Rachel Smith

Rachel joined the Burnet Institute in 2019 as a Midwifery Education Consultant involved in a number of projects with UNFPA Asia Pacific.

They included the roll out of maternity emergency training in Papua New Guinea, Bhutan and Laos in 2019, with plans for more countries in 2020. Her other key projects include the design and production of a faculty development program curriculum for use in the Asia Pacific region; supporting midwifery education curriculum review and renewal in Timor Leste, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Samoa and Tonga; a scoping review of midwifery accreditation processes across 11 Asian countries; and design and development of technical guidance for delivering maternity care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to joining Burnet, Rachel was a midwifery academic at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) where she continues to hold an honorary position. During her time at UTS, Rachel undertook a number of projects. She managed the development of a three-year undergraduate degree in Indigenous primary health care, project managed the development of service standards for Aboriginal maternal and child health programs, project coordinated the revitalisation of nursing and midwifery education in Samoa, and provided writing support for a number of research projects.

Rachel has wide and varied midwifery experiences and has worked in private and public hospitals, core, team and caseload models, and pre and post registration education in New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and Australia.

In addition to her midwifery experience, Rachel has formal qualifications in education and training and has a research degree. Her research focused on the experiences of midwives who undertook a continuing professional development process. She has peer-reviewed publications in midwifery practice, midwifery education, curriculum development and healthcare technology areas.

• 2015 Graduate Certificate in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Teaching, University of Technology Sydney
• 2013 Certificate IV TAE, Private RTO, Queensland
• 2010 Master in Midwifery (Hons), University of Technology Sydney
• 2008 Graduate Certificate in Higher Education, Teaching and Learning, University of Technology Sydney

• Honorary Clinical Fellow, University of Technology Sydney (UTS)

• 2017 Australian College of Midwives Educator of the Year
• Australian Award for University Teaching (AAUT) for outstanding contributions to student learning, focused on developing Indigenous professional capabilities.

• 2019-Current – Specialist Midwife and Midwifery Consultant, Burnet Institute
• 2013-2019 Academic and Project Coordinator, Faculty of Health University of Technology Sydney
• 2005-2013 Midwifery Academic, University of Technology Sydney
• 2003 – 2019 Practicing Midwife – South Eastern Sydney Health Service and Queanbeyan District Hospital, New South Wales Health