Starting next year, UniSA is to offer a three-year direct entry Bachelor of Midwifery degree, and is the first university in Australia to be accredited by a Nurses Registration Board to do so.

The new program will for the first time allow people without nursing qualifications to become registered as midwives, and interest from potential students has been huge, according to Senior Lecturer in Midwifery, Heather Hancock.

"We have several hundred people from all over Australia who want to apply already, " said Hancock.  "People are excited about being able to study midwifery without having to study nursing first."

Hancock said the program would ultimately address a gap in the number of midwives being educated and the amount of positions available.  "There's a shortage of midwives in Australia and overseas," she said.   "We will now have midwives exiting and being able to practice after three years of study instead of four or more."

The new program comes after years of planning and hard work by a small team from the School of Nursing and Midwifery including Hancock, Ann Henderson, Beth Grinter, Trudy Wrights and Jan Pincombe.  "We can feel justly proud that we have achieved something momentous, "  Hancock said.  "Other institutions will follow, but we're delighted to be leading the way."

For more information about the Bachelor of Midwifery, phone the School of Nursing and Midwifery at City East Campus on 8302 or email nursing.enquiries@unisa.edu.au