No lack of eager midwifery students at Ara despite nationwide shortage

Despite a shortage of midwives nationwide, there's no lack of eager students. Photo / 123RF

Despite a shortage of midwives nationwide, there's no lack of eager students.

Ara Institute of Canterbury only has 47 places in its first-year midwifery course, yet has received 105 applications.

Associate Head of Midwifery Melanie Welfare said they've always had more people applying for their course than there are positions.

She said Ara had a moral responsibility to offer quality placements to the students they accept.

"We work with what we've got basically. At the moment I don't know if there is a solution. I think that with the students, we have to be able to give them the placements that they need to meet midwifery council requirements," she said.

A minimum of 2,400 clinical hours are required to become a midwife.

This comes alongside an increasing shortage of working midwives.

Invercargill Hospital has just 17 per cent of the midwives it needs.