Captain Jan Becker, CEO of Sunshine Coast Airport-based Becker Helicopters Pilot Academy, officially graduated with a doctorate on her work in sub Saharan Africa that will improve the lives of babies and the midwives supporting them in low-resource, high-demand facilities.

Founder of Midwife Vision Global, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to neonatal resuscitation, she spent four years investigating the “silent voice” of midwives in limited clinical settings. (Links to her collaborative latest research paper and earlier paper.)

“In poor areas with high rates of very early neonatal deaths, midwives are impacted by the trauma almost daily, and this research raises awareness of their grief, insights and critical work to create change,” Dr Becker said.

“The essence is: We must ensure that life-saving measures are always given to babies who are born not breathing but with a heart rate.

“My studies found that it takes a long time to ‘unlearn’ old habits in traditional settings where knowledge is handed down, but that the new Hands On Training (HOT) program can provide vital new skills to keep more babies alive in that critical first minute after birth.

“The aim is to support midwives to have the courage to try new methods in such highly stressful clinical settings.”

Dr Becker first graduated from UniSC in 2009 with a Nursing Science graduate entry degree after working as a midwife in Papua New Guinea. In 2017 she was named an outstanding alumnus.

“I felt affiliated with my alumni and when I met (UniSC Associate Professor in Health Promotion) Dr Florin Oprescu, also a Romanian medical doctor who had worked in limited clinical settings, I knew I would do my PhD here with him as supervisor,” she said.

“We are global citizens and we need global perspectives to meet the United Nations’ sustainability development goal number 3 – Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages.”

Dr Becker said she felt fortunate that her Sunshine Coast business with pilot husband Mike had been able to fundraise enough money to sustain the Tanzanian midwifery facility.

“We decided that if you’re successful and you don’t give back to the world, you’re missing the point,” she said.

“It’s good to have success and take other people with you, but we’ve also got to have global impact.”

She said professional development and cultural learning in Tanzania had enriched her own life.

“My PhD timing was journey of discovery and friendship and professional collegiality.

“In Tanzania, every mother’s dream is to live through labour and see their baby live. That’s their birth plan.

“Every time I got a research article published, I was a step closer to the final story. I love that I can fly to a different part of the world but, wherever I go, hopes and dreams are the same.”

Jan’s advice for new graduates:

Believe in yourself, even if others don’t. If you have a dream inside, nurture it. Don’t run with the pack. Run with your heart and you’ll find the magic in your career. You have a seed within you that made you study, don’t squander it. Take any opportunity that comes along. Go with your energy.