Midwives' perspectives on complex care postgraduate education

Victoria University of Wellington has delivered the Health Workforce New Zealand (HWNZ) funded Postgraduate Certificate in Midwifery (also known as Complex Care) since 2009. At the end of 2017 nearly 90 midwives have completed the qualification at the School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Practice (SNMHP).

The broad vision for the midwifery complex care postgraduate certificate was that individual midwives were supported to achieve a level of proficiency to meet the complex care needs of women, babies and their families/whanau when pregnancy, labour and birth and postnatal care becomes complicated.

This is the first research in New Zealand that explores the benefits of this specific postgraduate study on midwives' own development and also the benefits from applied, evidence based advanced midwifery practice in primary, secondary and tertiary care settings in New Zealand.