What is it about?
Continuity of care models have been shown to improve outcomes for families, midwives and service provision. There is a need for continuity of mentorship and strong relationships between education and practice, and the provision of flexible curriculum content around this to enable students to prioritise appointments with women in their care. Foregrounding woman centred care as foundational to education and facilitating the critical deconstruction of dominant discourses that conflict with, and may prevent this form of practice, will promote the provision of care that is integral to these models.
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Why is it important?
Continuity of care models optimise outcomes for women and families. An established relationship between the family and the midwifery team can facilitate the type of experience appropriate for individual circumstances and limit negative outcomes. Education of student midwives is integral to prepare the workforce of the future to actively embrace this model of care and seize the opportunities afforded within this type of practice for greater satisfaction of women, families, midwives and educationalist.
Perspectives
Embedding continuity of care model within midwifery is a priority to optimise outcomes. Understanding of this way of working requires student midwives to be prepared to work this way from point of registration. For educationalist we must also embrace and champion this model in the face of many dissenting voices. This article originated within a research project which formed the midwifery curriculum within our university.
Dr Sonya MacVicar
Edinburgh Napier University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: “It’s no ordinary job”: Factors that influence learning and working for midwifery students placed in continuity models of care, Women and Birth, May 2023, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.wombi.2022.09.009.
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