Associate Professor Tanya Capper
PhD, RM, DipH/E Midwifery, BSc, LL.B, GradDipMid, MMidAdjunct Associate Professor
School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Sciences
Health Workforce Academy
Dr. Tanya Capper is an academic and midwife with over 25 years of international clinical midwifery experience.
Tanya has held a range of midwifery positions including several clinical leadership roles within tertiary maternity services, a freestanding birth centre, and was the 'Named Midwife' for a large caseload of HIV-positive women at a London teaching hospital.
Tanya's research interests include but are not limited to:
- Complex midwifery practice
- Workplace bullying in midwifery
- Midwifery workplace culture
- Midwifery education
- Legal and ethical aspects of midwifery practice
- Incarceration and parenthood
- The care of vulnerable women and their families across the childbearing continuum
- Perinatal mental health
Tanya successfully completed the CQUniversity Early Career Researcher (ECR) program in 2022 and Accelerate in 2023.
Universities Studied At
Central Queensland University, Ph.D. - Workplace Bullying: The Midwifery Student Experience.
The University of Newcastle, Master of Midwifery Studies (with Distinction).
Central Queensland University, Graduate Certificate of Tertiary Education.
Charles Sturt University, Graduate Diploma of Midwifery (with Distinction).
London Metropolitan University, London, UK, Bachelor of Laws (LL.B).
Middlesex University, London, UK, ENB 934 (HIV and AIDS), ENB 997 (Teaching and Assessing), ENB 405 (Neonatal Nursing).
Anglia Ruskin University, Essex, UK, Diploma Higher Education (Midwifery).
Kings College, UK, Bachelor of Science.
Universities Worked At
Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom.
Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Australia.
The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Awards
Highest GPA Graduating Student - Master of Midwifery Studies. University of Newcastle School of Nursing and Midwifery | 2017
Executive Deans award for Academic Excellence (Postgraduate Studies) Charles Sturt University, New South Wales, Australia, 2015
Student Voice Commendation Award for Distance Educator of the Year 2016 - MDWF20009 Practice in Midwifery
Student Voice Commendation Award for Distance Educator of the Year 2016 - MDWF20007 Complex Midwifery Practice
Student Voice Commendation Award for Distance Educator of the Year 2016 - NURS13132 Maternal and Neonatal Nursing
Student Voice Commendation Award for Distance Educator of the Year 2017 - MDWF12002 Foundations of Midwifery 1
Student Voice Commendation Award for Distance Educator of the Year 2017 - MDWF20010 Contexts of Midwifery Practice
Winner Student Voice Award for Distance Educator of the Year 2017 - MDWF12005 Foundations of Midwifery 2
Student Voice Commendation Award for Distance Educator of the Year 2017 - MDWF12006 Midwifery Practice 2
Opal Award for Excellence Winner 2017 (Engaged Education and Training) Project Title: Working together to improve pregnancy and birth experiences for women and provide extraordinary learning opportunities for midwifery students.
Winner Student Voice Award for Distance Educator of the Year 2018 - MDWF13004 Ethical, Legal, and Professional Midwifery Practice
Student Voice Commendation Award for Distance Educator of the Year 2018 - MDWF12002 Foundations of Midwifery 1
Student Voice Commendation Award for Distance Educator of the Year 2018 - MDWF12006 Midwifery Practice 2
Student Voice Commendation Award for Distance Educator of the Year 2018 - MDWF12005 Foundations of Midwifery 2
Media Citations
Capper, T. (2021). Midwifery students’ experiences of being bullied whilst on clinical placement in the United Kingdom. Oral presentation at London 2021 Maternity and Midwifery Festival: Maternity and Midwifery Forum. Jan 2021. https://vimeo.com/showcase/london-mmf-2021
(2021) Episode 53 - Making a Midwife – Tanya – Head of Midwifery Course, QLD, Ph.D. Bullying in Midwifery.
Baldwin, AE., Capper, TS., Ferguson, B., Wood EA., Jensen, BS., Harvey, CL., Winter, K., Mainey, LJ., Geia, L. (2020). The birth charter for women in prisons in Australia, CQUniversity, Australia. https://www.cqu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/140545/Australian_Birth_Charter_2020_screen.pdf
Capper, T., (2020). Informed is Best. Book Review. British Journal of Midwifery, Vol 28, No3, 132.
Capper, T. (2019). HIV Midwifery Webinar. Delivered online in collaboration with ASHM and ACM. Retrieved from: https://vimeo.com/367174624
Previous teaching
Australian Catholic University - Bachelor of Midwifery
Middlesex University - Bachelor of Midwifery and Bachelor of Laws
Professional Experience
Clinical Facilitator (Midwifery)
Caseload Midwife Team Leader (which included groups of incarcerated women)
HIV Specialist Midwife
Labour Ward Team Leader
Community Midwife
Field Worker (Midwifery)
Birth Centre Team Leader
Midwifery Expert Witness
Professional Memberships
Australian College of Midwives.
The Royal College of Midwives (UK).
Responsibilities
Leading the midwifery academic team
Sourcing and sustaining clinical placements
Curriculum writing and development in preparation for formal accreditation
Developing and delivery of teaching materials
Marking of assessment material
Clinical teaching in both the simulated and hospital settings
Internal and external committee memberships
Research Higher Degree (RHD) Supervision
Industry engagement
Research
Professional Interests
Teaching and learning in the clinical environment.
Legal and ethical aspects of clinical practice.
HIV and pregnancy.
Workplace culture/resilience.
Workplace violence in midwifery.
Care of vulnerable women and their families.
Perinatal mental health
Complex midwifery practice
Incarceration and childbearing
Key Achievements
Highest GPA Graduating Student - Master of Midwifery Studies. University of Newcastle School of Nursing and Midwifery | 2017
Executive Deans award for academic excellence (Postgraduate Studies) Charles Sturt University, New South Wales, Australia, 2015.
Editor
PLOS ONE / Academic Editor / March 2023 - date
Consultancy Work
Midwifery expert witness 2000-date
Member of the Queensland Health Queensland Clinical Guidelines working party (Queensland Health) 2015 - current
Member of the working party for Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) Australia | Project: RHD in Pregnancy 2016 – current
Consultation group member | Centre for Leadership Excellence, Clinical Excellence Division | Department of Health | 2016- current
Australian College of Midwives (ACM) Representative - Antenatal care advisory group | STI Enhanced Response Unit, Office of Health Protection Australian Government Department of Health | Nov 2018 - current
Member of the International Consortium on Occupational Resilience (ICOR) | 2018 - current
Human Research Ethics Committee Reviewer | CQUniversity Australia | 2019- current
Clinical Midwifery Advisor – HIV care for midwives | The Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM), in partnership with Australian College of Midwives (ACM) | 2019 - current
Accreditation Assessment Team Panel Member / Chair – The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) | 2020 – current
Expert Reference Group Member – Update Antenatal Testing and Blood Borne Viruses (BBV) | The Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM) for The Australian Government Department of Health | Feb 2022-May 2022.
Expert Reference Group Member - Syphilis in Pregnancy Decision Making Tool (DMT) Development | The Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM) | Aug 2022- date
Peer Reviewer for Elsevier Midwifery Journal | Sept 2015 - current
Peer Reviewer for the British Journal of Midwifery | Sept 2019 - current
Peer Reviewer for Journal of Offender Rehabilitation| Nov 2019 - current
Peer Reviewer for Women and Birth | Dec 2019 - current
Peer Reviewer for The Journal of Nursing Management |July 2021 – current
Peer Reviewer for The International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction |July 2021 – current
Peer Reviewer for Nurse Education in Practice | Oct 2021 – current
Peer Reviewer for Birth | Dec 2021 - current
Capacity building and strengthening resilience in the correctional setting to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disaster (con_14378)
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 2: Other Public Sector)
Funding Scheme: Queensland Floods Flexible Funding Grant
Total Funding: $99,142.00
Student Voice Award for Distance Educator of the Year 2018
Grant: Award - Internal (Internal)
Funding Scheme: CQU internal Learning and Teaching Awards 2018
Total Funding: $2,500.00
Student Voice Award for Distance Educator of the Year 2017
Grant: Award - Internal (Internal)
Funding Scheme: Learning and Teaching Awards 2017
Total Funding: $2,500.00
Accreditation
I am currently accredited for supervision in the following:
- 4205 Nursing
- 1114 Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine
- 1117 Public Health and Health Services
At the level of Principal Supervisor
Current Capacity
Midwifery - Clinical midwifery
Midwifery - Midwifery not elsewhere classified
Midwifery - Models of care and place of birth
Midwifery - Psychosocial aspects of childbirth and perinatal mental health
Law in context - Medical and health law
Nursing - Midwifery
