Supporting the midwifery workforce: An evaluation of an undergraduate midwifery student employment model at a large tertiary maternity service in Victoria, Australia.

BACKGROUND: In 2020, in response to major maternity workforce challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Victorian Department of Health implemented a number of workforce maximisation strategies, one of which was employment of undergraduate midwifery students called 'Registered Undergraduate Student Of Midwifery' (RUSOM). AIM: To evaluate the RUSOM model implemented in a tertiary maternity service in Melbourne, Australia. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey was distributed to all RUSOMs and midwives at the study site in August 2021. FINDINGS: Twenty of 26 RUSOMs (77%) and 110 of 338 permanent midwives (33%) responded. Both groups considered the model to be a positive workforce strategy that contributed to work readiness of students, and increased confidence and competence to practise. RUSOMS and midwives reported positives for the organisation including improving workload for midwives on the postnatal ward, enhancing quality of care and outcomes for women and babies, and the value of RUSOMs as team members. RUSOMs felt well supported, supervised and clinically and theoretically prepared. Both groups considered RUSOMs were underutilised, and that they could undertake additional duties, and both thought that the RUSOM model should continue. CONCLUSION: The model was highly valued by both RUSOMs and midwives. There was strong agreement that the model should continue and that the list of duties could be expanded. Given these findings, further research should explore the expansion and sustainability of RUSOMs in the maternity workforce.

Nursing and Midwifery Students' Mental Health Status and Intention to Leave During Covid-19 Pandemic.

Introduction: COVID-19 has not only affected the physical health of people but it has also had a major impact on their mental health. Objective: To investigate the nursing, midwifery, and operating room students' mental health and intention to leave during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the nursing and midwifery school of Tabriz, Iran. Over a period of three months (February-May 2021) and through random sampling, 284 students were selected. The research tool consisted of three parts including demographic information, Depression Anxiety Stress scales, and a questionnaire on intention to leave. Results: More than 20% of the students experienced some degrees of depression, anxiety, and stress. Nearly one-third of participants mentioned a high level of intention to leave. Nursing students had a higher level of a turnover tendency than other students (p = .004). Male students and who experienced moderate to high level of depression displayed greater intention to leave (p = .005). Conclusion: Students suffered from some degrees of stress, anxiety, and depression during the COVID-19, and it strengthened the participants' intention to leave. Relevant authorities are recommended to improve mental health of the students by providing psychological counseling sessions, reducing their direct contact with patients, and providing personal protective equipment.

Exploring midwifery students' experiences of professional identity development during clinical placement: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Healthy China 2030 has proposed to strengthen the investment in midwifery education to prepare more qualified midwives to address the shortage of midwifery workforce in China. The formation of a strong professional identity has been demonstrated to be a vital enabler for successfully transitioning from university to work. As midwifery is a practice-based profession, clinical placement is a key period for midwifery students' professional identity development, where they can be part of the profession and exposed to professional behaviour and interaction in the real world. However, it has not yet been explored in terms of the professional identity development of midwifery students in China during clinical placement. AIM: To gain insight into the professional identity development experiences of midwifery students in China during clinical placement. DESIGN: A qualitative study using a descriptive phenomenological approach. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fourteen final-year midwifery students who were undertaking clinical placement in four public hospitals in central China between March 2021 and May 2021. The transcribed data were analyzed following the Colaizzi's phenomenological analysis method. RESULTS: A total of one category, two theme clusters and seven themes emerged. The overarching category "conflicting experiences of professional identity development" was identified from the interaction of two theme clusters, "positive experiences motivating professional identity development" and "negative experiences impeding professional identity development". Four themes including "feeling the sense of accomplishment for facilitating smooth births", "developing professional competence", "positive role models of clinical mentors", and "cooperative inter-professional relationships" fell into the theme cluster of "positive experiences motivating professional identity development"; while the other three themes including "high-intensity working state", "emotional instability of birthing women", and "feeling insufficient in professional competence" fell into the theme cluster of "negative experiences impeding professional identity development". CONCLUSIONS: The conflicting experiences of professional identity development among midwifery students might lead to the emergence of confusion and further decrease their retention intention in the profession. Thus, intervention strategies should be adopted to promote midwifery students' professional identity development during clinical placement, so as to prepare confident and motivated midwives to provide high-quality maternal care and address the shortage of midwifery workforce in China.

Factors Affecting the Career Choice of Midwifery Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

Background & aim: As the level of understanding about the factors affecting the choice of profession increases, individuals will receive better advice about choosing a profession, and the number of individuals satisfied with their profession will increase. This research was carried out to explore the factors that affect the choice of midwifery as a profession during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study, which featured a qualitative content analysis, was conducted using a conventional approach. The research was carried out between 10 March 2021 and 21 April 2021 through socially-distanced face-to face interviews with 17 first-year students in the Department of Midwifery of a Health School in a district in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey. A student information form and semistructured interview schedule were used as the data collection tools. Students were interviewed until the data saturation was achieved. The qualitative data of study was analyzed using conventional content analysis. Results: Five themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews: "interest in midwifery as a profession", "the future of midwifery", "the public image of midwifery", "choosing midwifery as a profession" and "anxiety for selecting midwifery as a profession". Conclusion: The midwifery students were interested in the profession despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and the outlook for midwifery was good. The students articulated both the positive and negative public images of midwifery, and it was found that the anxiety they experienced during the pandemic played an important role in their choice of the profession. © 2021 Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. All right reserved.

THE FUTURE OF MATERNITY CARE IN AUSTRALIA: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE OF LEARNING FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Background: In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, there have been rapid and radical changes to the way maternity care in Australia has been provided. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of receiving or providing maternity care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020. Methods: A two-phased cross-sectional study was launched in April - June 2020 and recruited n = 4323 participants from the five key stakeholder cohorts of women, their partners, midwives, doctors and midwifery students in Australia. Results: Findings revealed numerous changes to maternity care in response to the pandemic, which impacted consumers and providers of care in differing and similar ways. Each cohort revealed the changes that had impacted them negatively but also those that had improved care received or provided;offering strategies for continuing to improve and innovate maternity care into the future. Conclusion: A critical discussion around the urgent need for maternity reform in Australia will be provided within the context of what has been learned through the rapid changes necessitated because of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Delegates will be provided with a critique of the current maternity sector challenges alongside evidence of what consumers and providers of maternity care have indicated would improve current and future maternity care. Consideration of the models, settings and modalities of care and how these might be reformed to meet the needs of contemporary families and health care workers will be provided.

MIDWIVES AND DOCTORS' ROLE IN MATERNITY VACCINATION PROGRAMS: CRITICAL LEARNINGS FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Background: Vaccination against COVID-19 is a key global public health strategy. Health professionals including midwives and doctors support and influence vaccination uptake by childbearing women. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions and intentions regarding COVID-19 vaccination from consumers and providers of maternity care in Australia. Methods: A national cross-sectional online study conducted in May 2021 in Australia. Recruitment was undertaken through parenting and health professional social media sites and professional college distribution lists. A total of 853 completed responses were received, from women of childbearing age (n = 326), doctors (n = 58), midwives (n = 391) and midwifery students (n = 78). Results: Early on in the 2021 national COVID-19 vaccination roll-out, personal intention to be vaccinated ranged from 48-89%, with doctors most likely and women least likely. Doctors and midwifery students were significantly more likely to recommend the vaccine to pregnant women in their care than midwives (p < 0.001). More than half of the midwives (53%) had concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine for the women in their care compared with 35% of doctors and 46% of midwifery students. Conclusion: This is the first study to explore the perceptions and intentions regarding COVID-19 vaccination from both the perspective of those who receive and those who provide maternity care in Australia. Findings have utility to support targeted public health messaging for these and other cohorts. Critical discussion will reveal contemporary insights from the evidence to enhance the important public health role of midwives and doctors in national maternity vaccination programs.

Design, implementation and evaluation of a virtual clinical training protocol for midwifery internship in a gynecology course during COVID-19 pandemic: A semi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Over the past year, the occurrence of COVID-19 pandemic has challenged clinical education for health care students, due to the possibility of exposure to the virus and increased spread of the disease. Clinical training of midwifery students in gynecologic problems, based on the Iran midwifery education curriculum, was also disrupted during this pandemic. OBJECTIVES: This study was aimed at designing, implementing and evaluating a virtual clinical training protocol for midwifery internship in a Gynecology course. DESIGN: A semi-experimental study. SETTINGS: Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-seven midwifery interns in Gynecology course were recruited during two semesters in 2020. METHODS: Five steps based on the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) model were taken, which included 1) educational and skills needs assessment, 2) design, 3) development via focused group interviews and brainstorming with the presence of the midwifery department members in three sessions, 4) implementation including pretest and posttest, webinar, uploading the information of virtual patients, questions and correct answers, and 5) evaluation including knowledge assessment by a designed questionnaire and skills evaluation by the modified-Mini-CEX checklist. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and paired t-test. RESULTS: After training, a significant increase (p < 0.001) was observed in scores of knowledge and interview skills, clinical judgment, consultation, efficiency, professionalism, clinical competence and total score of clinical skills. CONCLUSIONS: Training for gynecological diseases through virtual clinic promoted knowledge and clinical skills of midwifery interns. To enhance education, a virtual clinic may be used in crisis situations and in combination with teaching under normal circumstances by strengthening the infrastructure and removing barriers.