Supporting the future of midwifery

I expect we can all reflect back to the day we received confirmation of our midwifery training. Excited at the prospect of beginning a vocational and transformative journey in which one day we would become qualified midwives and be let out into the big wide and mysterious world of birth, and all that encompasses midwifery. I am sure many of you can also remember your own hopes, interests and aspirations at the beginning and throughout that journey, and then the reality that dawns with the notion: how? How will I get there? Who will I meet along the way? Who will help and guide me to achieve my dream?

Midwives are special human beings. It is vitally important to revisit your grass roots every now and then, and to recharge the hypothetical ‘why’ battery pack. This equally important concept applies too when supporting student midwives in everyday practice. Student midwives provide a spark that can ignite passions, provide a stimulating mirror of our own memories of training, and an enhanced platform to learn from and with to innovate our own practice.

Many changes have dawned upon the midwifery profession in recent times, including the new Nursing and Midwifery Council (2018a; 2018b; 2019), pre-registration education and supervising and assessment in practice and realising professionalism and standards for midwives. Although supporting students is not a new concept for many, the way in which this can be supported and achieved is advancing rapidly. Ensuring effective communication and collaboration between practice and academic assessors scheduled for relevant points in programme structure and to confirm student progression is essential.

As a practice assessor, the NMC (2018b) specify it is your responsibility to:

• Ensure there are sufficient opportunities to periodically observe the student across environments in order to inform decisions for assessment and progression
• Ensure there are sufficient opportunities to gather and coordinate feedback from practice supervisors, any other practice assessors, and relevant people, in order to be assured about their decisions for assessment and progression
• Ensure you understand the student's learning and achievement in theory.

As a practice supervisor, the NMC (2018b) specify it is your responsibility to:

• Serve as role models for safe and effective practice in line with their code of conduct
• Support learning in line with their scope of practice to enable the student to meet their NMC proficiencies and HEI programme outcomes.

The first aspect that underpins student midwives' education is applying learnt theory to clinical practice. As Bryar (1995) states, ‘theory provides a structure within which midwives can compare the present experiences of the woman they are caring for with the responses identified in the theory’. Applying theory to practice is the experiential exercising of theory and theoretical frameworks and phenomena to provide and enhance midwifery care using expert knowledge, intuition and reflexivity. Therefore, effective midwifery practice utilises a combination of these qualities and skills to achieve the desired outcomes, and to meet professional standards for education and assessment as stipulated by the NMC (2015; 2018a; 2018b; 2019).

Qualities

Some individuals display and employ task-related behaviours that are primarily focussed on undertaking a series of events or actions in order to achieve the end goal (Forsyth, 2010), whereas relationship-related behaviours focus more so on the satisfaction, motivation and wellbeing levels of the individual. Hershey (1985), an early theorist, argues that there should be an appreciation and balance for both task- and relationship-related behaviours, and he called this the situational awareness leadership model. The individual students learning needs, rate of professional development, goals and wellbeing, as well as enough focus to support the student with learning and development to meet the assessment requirements should be considered and supported. In order to achieve this, it is vital to be mindful of our own behaviours and how they can impact upon others.

Emotional intelligence: empathy is a critical component of emotional intelligence and an attitude which is upheld in several aspects of the code (NMC, 2015). Emotional intelligence is concerned with a person's ability to understand their own and other's emotions and then apply this to tasks. This will enable you to make consistent and fair decisions where emotions may be involved. In some instances, this may include raising concerns about a student's performance or failing a student.

Role modelling: it is important to create and role model inclusive learning environments for all students and to be aware of and ensure the Equality Act 2010 is upheld. The Equality Act 2010 talks about different protected characteristics or things to do with a person, such as: age, disability, sex, transgender, being pregnant or having a baby, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation. Working with a diverse range of people with varying characteristics and from varied backgrounds and beliefs can improve the care we provide and everyone should be valued and have an equal opportunity to learn regardless of individual differences. Being aware of our own unconscious bias, implicit or unconscious bias happens by our brains making incredibly quick judgments and assessments of people and situations without us realising. Our biases are influenced by our own background, cultural environment and personal experiences. We may not even be aware of these views and opinions, or be aware of their full impact and implications (Advance HE, 2019).

Providing feedback: assessment decisions by practice assessors are informed by feedback sought and received from practice supervisors (NMC, 2018b). Practice supervisors ‘support and supervise students, providing feedback on their progress towards and achievement of proficiencies and skills (NMC, 2018b). Gould and Roffrey-Barentsen (2018) argue that giving constructive feedback should be helpful and enable students to understand where their strengths and weaknesses lie, and how they can change them through structured behaviour and direction. Giving clear actions and setting objectives as part of feedback may help to motivate the student to improve and continue achieving.

Uren and Shepherd (2016) provide a transparent student contribution model that can be applied to midwifery. It details the multifaceted and dynamic benefits of supporting students effectively both on an individual and professional level in Table 1.

Midwife supervisors and assessors are best placed to foster relationships with student midwives and build unique opportunities for the future workforce, which will nurture and protect the next generation of midwives.