Delivering a hands-on approach

The role of the midwife teacher is pivotal in giving students practical experience. Rob Dabrowski reports on the impact these educators have on the profession.

Professors in some fields spend their hours in the fusty halls of academia, lecturing at length about abstract notions and theories.

This is a far cry from the world of midwifery education where, alongside a solid theoretical grounding, an experience-led, hands-on approach is vital.

The importance of practical exercises for student midwives has now been highlighted in a new report. The MINT project: midwives in teaching is the first of its kind to evaluate how midwifery education is delivered and flags up hands-on learning as pivotal to a student midwife’s education.

The report’s overarching aim is to evaluate whether midwife teachers make a unique contribution to the profession. The findings will help to inform the regulator’s review of its pre-registration midwifery education standards, which is due to start next year.

Louise Silverton, RCM deputy general secretary, said: ‘The report re-emphasises the vital role played by midwifery lecturers in both classroom and clinical settings.

‘Midwife educators differ from many university academics with their commitment to clinical teaching and the length of their teaching year. This deserves more recognition.’

The report was commissioned by the NMC and carried out by the University of Nottingham’s School of Nursing, Midwifery and Physiotherapy in collaboration with four other universities.

The fieldwork took place over two years and included surveys, case studies and newly qualified midwives recording their experiences.

The report concludes that among the most valued aspects of the curriculum are scenario and problem-based learning, simulation exercises and a variety of practice placements to develop and hone a broad range of skills.

But the findings also flag up shortcomings and areas for improvement in the current system. It is revealed that student access to teachers is vital for providing the optimum in midwifery education, but ensuring this is always provided can be problematic.

Professor Diane Fraser,co-author of the report, said: ‘We found that the resource levels, including the number of teachers and the location of clinical placements, often made this difficult.’
The report highlights the unique role midwife teachers take in ensuring newly qualified midwives are fit for practice.

It covers the contribution and impact of midwife teachers and the care provided by students and newly qualified midwives to mothers and babies.

The project results show that teachers are vital in helping students transfer their learning and education into the workplace as a registered midwife.

NMC chief executive Professor Dickon Weir-Hughes said: ‘It is important that we don’t become complacent, and this report provides us with an evidence base about how we can continue to enrich a student’s learning experience in the future.’