Sally Pairman
(Head of School and Director: Learning & Teaching)

Kia ora koutou. I have worked at Otago Polytechnic since the mid-80s, and over that time I have been involved in many exciting developments in midwifery education - so I have never been bored!

I believe that midwives can make a positive difference to the birthing and early mothering experiences of women and their families. Therefore it is important to me that midwives practise in partnership with women and within a professional framework. Education has a vital role to play in preparing midwives for their autonomous role.

I am also committed to ensuring that New Zealand has a maternity system that is both women-centred and midwife-led. We have almost achieved this over the last 20 or so years and our challenge now is to strengthen it and protect it. It is fair to say that midwifery politics has become a passion for me. I want to ensure systems that support and enhance midwifery autonomy so that midwives can provide great care for women and their families. So these days I write, I talk, I strategise, I plan, I teach and I help implement innovations like this new midwifery programme. I am lucky to work with a great group of people at Otago Polytechnic (and at CPIT) so that coming to work is always fun.

Kia ora koutou. I come from a rural practice background and the sustainability of rural maternity services has been both my personal and research interest. Since moving to Port Chalmers in Dunedin in 2000 I have been teaching in both the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at the School of Midwifery at Otago Polytechnic. In my role as the postgraduate programme Coordinator I have enjoyed working with midwives in practice to plan their postgraduate study pathways and thesis writing. Evaluation of our programmes is important as we are continuously developing our courses and looking for innovative ways to provide midwifery education. So my current research projects include working with my colleagues and others to research the education experiences of our students and to provide direction for future course quality improvement.

Melanie Jutel-Piri
(Midwifery Administrator)

(on maternity leave 2012)

Jasmin Lamorie
(Executive Assistant to the Heads of School)

Kerrie Wilson
(Midwifery Administrator)

Kerry Adams
(Year 2 coordinator, Student Practice Facilitator in Dunedin)

Hello. I joined the Midwifery School as a part time midwifery lecturer in 2009. I am married and have two children. I graduated as a direct entry midwife from the Otago programme in 1999 and immediately went on to spend over a year at Wellington Womens’ Hospital in the “Entry to Secondary Care Programme”. I returned to Dunedin in 2001 and began an LMC practice which has differed in caseload numbers over the years between and after having my children. I have worked at Queen Mary Maternity Facility as a part time Core Midwife over the years in various positions. I have been involved with NZCOM as the Otago Regional Chairperson since late 2006 and was a Midwifery First Year of Practice Mentor Midwife in 2008. I am still very much enjoying my ongoing practice as an LMC and core midwife and have no immediate intentions of giving this up. I have always had a passion for the Midwifery profession and for supporting, nurturing and facilitating learning with students as a practising midwife so it is a natural progression to move into teaching.

Lisa Baier
(Pharmacology lecturer, Dunedin)

Lisa joined our midwifery team in March 2011. She is currently working as a part time pharmacology lecturer and is based in Dunedin. Lisa is from a small town near Salzburg in Austria, and immigrated to New Zealand 3 years ago. She graduated in 2007 with a "Magistra of Pharmacy", which is the equivalent of an MSc in Pharmacy (MPharm). At the completion of her degree she did a one year internship in a small, rural community pharmacy in the Tyrolean mountains( near Innsbruck, Austria) and became a registered pharmacist in Austria in 2008.

Shortly after completing her registration she jumped on to a plane to New Zealand to be able to live with her partner (a kiwi), whom she met while both were working and studying at the University of Innsbruck. She enjoys being part of the midwifery team and hopes to make a positive contribution to the midwifery curriculum.

Hello, my name is Deb Beatson. I graduated from Otago Polytechnic as a direct entry midwife in 1999. Since graduating I have worked as an LMC midwife and a core midwife in Whanganui. I experienced another model of maternity care while working in Brisbane, where I was employed as a caseloading midwife at a Birth Centre providing low-intervention, primary midwifery care.

I am enthusiastic and passionate about midwifery. I believe that continuity of care is beneficial for both women and their families, and also benefits midwives. I am excited to have joined Otago Polytechnic as I enjoy supporting students in their journey to becoming midwives. It is especially rewarding to be able to offer this in my home town.

Emma Bilous
(Student Practice Facilitator in the Central Otago satellite, based in Wanaka)

I graduated as a midwife from Otago Polytechnic in 1998 and established Mountain Mamas Midwives in Wanaka.

We have grown from having one midwife to six and offer home, primary unit or hospital birth. Working with the primary facility an hour away and the hospital over three hours away I am acutely aware of the issues around remote rual midwifery in NZ. I am passionate about rural midwifery and particularly enjoy the challenges of working remotely and the autonomy that comes with this.

I joined the staff of Otago Polytechnic in 2010 as the Student Practice Facilitator for Central Otago. I live in Wanaka with my husband and two sons and like to run, bike and ski in my free time.

Christine Griffiths
(North Island coordinator, Senior Lecturer, Student Practice Facilitator in the Wellington satellite)

Hi, I registered as a midwife in 1985 and from then worked full time as a both a core midwife and an LMC midwife in a variety of roles and settings before coming to work at OP at the beginning of 2010. In addition to my role at OP I also have a small community based case loading LMC practice for women living between Lower Hutt and Whitby, Porirua, where I live. I am a founding member of the NZ College of Midwives and continue to be involved in the college in the Wellington region. I have responsibilities in both the undergraduate and postgraduate midwifery programmes at OP. I am studying towards gaining a PhD degree so this is a very exciting time for me.

There are three prime reasons why I love working at OP: I am extremely proud to be involved in offering a Bachelor of Midwifery programme of such high caliber, I am continually amazed and humbled watching midwifery students change into midwives as they move through the BM programme, and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to work in a setting with such a wonderful group of staff. The future of midwifery practice in New Zealand will be significantly shaped by the midwifery education students receive today and I enjoy being involved in this way.

Rae Hickey
(Year 3 Coordinator, Dunedin)

I am a New Zealand registered direct entry midwife. I graduated from the Otago Polytechnic School of Midwifery in 1996, and began work immediately as a Lead Maternity Carer providing full midwifery care, in a busy practice in the Wellington region. After a few months my family and I settled in the Hutt Valley where I joined Upper Hutt Midwives. This was a busy and very enjoyable time. We provided care for women in both hospital and home settings. After our daughter was born, we moved back home to Dunedin where I worked part time in the hospital before eventually starting work at the School of Midwifery as a lecturer. I continue to live in Dunedin with my partner and our two children. I am now employed full time as a Senior Lecturer, and have become immersed in undergraduate midwifery education, which I thoroughly enjoy. Fitting practice into my life is a challenge, but I do enough to maintain my practising certificate and links to practice.

Bridget Kerkin
(Student Practice Facilitator in the Wellington satellite)

It is my pleasure to have joined Otago Polytechnic in 2012 as a Student Practice Facilitator for the Wellington region. Since completing my direct entry Midwifery training and registering as a midwife in 1998 I have worked primarily as a Lead Maternity Carer. I have also had the opportunity to practice as an employed midwife within primary and secondary facilities and have enjoyed working in urban, rural and remote rural regions. I believe passionately in the maternity service of Aotearoa, the principles of partnership, and the right of women to choose their location of birth. It is a privilege and honour to be able to work as a midwife and share the journey of families as they grow and welcome their babies.

Morag MacAulay
(Year 1 Coordinator, Student Practice Facilitator in Dunedin)

Hello there, my name is Morag MacAulay. I was born and grew up in Northern Southland. I spent my early adult life in Central Otago and South Westland so my heart is in wild places even if my feet tread the civil streets of Dunedin. I have two young adult children and it is wonderfully rewarding to see them starting to find their way in the world. I graduated as a midwife from Otago in 2002 and have carried a caseload here in Dunedin ever since, with some periods of time in Queen Mary and at Oamaru Maternity Centre. I have been a mentor in the Midwifery First Year in Practise Programme since its inception and I am a Midwifery Standards Reviewer. I love being a midwife and I love working with women and their families at this time in their lives.

Carolyn McIntosh
(Student Practice Facilitator in Dunedin and the Southland satellite)

Since arriving in New Zealand in 1981 I have been a rural midwife. I have a passion for primary midwifery care in the rural setting. I realised many years ago the need to support women to remain in their own rural areas, while they studied and gained experience in midwifery practice. I am thrilled and excited to be part of the development team for our new programme of midwifery education, which does just that. I retain a professional interest and I provide midwifery back up in rural areas in Otago and occasionally Southland. Currently I also coordinate the training for midwives in Otago and Southland in the issues around family violence, for the New Zealand College of Midwives.

Suzanne Miller
(Student Practice Facilitator in the Wellington satellite)

Kia ora koutou. I graduated from Otago Polytechnic School of Midwifery in 1991 and my passion for midwifery has never waned, and I have spent the last twenty years practicing midwifery as an LMC, offering both home and hospital birth options to the whanau I care for. These days I have a small caseload of predominantly homebirthing families, and share my knowledge and experience with a fabulous group of midwifery students as a Student Practice Facilitator here in Wellington. I love that they have plenty to teach me as well. I also contribute to teaching in the postgraduate programme.

I have been an active College member since 1990, and have held a number of roles locally, and also nationally, including being a midwife reviewer in the MSR and MFYP programmes. My Masters thesis was a mixed methods study looking at birth outcomes for first-time mothers who gave birth at home and in hospital, and also how the birth setting affects the practice of the midwife in relation to decision-making and other aspects of care.

I live in the hills above Wellington harbour on a bush block with my partner Jim, and our three children Jackson, Finn and Stella.

Yvonne Mosley- Martin
(Student Practice Facilitator in Dunedin)

Kimberley Smith
(Bioscience lecturer, Dunedin)

I joined the School of Midwifery in 2011 as a part-time lecturer, based in Dunedin, to teach the Bioscience papers.  I am a teacher with a passion to provide the best education possible to my students.  I earned a BA in Anthropology and Anatomy in 2003 from Colorado State University and moved to New Zealand in 2006 to study for my MSc in Anatomy.  I have been teaching Anatomy & Physiology at tertiary institutions since completion of my degree in 2008.  During my MSc studies I met my kiwi husband and we've had two children born here in Dunedin.

I am fascinated by the human body, by both its form and function, and I love sharing this fascination and knowledge with my students.  I believe that the best education comes from individuals who are active and passionate about their teaching and learning.  I am excited to be part of the midwifery team and I want to make a positive contribution to the curriculum by providing the best education and knowledge base about human and pregnancy physiology to the future midwives of this country.

Tricia Thompson
(based in New Plymouth)

Kia Ora, my name is Jade Wratten and I am a midwife based in Palmerston North. I have three children and have worked predominantly as a midwife in the women’s health unit of the hospital, however over my eight years of practice I have also provided lead maternity care. I love being a midwife and truly believe we have a unique and fabulous role which deserves protection and nurturing within NZ. I am delighted to be involved with this midwifery programme as I have a passion for assisting students to develop and gain quality midwifery skills and knowledge. I feel honored and privileged to be a part of the Otago Polytechnic team and thoroughly look forward to the years ahead.