VPRS 17591 Nursing Education Certificate Issued Books

Administrative History on Nursing Education:In circa 1859, Melbourne-Lying-In Hospital and Infirmary for Diseases of Women and Children (now The Royal Women's Hospital) commenced training in midwifery nursing. The Hospital established a formal three months certificate course in 1862 and a Gynaecology course in 1888. Up until 1993, these two training schemes were the platform of the nursing education programme; throughout the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, midwifery and gynaecology training was extended, shortened, and re-shaped, to cope with the hospital's exigencies and changing government regulations.The Women's became a centre for general nursing training during the 1940s and 1950s. This course had an emphasis in gynaecological nursing, but also included an external placement with another hospital, for the students to extend their training and experience in other areas of nursing.A range of other training courses were conducted or facilitated by the hospital, responding to advancements in medical technology. These included: Neonatal Paediatrics; Cytotoxic Drug Therapy; Family Planning etc.The Kathleen Syme Education Centre at The Royal Women's Hospital school closed in 1993 when the nursing courses in Midwifery, Gynaecology and Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing became university postgraduate qualifications rather than hospital based courses.Series Description:This series comprises the Nursing Education Certificate Issued Books. The volumes cover the years 1915 to 1990 and are most likely the remaining collection of a much larger sequence of records.The function of the Certificate Issued Books was for the Nurse Tutors or administrators to keep a log of which students had been issued with certificates for their course competencies achieved. The volumes are receipt books which each student signed when they received their certificate.The training courses represented include: Midwifery; General Nursing; Post Graduate Gynaecology; Blood Pressure; Cytotoxic Drug Therapy.Each student's details are recorded in single page column format. The entries arranged in the order students signed for their certificates. The columns provide the following information: signature; date commenced (either for individual or intake group); date of completion; date certificate issued; date certificate received; term (duration of course). Most of the records in this series are in alphabetical self indexing volumes; the last two were compiled in exercise books and arranged by course intake group.Each course group was generally recorded by date of commencement and not conclusion. This methodology is reflected in the Records Description List. The date range given for each volume comprises the first and last intake commencement dates.