants or children at risk of overweight or obesity. This reflected a reluctance to raise the issue of weight with parents and a lack of confidence in how to address it. The majority of nurses reported providing advice on aspects of infant feeding relevant to obesity prevention at most consultations, with around a third (37 %) routinely provided advice on formula preparation. Less than half of nurses routinely promoted active play and only 30 % discussed limiting sedentary behaviour such as TV viewing. Concerns about parental receptiveness and maintaining rapport were key barriers to more effective implementation. CONCLUSION: While MCH nurses are well placed to address obesity prevention in early life, there is currently a missed public health opportunity. Improving nurse skills in behaviour change counseling will be key to increasing their confidence in raising sensitive lifestyle issues with parents to better integrate obesity prevention practices into normal MCH service delivery.

The experiences of new graduate midwives working in midwifery continuity of care models in Australia.

BACKGROUND: midwifery continuity of care has been shown to be beneficial to women through reducing interventions and other maternal and neonatal morbidity. In Australia, numerous government reports recognise the importance of midwifery models of care that provide continuity. Given the benefits, midwives, including new graduate midwives, should have the opportunity to work in these models of care. Historically, new graduates have been required to have a number of years׳ experience before they are able to work in these models of care although a small number have been able to move into these models as new graduates. AIM: to explore the experiences of the new graduate midwives who have worked in midwifery continuity of care, in particular, the support they received; and, to establish the facilitators and barriers to the expansion of new graduate positions in midwifery continuity of care models. METHOD: a qualitative descriptive study was undertaken framed by the concept of continuity of care. FINDINGS: the new graduate midwives valued the relationship with the women and with the group of midwives they worked alongside. The ability to develop trusting relationships, consolidate skills and knowledge, be supported by the group and finally feeling prepared to work in midwifery continuity of care from their degree were all sub-themes. All of these factors led to the participants feeling as though they were 'becoming a real midwife'. CONCLUSIONS: this is the first study to demonstrate that new graduate midwives value working in midwifery continuity of care - they felt well prepared to work in this way from their degree and were supported by midwives they worked alongside. The participants reported having more confidence to practice when they have a relationship with the woman, as occurs in these models.

Methods of the NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (SPANS).

The NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (SPANS 2004) (N = 5407) was a representative population survey, conducted February-May 2004, among New South Wales (Australia) school students aged 4 y-16 y. Physical activity, fitness, fundamental movement skill proficiency and food habits are all related to overweight and obesity and were a focus of this study. The last population-based survey in NSW was conducted in 1997 and use of the same measurement instruments (with the exception of food habits) allowed examination of secular trends. Overweight and obese children are at risk for a number of serious, long-term health problems, and a sub-sample (n = 500) of urban dwelling Year 10 students (mean age 15.4 years) gave a fasting blood sample which was analysed for the presence of risk factors for the metabolic syndrome. This paper describes the methods of the NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey 2004 (SPANS 2004).