Event Details
![](https://women.wcha.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/04/Event_Inverse@4x-1024x683.png)
Zoom Meeting
![Event Icon](https://children.wcha.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/events_WHA-Directors-of-Midwifery.png)
30 July 2024
12:30pm - 1:30pm
30 July 2024
– 30 July 2024
Zoom Meeting
![Event Icon](https://children.wcha.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/events_WHA-Directors-of-Midwifery.png)
30 July 2024
12:30pm - 1:30pm
30 July 2024
– 30 July 2024
Presenters:
Ms. Laura BignellChief Midwifery & Nursing Officer
The Royal Women's Hospital, Parkville
![](https://members.wcha.asn.au/civicrm/contact/imagefile/?photo=Laura_9cd64b26dda341bb2cca2bb8eb75ca70.png)
Laura is an experienced health service leader, currently working as the Chief Midwifery and Nursing Officer at the Royal Women’s Hospital. Laura’s focus is to ensure service delivery and models of care are co-designed with consumers to ensure genuine partnership and choice. She strives to support nurses and midwives working to their full scope of practice including clear pathways to advanced practice, leadership, research and education. Laura’s overall aim is to ensure an equitable and innovative healthcare system where healthcare professionals reach their full potential and care is of the highest standard always.
Ruth Sullivan
Project Manager | Experience and Culture
The Royal Women's Hospital, Parkville
![](https://members.wcha.asn.au/civicrm/contact/imagefile/?photo=Ruth_Sullivan_35fb7be57282ba9f71f4eb82bc1ba671.jpg)
Ruth is a project manager at the Royal Women’s Hospital where she leads projects focused on workforce wellbeing, development, and retention. She previously held public health leadership roles with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services in the USA and managed programs for a foreign policy think tank in New York City.
Event Dates
Date: 30 July 2024
Time: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Date: 30 July 2024 – 30 July 2024
Location
Zoom Meeting
Retaining an experienced workforce: The Women’s Late Career Program
Directors of Nursing and Midwifery
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Zoom Meeting
About
How can we keep experienced nurses and midwives in the workforce?
With workforce shortages continuing and projected to grow, retaining highly experienced nurses and midwives is critical. Yet the physical and emotional requirements of the profession can take a toll as nurses and midwives advance in their careers. The Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne has piloted a new strategy to increase retention of experienced nurses and midwives: The Late Career Program. Nurses and midwives who self-identify as late career are able to step away from their clinical roles for one day each week to work on projects that leverage their special expertise. Projects include passing on their knowledge to early career staff through education and mentoring, improving clinical practice, or leading a local quality improvement initiative. Early results from the program demonstrate that participants are feeling energised, happier at work, and valued for their contributions.
Key Takeaways
Early learnings from the pilot Late Career Program including evaluation findings
The practical details of program implementation
Perspectives from participating nurses and midwives