Happy 6th Birthday Nurse & Midwife Support!

Nurse & Midwife Support is 6 years old! For 6 years, we have provided support for nurses, midwives and students across the nation.

The steady growth in phone calls and emails over six years has been powered by nurses and midwives! Nurses and midwives all over Australia have helped us spread the word through stakeholder engagement, social media, professional associations, universities and of course, word of mouth. You’ve been looking after your colleagues by making sure they know we’re here for them.

Your calls and emails collectively have shaped the service. You’ve told us what nurses and midwives and students are interested in hearing, reading and learning about. You’ve helped us spread the word that Your Health Matters. It has been a privilege to hear your stories and provide you with support, referral pathways and resources.

So what’s been happening this year?

Let’s take some time to look back and highlight some of the wonderful resources that we have shared in the last year to help you make your health and wellbeing a priority:

• In our newsletter:
  • Edition 19 – Get ready for your grad year: We shared tips and resources to help grad nurses and midwives navigate this challenging year.
  • Edition 18 — Supporting culturally and linguistically diverse nurses, midwives and students. We recognised the contribution and experiences of CALD nurses, midwives and students in Australian workplaces.
  • Edition 17 — Our mental health: We urged healthcare workers to take their mental health seriously and shared resources to help!
  • Edition 16 — Your health & wellbeing: We shared the voices of nurses and midwives trying to fortify their health through the experience of the pandemic.

Breathing and self-awareness practices: We partnered with the Evolve Yourself Institute to bring new exercises to add to your self-care toolkit.

• Walk for your life and Into the blue: Our friend Tessa Moriarty shared the mental health benefits of exercise for nurses and midwives.
• Professional boundaries: Dr Wendy McIntosh joined us to share strategies to assert your boundaries.
• Moral distress: Mental health nurse Tayla Vella shared strategies on how to handle moral challenges.
• De-stress, not distress NMS clinician Claire shared ideas on how to unwind after work.
• Living and nursing with a hearing loss Jackie Shaw shares how she continued nursing after developing significant hearing loss.

We’re proud of the resources we’ve created or collected to support you as you navigate life as a nurse or midwife! If you’d like more support we’re here any time — call 1800 667 877.

The support of an experienced colleague can help new nurses and midwives navigate the early years of their careers more smoothly. This year we are introducing the Nurse & Midwife Support Mentor Program for New Graduates to help connect new grads with experienced mentors. If you’re a new grad or experienced clinician interested in participating in the program, learn more here!

Remember, Nurse & Midwife Support is here to support all graduates and will continue to grow our service for many years to come.

We know many nurses and midwives enjoy a little friendly competition, so we’re asking you to let your ambitious side out in the Nurse & Midwife Support 6^th birthday photo competition! 

Competition: Celebrate Nurse & Midwife Supports 6^th birthday (win a prize!)

To celebrate our 6^th birthday, we’re asking you to send in a photo of yourself when you were about six, and a photo of you now! You’ll go into the running to win a wellbeing hamper. The hamper includes a beautiful candle, white marble coasters, rock salt and grater set, English breakfast tea with cup, hand wash and a tea towel! We’ll share the photos with the Nurse & Midwife Support community to show how we’ve all grown into the professional nurse and midwives we are today.

Find out more and submit your photos here.

Check out the winners of our previous competition: Celebrating the friendships of nurses and midwives

In 2022 we ran a story competition about your important friendships. Thank you for all your entries. It was wonderful to hear all the amazing stories celebrating the friendship of a peer who understands the complexity of your work. They were heartfelt, poignant and joyful. The winners joined us on the Nurse & Midwife Support podcast to chat about their stories. Check out the winning entries and these affirming episodes!

• Podcast: Celebrating midwifery friendships with Leanne O’Connor
  • Leanne’s winning story: My Friend Rowena
• Podcast: Celebrating nursing friends with Melinda Jesudason
  • Melinda’s winning poem: Hester and Mel

If you love what we do, tell all your friends and colleagues that we are here to support them. We have a range of materials that you can print. You can download our promotional resources to put in your tea rooms. You never know when someone you know might need some support.

Thank you to our community for all your support over the last 6 years. You have been an integral part of helping us develop new resources and sharing the message that Your Health Matters. We are so proud to deliver this service and are looking forward to delivering it for many years to come.

Remember, if you need a hand or are struggling, we are always here for you.

The present brings the challenge of workforce shortages, post-pandemic assessment of work/life balance and a new group of graduates starting their careers with equal parts uncertainty and hope. If you need to talk about how your wellbeing is influenced by your work remember that we’re here for you. You can access this free, confidential, national service 24/7: call 1800 667 877 or email us.

Happy Birthday Nurse and Midwife Support!