INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF MIDWIVES
Global Standards for Midwifery Education
Survey Form – August 2009
Standard / Please place an X in the column to indicate your opinion about whether this standard should be retained or deleted. / Your comments about each standard, or your suggestions for re-wording can be entered in this column. Please place an X in the box to indicate the intention of your response. You can provide BOTH a comment and a suggestion for rewording, if you wish to do so.The text box will expand to accommodate the length of your response.
Retain / Delete
I.Organization and Administration
I.1.a The ethos[mission and vision] of the host institution (university, school, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, public or private) is congruent with the philosophy of the midwifery education programme.
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I.1.b The host institution/agency/branch of government fully supports the philosophy, aims and objectives of the midwifery education programme. / I prefer wording
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Item / Retain / Delete / CommentI.2. The host institution ensures that financial and public/verbal support for the midwifery educational programme is sufficient for quality education that prepares competent midwives andis equivalent to that of other professional programmes. / Comment:
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I.3. Midwifery schools/programmes have a budget allocation and budget control that meets programme, teacher and student needs. / Comment:
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I.4. The midwifery faculty, led by a midwife, is self-governing in developing and leading the midwifery education programme in accordancewith the ICM Essential Competencies and other core documents. / Comment:
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I.5. The head of the midwifery programme is a qualified midwife teacher with experience in management/administration. / Comment:
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II.Midwifery Faculty
II.1. The midwifery faculty includes predominantly midwives (teachers and mentors/preceptors) who work with experts from other disciplinesas needed. / Comment:
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II.2. The midwife teacher:
- is a midwife qualified according to the ICM international definition of a midwife
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- maintains competence in midwifery practice
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- has a minimum of two years experience in midwifery practice
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- holds a current license/registration or other form of legal recognition to practice midwifery
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- has formal preparation for teaching
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II.3. The midwife mentor/preceptor/clinical teacher:
- is a midwife qualified according to the ICM international definition of a midwife
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- maintains competency in midwifery practice
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- has a minimum of two years of experience in midwifery practice
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- holds a current license/registration or other form of legal recognition to practice midwifery
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- participates in ongoing education to prepare self and remain qualified to act as a practical/clinical teacher
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II.4. Individuals from other disciplines who teach in the midwifery programme are competent in the content they teach. / Comment:
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II.5. The midwife teachers provide education, support and supervision of individuals who mentor/teach students in practical/clinical learning sites. / Comment:
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II.6. Midwife teachers and midwife mentors/preceptors/clinical teachers work together to support (facilitate), directly observe, and evaluate the largest amount of students’ practical/clinical learning. / Comment:
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II.7. The ratio of students to teachers and mentors/preceptors in classroom and practical/clinical sites is determined by the midwifery programme and is consistent with regulatory authorities, if available. / Comment:
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II.8. The effectiveness of midwifery faculty members is assessed on a regular basis following an established process. / Comment:
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III.Student Body
III.1. The midwifery programme has clearly written admission policies that are accessible to potential applicants. The policies include:
- entry requirements including minimum requirement of completion of secondary education
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- selection process and criteria for acceptance
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- a transparent recruitment process
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- mechanisms for taking account of prior learning.
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III.2. Eligible candidates are admitted without prejudice or discrimination (e.g., gender, age, national origin, religion). / Comment:
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III.3. The programme has clearly written student policies that include:
- expectations of student in classroom and practical/clinical areas.
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- statements about students’ rights and responsibilities and an established process for addressing student appeals and/or grievances
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- mechanisms for providing feedback and ongoing evaluation of the curriculum, midwifery faculty, and the midwifery programme
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III.4. Mechanisms exist for the student’s active participation in programmegovernance and committees. / Comment:
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III.5. Students have sufficient practical/clinical experience in a variety of settings to attain the ICM essential midwifery competencies. / Comment:
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III.6. Students provide care primarilyunder the supervision of a midwife teacher or midwife mentor/preceptor/clinical teacher. Other legally responsible health professionals may supervise students. / Comment:
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IV.Curriculum
IV.1. The philosophy of the educational programme is consistent with the ICM philosophy and model of midwifery care. / Comment:
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IV.2. The purpose of the educational programme is to produce a competent midwife who:
- has attained/demonstrated the current ICM Essential competencies for basic midwifery practice
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- meets the criteria of the ICM Definition of a Midwife including regulatory body standards(where available) leading to professional licensure or registration as a midwife.
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- is eligible for entry into advanced educational programmes.
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- is a knowledgeable autonomous practitioner who adheres to International Code of Ethics for Midwives and standards of the profession.
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IV.3. The sequence and content of the curriculum enables the learner to acquire essential competencies for midwifery practice. / Comment:
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IV.4. The curriculum includes both theory and practice elements with a minimum of 40% theory anda minimum of50% practice. / Comment:
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IV.5. The programme uses recognized approaches to teaching and learning that promote adult learning and competency based education / Comment:.
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IV.6. The programme offers opportunities for multidisciplinary content and learning experiencesthat complement the midwifery content. / Comment:
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V.Resources, facilities and services
V.1. The programme implements written policies that address student and teacher safety and welfare in teaching and learning environments / Comment:
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V.2. The programme has sufficient teaching and learning resources, including:
- access to current learning resources such ascurrent texts, journals and reference sources whether in printed or electronic form andcommunication technologies
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- adequate classroom space
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- access tolaboratories equipped to support basic sciences and practical skills development
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- adequate equipment and materials to support student practical/clinical learning
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- student support services (such as economic emergency assistance, counselling services, testing services)
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V.3. The programme has adequate human resources, such as midwife teachers, midwife mentors/preceptors and other professionals, to support both classroom/theoretical and practical/clinical learning. / Comment:
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V.5. Selection criteria for appropriate practical/clinical learning sites are clearly written and implemented. / Comment:
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Assessment Strategies
VI.1. Midwifery faculty use the most reliable and valid formative and summative evaluation/assessment methods to measure student performance and progress in learning related to:
- knowledge
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- competence in practice,
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- critical thinking
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- professional behaviours
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- interpersonal relationships/communication skills.
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VI.2.The means and criteria for assessment/evaluation of student performance and progression, including identification of learning difficulties, are written and shared with students. / Comment:
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VI.3.Midwifery faculty conducts regular review of the curriculum as part of quality improvement that includes input from students, program graduates, midwife practitioners, clients of midwives and other stakeholders. / Comment:
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VI.4. Midwifery faculty conducts ongoing review of practical/clinical learning sites and their suitability for student learning/experience in relation to expected learning outcomes / Comment:
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VI.5. There is a plan for the conduct of periodic external review of programme effectiveness. / Comment:
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Glossary of Terms
- Autonomous: self-governing, self-regulating; having control over one’s decisions and actions
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- Admission: the process by which a person is considered for entry into a midwifery programme as a student
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- Adult learning: involves active participation of mature student in learning based on life goals and building upon prior learning.
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- Assessment: the processes used to evaluate student performance and progress in achieving learning outcomes.
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- Basic and social sciences: those courses in a curriculum of study that provide the foundation for understanding the human condition: generally includes content such as chemistry, anatomy, physiology, microbiology, psychology.
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- Competency-based education: teaching, learning and assessment activities that are sufficient to enable students to acquire and attain a predetermined set of competencies as the outcome of learning.
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- Competence: the combination of knowledge, skills and abilities that enable an individual to perform a specific task to a defined level of proficiency.
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- Curriculum: a systematic process that defines the content of an educational programme, relationships among students and teachers, and the physical environments for learning
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- Ethos: mission and vision (philosophy)of an institution.
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- External review of midwifery programme: an evaluation of a midwifery programme by qualified reviewers who have no role, responsibility, or conflict of interest within the programme being evaluated.
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- Formative evaluation: process of giving feedback to student to improve learning; occurs while learning is in process
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- Health professional:individual who is educated in a health discipline and licensed/regulated to practice that discipline; e.g., midwives, nurses, clinical officers, physicians
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- Midwife: a person who has met the ICM Definition of the Midwife
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- Midwife mentor/preceptor/clinical teacher:an experienced midwife based in a practical/clinical area who is competent to teach, observe, and evaluate midwifery students during their practical/clinical learning.
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- Midwife teacher: a qualified, competent midwife who has successfully completed a programme of study that includes the art and science of curriculum development, methods of classroom/theoretical and clinical/practical teaching of adult learners, and methods of measurement and evaluation of student learning
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- Midwifery competency: an item of knowledge, an expected attitude or behavior, or a specific skill that is congruent with the expected domain/level of performance of a midwife
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- Midwifery education: the process of preparing individuals to become competent midwives
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- Midwifery faculty: the group of individuals who teach students in a midwifery programme, including midwife teachers, midwife mentors/preceptors, and experts from other disciplines
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- Midwifery philosophy: a statement of beliefs about the nature of midwifery education, midwifery practice, and teaching midwifery
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- Midwifery programme: an organized, systematic, defined unit/course of study that prepares individuals to become midwives
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- Midwifery student: an individual who has met the criteria for selection and enrollment in a midwifery programme
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- Practical/clinical experience: studenttime in clinical settings for acquiring and applying knowledge, skills and behaviors in the care of women and childbearing families that results in attainment of midwifery competency.
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- Practical/clinical sites: variety of settings where midwifery care is practiced; may include hospitals, health centres, communities, women’s homes
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- Quality improvement: an ongoing process for determining the effectiveness of actions and making needed improvements
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- Recognition of prior learning: procedures or processes whereby students are given recognitionfor past learning that will apply to current enrollment in a midwifery programme.
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- Regulatory body/agency: an officially authorized organization responsible for setting standards for the practice of a given discipline; may include accreditation of educational programmes, registration and or licensure.
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- Self-governing: responsible and accountable for making decisions and accepting responsibility for the outcomes of those decisions
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- Stakeholder: any person(s) who affects or can be affected by the midwifery programme’s decisions or actions.
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- Standard: a norm/uniform reference point that describes the required level of achievement (performance) for quality midwifery education.
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- Summative evaluation: process of evaluating learning at a given point in time that results in decision on progression to next unit of study/course.
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- Teacher effectiveness: evidence that a teacher is performing responsibilities in a quality and timely way that facilitates student learning.
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- Welfare: a person’s freedom to work in an environment that promotes one’s basic human rights
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Elements from Preface:
Purpose of global midwifery education standards is to define the elements of a standard/core curriculum for initial preparation of a midwife led by midwife teachers in order to:
- prepare midwives to acquire all the ICM basic competencies
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- provide for safe midwifery practice and quality midwifery care for women and their families
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- provide the framework for designing, implementing and evaluating the quality of midwifery educational programmes.
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Founding values and principles upon which the Global Standards for Midwifery Education are developed:
- autonomy of the profession of midwifery and midwives
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- in accordance with current ICM core documents and position statements relating to preparation of competent midwives and midwifery teachers
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- completion of secondary education as a minimum entry level for students
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- standardized minimum lengths for initialmidwifery education programmes:
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- three (3) years for direct entry
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- twelve (12) months for post-nursing/professional health care provider students
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- companion guidelines for each standard will offer guidance for implementation.
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