VPRS 17389 Extern Case Book, Midwifery Department

This series comprises volumes containing cases recorded by extern obstetrics students at the Royal Women's Hospital (VA 1241). The case books were written up by medical students who as part of their training in obstetrics at the Women's Hospital attended home births accompanied by a midwife from the District Nursing Service. The work was mostly carried out in the inner city slums where their patients were poor and frequently living in squalid conditions. The case books record as much about the student's response to unfamiliar circumstances as they do about the women whose babies they delivered. It is possible that this series properly belongs to an Extern Midwifery Department, but there has not been sufficient research to establish that such a department existed. The Extern Case Books are therefore attributed to the Midwifery Department. The full date range of the series is unknown and two volumes are missing from the remaining set. The missing volumes cover the periods November 1921 to July 1922 and June 1925 to June 1926. Related Series: VPRS 17401 Students' Extern Cases Record Book 1940 to 1951 Although some details of the delivery are given, it appears to be more a register of the students' attendance than a case book. A description of these records and the way in which the Externs carried out their work can be found in "Sex and Suffering: women's health and a women's hospital" by the historian Dr Janet McCalman. Series History: Prior to transfer to Public Record Office Victoria, the records in this series were maintained as part of the RWH Archives in RWH series number 0318.

本系列档案包含由皇家女子医院（Royal Women's Hospital，VA 1241）的产科外勤实习医学生所记录的病例卷宗。
该病例手册由医学生撰写，这些学生作为皇家女子医院产科培训的一部分，跟随地区护理服务社（District Nursing Service）的助产士参与家庭接生工作。
外勤工作大多开展于市中心贫民区，服务对象多为贫困人群，其居住环境往往脏乱不堪。
该病例手册不仅详实记载了其接生的产妇情况，同时也完整记录了学生们面对陌生情境时的反应与状态。
本系列档案原本可能隶属于外勤助产士部门（Extern Midwifery Department），但目前尚无足够研究证实该部门确实存在，因此将这批外勤病例手册划归至助产士部门档案项下。
本系列档案的完整时间跨度尚未明确，现存卷宗中缺失两册，缺失部分分别对应1921年11月至1922年7月，以及1925年6月至1926年6月两个时间段。
相关系列档案：VPRS 17401《学生外勤病例记录手册（1940年—1951年）》
尽管该系列档案中提及了部分接生细节，但其更偏向于学生出勤登记册，而非标准病例手册。
有关这批档案及外勤工作开展方式的详细记述，可参阅历史学家珍妮特·麦卡尔曼（Janet McCalman）博士所著《性与苦难：女性健康与女子医院》一书。
系列档案沿革：在移交至维多利亚州公共档案办公室（Public Record Office Victoria）之前，本系列档案作为皇家女子医院（Royal Women's Hospital，简称RWH）档案的一部分进行保管，原档案系列编号为0318。