Midwifery education programme up for national award
Published Tuesday 18th January 2011
An educational programme to enhance the knowledge and skills of midwives from Europe has been shortlisted for a national award this month.
The programme was developed by The University of Northampton's School of Health in partnership with Northampton General Hospital's maternity unit.
In response to the rise in applications from the continent, Dr Sarah Church, Senior Lecturer in Midwifery at The University of Northampton, developed a programme which gives appropriate support to midwives trained within mainland Europe. Together with clinical preceptorship and midwifery supervision provided by the employing NHS Trust, midwives attend a part-time programme at the University.
The programme is not a means of assessing their competency; it is about introducing registered midwives to the context of UK practice and enhancing the skills and knowledge that they already have. Midwives who have completed the programme report that it has increased their confidence and improved their understanding of the culture of midwifery practice and the role of the midwife in the UK.
Dr Sarah Church
We are seeing an increase in applications from midwives trained within mainland Europe and this programme was developed to offer them appropriate support...
Krystyna Grey, Supervisor of Midwives at Northampton General Hospital, and Dr Church's co-entrant
The education programme has been shortlisted in the 'excellence in midwifery education' category in the 2011 Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Annual Midwifery Awards which takes place on Wednesday 19 January at the Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington, London.
The launch of Northampton General Hospital's homebirth team has also been shortlisted in the 'implementing government policy' category at the 2011 RCM Annual Midwifery Awards.