Dr Katharine Gillett

I am a practicing midwife in the Manning Valley and a Lecturer in Midwifery at the Manning Education Centre. My career trajectory has not been a usual one as I have a PhD in Creative Writing and I am the former Director of the Hunter Writers’ Centre in Newcastle. During this time I was lucky enough to experience Continuity of Care with a known midwife for both my pregnancies and births and after I had my second child, I knew midwifery was something I could be passionate about. I decided to change my career and with the help of wonderful midwifery mentors, I completed the Bachelor of Midwifery at the University of Newcastle in 2014. In February 2015 I began my New Graduate journey as a midwife on the Mid-North Coast, where I still live and work. I have clinical experience across all areas of midwifery and have a particular interest in physiological birth and antenatal care.  In February 2021, I commenced as a Lecturer in Midwifery at the University of Newcastle based in the Department of Rural Health in Taree. Teaching in a regional area is hugely rewarding as I have close contact with the students both in the classroom and in their clinical learning environments. My research interests remain in lived experience and human stories and I am an editor on the 3^rd edition of Australian Midwifery Stories (2023). In the past year I have presented at National and International conferences about using poetry as a means of deep reflection in health and would like to use my clinical skills and experience in arts-based education to contribute to the field of Health Humanities.