Top tips for #FreshersWeek #freshers2017 #Uni #StudentLife from an academic midwife

Tis that time of year again when students from all over the world descend upon university campuses to embark upon a fun filled journey of learning, adventure and growth.

Having been in education now for a number of years, I think this must be close to my tenth freshers week! Every year I get the same buzzy feeling of excitement as the freshers week commences…

(Unless that is the same feeling of excitement you get when Santa is coming…oh come on…Autumn…I am already thinking about the festive season!)

The streets are full of vibrant things to do and get involved in…people are making friends and connections and everyone is ready to take on a new challenge in life!

The sad thing is…whether I wear my student ID badge, or my staff ID badge..I am seemingly passed by when the invites for the foam parties and other nights out are being dished out…(grump)!…hmm…I wonder why? 🤔🎓 Maybe it will be different this year…and if you do see me on campus…I would love to hear about your plans!

I will be involved in the #CovHLSFreshers Twitter takeover this year..Ooh..snazzy!

 

Our @SallyPezaro who has just finished her PhD with us will also be on hand for this takeover #CovHLSFreshers https://t.co/OkxoXlzfyn

— Tech Enabled Health (@CovUni_CTEHR) 22 September 2017

As well as other survival guides out there, I wanted to share some of my own hints and tips for freshers.

Tip One:

No matter how scared or excited you are during freshers week….I think there are a few quotes that you should memorize and repeat to yourself in times of need….

 

Tip Two:

Remember that there is no need to justify your course choice to anyone but yourself. This is your journey, your life now….trust yourself to make your own life choices. You got this!

Tip Three:

Find your tribe….Not necessarily those who look and talk like you…but those who will hear your voice, sing with you and lift you up. This could be your relevant student society or Twitter community..it could even be those you meet through doing what you love….hold on tight to these people for the ride…and make sure to lift each other up!

Tip Four:

Document your journey and take time to reflect. This experience will be over all too quickly and it’s going to be amazing! reflecting will help you to be mindful about your own situation and recognize your own achievements as your hard work pays off. Be grateful for 1 thing every day…however big or small…and celebrate the achievements of yourself and others every chance you get.

Tip Five:

Look after yourself. Self care can make your university experience a million times better. Take breaks, help yourself before you help others…and as for romance……

See->

10 Tips for Success & Self-Care for Academics

Category Archives: Student Tips 🎓

❤Welcome all!❤

See you on campus!

If you would like to follow the progress of my work going forward..

Follow me via @SallyPezaro; The Academic Midwife; This blog

Until next time…Look after yourselves and each other 💚💙💜❤

 

 

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Five Myths about Internationalization in higher education

Freshers week is almost upon us again this year at Coventry University and I am learning to teach!…So I wanted to reflect on and celebrate the diversity of students coming to study.

 

I have always enjoyed the vibrancy and wealth of knowledge that international students bring to universities…and when you are indulging in a new topic of interest, international students can bring a wealth of new and insightful knowledge to the table…from around the world! But there are a few myths about internationalization that I wanted to reflect on with the help of Jane Knight. These myths apply to all higher academic institutions, and of course there are always exceptions to every rule.

MYTH ONE: FOREIGN STUDENTS AS INTERNATIONALIZATION AGENTS

“A long-standing myth is that more foreign students on campus will produce
more internationalized institutional culture and curriculum. “

In fact, unless there are bespoke programmes targeted towards international students, divisions and factions will often provide a more secular experience on campus. The rationale for internationalizing a university campus is often well intended, but new strategies will be required to turn this vision into practice. To reflect on this, there may be some scope to include international students in blended learning sessions prior to their arrival on campus. Perhaps a buddying system with domestic students may also enhance the learning experience, as international students will also be adapting to a new life outside of the classroom at first.

MYTH TWO: INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION AS A PROXY FOR QUALITY

Internationalization does not always translate into improved quality or high standards. This means that we, as teachers may need to find new ways to evaluate the quality of our outputs with a view to making real world improvements. This means acting on student feedback at a personal level to understand what is happening on the shop floor. Improvements will not appear automatically, but rather than just hoping for the best….PDSA cycles may be of use when making such improvements.

 

 

MYTH THREE: INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONAL AGREEMENTS

It is often believed that the greater number of international agreements or
network memberships a university has the more prestigious and attractive it is to
other institutions and students

To maintain active and fruitful relationships, major investments are required in human and financial resources from individual faculty members, departments, and international university offices. This is not always feasible to maintain. Therefore, it will be key to develop a few deep and meaningful international relationships or partnerships rather than create many paper based partnerships which may not always best serve our students, staff and/or institutions.

MYTH FOUR: INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATION

The premise is that, the more international accreditation stars
an institution has, the more internationalized it is and ergo the better it is. But a foreign recognition of quality does not necessarily speak to the scope, scale, or value of international activities related to teaching/learning, research. Again, it will only be via the creation of deep and meaningful real-world relationships that meaningful connections can be made between quality and reaping the rewards of international partnerships.

MYTH FIVE: GLOBAL BRANDING

It is a myth that an international marketing scheme is the equivalent of an internationalization plan.

An international marketing campaign is a promotion and branding exercise…an internationalization plan is a strategy to integrate an international, intercultural, and global dimension into the goals and teaching, research, and service functions of a university. In teaching international students, it may be more important to focus on the internationalization plan, as this is what may result in the better student and staff experience within the university. Then again, of course it depends on what university policies and strategies set out to achieve.

Personally, I would like to spend my time in higher education creating small numbers of really meaningful international relationships rather than collaborate with large numbers of international students and institutions. Whilst large numbers may look better on paper, superficial relationships will not translate into value, quality or high standards in academia.

People work better when they are connected through things that matter, and in order to reap the rewards of an international student community, we must all make connections that matter. It is focusing on the few important relationships that will enable us to listen, plan, do and act better in higher education.

Further reading:

Knight, Jane. “Five myths about internationalization.” International Higher Education 62 (2015).

Beine, Michel, Romain Noël, and Lionel Ragot. “Determinants of the international mobility of students.” Economics of Education review 41 (2014): 40-54.

Soria, Krista M., and Jordan Troisi. “Internationalization at home alternatives to study abroad: Implications for students’ development of global, international, and intercultural competencies.” Journal of Studies in International Education 18.3 (2014): 261-280.

Sin, Sei-Ching Joanna, and Kyung-Sun Kim. “International students’ everyday life information seeking: The informational value of social networking sites.” Library & Information Science Research 35.2 (2013): 107-116.

If you would like to follow the progress of my work going forward..

Follow me via @SallyPezaro; The Academic Midwife; This blog

Until next time…Look after yourselves and each other 💚💙💜❤

5 reasons why you should be blogging

I started this blog at the start of my PhD. To begin with, it was a way of telling my thoughts, documenting my diary and sharing what I was learning with others along the way. Now it is also a way of sharing my work and enjoying thought provoking conversations with others. Here are 5 reasons why I believe that you should be blogging too.

1. You have a brain, a voice, and something to say…why keep your amazing thoughts in your head?…By writing them on a blog, you can start conversations with some of the other great brains in the world…what an opportunity! You could literally reach millions on the internet. Once people start to read your work, you can also become established in your field…don’t hold it all in!

2. Have you been to a good conference or seminar lately? Why not share your learnings via your very own blog?….not only will this help you to organise your thoughts and reflect on your own learning, but it will also help your peers and readers to learn from your own experiences…That’s a good thing…right?

3. Stand out as someone who creates new content online. Not only will this help you to stand out as an expert in your own field, but perspective employers, funders and collaborators will also see that you are not just another online spectator. You will fast become known as an online innovator. Think that you aren’t anything special?…By blogging, you are already doing what most people are not!

4. Blogging is free, yet it could be an invaluable tool in helping you improve your writing and your confidence. It could also help you to become more mindful, a reflective practitioner and an inspiration to others.

5. Blogging enables you to join an online community, grow your followers and develop positive and reciprocal relationships online. One way you can do this is by guest blogging (as I did recently). You can also interact with other blogs and offer constructive comments to the conversation. If you would like to practise by guest blogging here on this blog…feel free to drop me a message and I will be glad to help 🙂

Go on…see these benefits for yourself!

If you would like to follow the progress of my work going forward..

Follow me via @SallyPezaro; The Academic Midwife; This blog

Until next time…Look after yourselves and each other 💚💙💜❤

Exploring ‘obstetric violence’ and ‘birth rape’

Recently, the wonderful Ibone Olza (Perinatal Psychiatrist and Childbirth Activist from Childbirth is Ours, Spain) contacted me about her work on obstetric violence, birth rape and professional trauma. After reading her papers and watching her present her work, I was compelled to document and reflect upon some of the issues raised, here.

The following points are made within the paper: Fernández, Ibone Olza. “PTSD and obstetric violence.” Midwifery today with international midwife 105 (2013): 48-9.

Birth trauma has been defined as “Actual or threatened injury or death to the mother or her baby” (Beck 2008). Yet such trauma lies in the eye of the beholder, therefore, any trauma experienced by either the mother, newborn or the birth attendant may be due to a subjective experience of stress which does not need to fit any particular criteria necessarily. This means that some traumatic events may be subjective in their nature, and as such, we cannot judge what may or may not cause another person trauma. It is a personal interpretation or perception.

A meta-ethnographic analysis of studies about women’s perceptions and experiences of a traumatic birth reported that women are often traumatized as a result of the actions or inactions of midwifery staff (Elmir et al. 2010). Whatever, such inactions or actions may be…women often use words such as ‘barbaric’, ‘intrusive’, ‘horrific’ and ‘degrading’ to describe their mistreatment (Thomson and Downe 2008).

For Hodges, drugging or cutting a pregnant woman with no medical indication is an act of violence, even when performed by a medical professional in a hospital. Inappropriate medical treatment is also clearly abusive, although few women are aware that this is deliberate mistreatment (Hodges 2009).

The term ‘birth rape’ has been used by women who feel that their bodies have been violated. Kitzinger highlighted that many women who have experienced a traumatic birth display similar symptoms to rape survivors (Kitzinger 2006). The video below explores these issues in greater detail, as we can hear the lovely  Ibone Olza  sharing this work.

 

One of the things I was most encouraged about, was that  Ibone Olza  considers the wellbeing of the midwifery staff in her work. Birth attendants are often also traumatized by these acts, and may feel powerless to intervene. In a recent study by Beck, 26% of obstetric nurses met all the diagnostic criteria for screening positive for PTSD due to exposure to their patients who were traumatized (Beck and Gable 2012). Being present at  abusive deliveries can magnify staffs’ exposure to birth trauma.

staff use phrases such as…

“the physician violated her”

“a perfect delivery turned violent”

“unnecessary roughness with her perineum”

“felt like an accomplice to a crime”

“I felt like I was watching a rape.”

….to describe the guilt that ensued when they felt like they had failed women or they did not speak up and challenge/question…

Article 51 establishes that: The following acts implemented by health personnel are considered acts of obstetric violence:

1. Untimely and ineffective attention of obstetric emergencies
2. Forcing the woman to give birth in a supine position, with legs raised, when the necessary means to perform a vertical delivery are available
3. Impeding the early attachment of the child with his/her mother without a medical cause thus preventing the early attachment and blocking the possibility of holding, nursing or breastfeeding immediately after birth
4. Altering the natural process of low-risk delivery by using acceleration
   techniques, without obtaining voluntary, expressed and informed consent of the woman
5. Performing delivery via cesarean section, when natural childbirth is possible, without obtaining voluntary, expressed, and informed consent from the woman

(D’Gregorio 2010)

Yet whilst people do bad things, it is important to remember that they are not necessarily bad people…

This work explains how professionals may exert obstetric violence due to:

• Lack of technical skills to deal with emotional and sexual aspects of childbirth.
• Unsolved trauma. The medicalization of childbirth produces more severe iatrogenic
  complications (Johanson, Newburn and Macfarlane 2002; Belghiti et al. 2011). If the
  professionals do not have a supportive space to reflect or to deal with this aspect of iatrogenic care, they may fall into a spiral of continuously increased medicalization as a defensive strategy. Childbirth is then perceived as a very dangerous event, “a bomb ready to explode,” without realizing that interventions cause more unnecessary interventions and pain.
• Professional burnout in birth attendants will lead to increased dehumanized care and therefore never-ending figures of women experiencing childbirth as very traumatic.

..and so the challenge will be to identify and address these root causes to ensure that maternity staff are able to provide excellence in midwifery care. My work explores how we might support the psychological wellbeing of health care staff may increase levels of humanity and compassion in care. I hope to keep in touch with Ibone Olza and many others around the world who share the same passion for this work. Together we may collectively work towards a time where maternity workers are psychologically safer, and therefore better able to provide the excellence in care they strive to give.

If you would like to follow the progress of my work going forward..

Follow me via @SallyPezaro; The Academic Midwife; This blog

Until next time…Look after yourselves and each other 💚💙💜❤

References and further reading

• Soet JE, Brack GA, DiIorio C. Prevalence and predictors of women’s experience of psychological trauma during childbirth. Birth 2003 Mar;30(1):36-46.
• Creedy DK, Shochet IM, Horsfall J. Childbirth and the development of acute trauma symptoms: incidence and contributing factors. Birth 2000 Jun;27(2):104-111.
• Ayers S, Pickering AD. Do women get post traumatic stress disorder as a result of childbirth? A prospective study of incidence. Birth 2001 Jun;28(2):111-118.
• Beck CT, Gable RK, Sakala C, Declercq ER. Post traumatic stress disorder in new mothers: results from a two stage U.S. national survey. Birth 2011 Sep;38(3):216-227.
• Allen S. A qualitative analysis of the process, mediating variables and impact of traumatic childbirth. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology 1998;16(2-3):107-131.
• Beck CT, Watson S. Impact of birth trauma on breast-feeding: a tale of two pathways. Nurs Res 2008 Jul-Aug;57(4):228-236.
• Beck CT. Post-traumatic stress disorder due to childbirth: the aftermath. Nurs Res 2004 Jul-Aug;53(4):216-224.
• Beck CT. Birth trauma: in the eye of the beholder. Nurs Res 2004 Jan-Feb;53(1):28-35.
• Ayers S. Delivery as a traumatic event: prevalence, risk factors, and treatment for postnatal posttraumatic stress disorder. Clin Obstet Gynecol 2004 Sep;47(3):552-567.
• Olde E, van der Hart O, Kleber R, van Son M. Posttraumatic stress following childbirth: a review. Clin Psychol Rev 2006 Jan;26(1):1-16.
• Elmir R, Schmied V, Wilkes L, Jackson D. Women’s perceptions and experiences of a traumatic birth: a meta-ethnography. J Adv Nurs 2010 Oct;66(10):2142-2153.
• Nicholls K, Ayers S. Childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder in couples: a qualitative study. Br J Health Psychol 2007 Nov;12(Pt 4):491-509.
• Ayers S. Thoughts and emotions during traumatic birth: a qualitative study. Birth 2007 Sep;34(3):253-263.
• Thomson G, Downe S. Widening the trauma discourse: the link between childbirth and experiences of abuse. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol 2008 Dec;29(4):268-273.
• Goldbort JG. Women’s lived experience of their unexpected birthing process. MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs 2009 Jan-Feb;34(1):57-62.
• Sawyer A, Ayers S. Post-traumatic growth in women after childbirth. Psychol Health 2009 Apr;24(4):457-471.
• Hodges S. Abuse in hospital-based birth settings? J Perinat Educ 2009 Fall;18(4):8-11.
• Kitzinger S. Birth as rape: There must be an end to ‘just in case’ obstetrics. British Journal of Midwifery 2006;14(9):544-545.
• Beck CT. The anniversary of birth trauma: failure to rescue. Nurs Res 2006 Nov-Dec;55(6):381-390.
• Beck CT, Gable RK. A Mixed Methods Study of Secondary Traumatic Stress in Labor and Delivery Nurses. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs 2012 Jul 12.
• Perez D’Gregorio R. Obstetric violence: a new legal term introduced in Venezuela. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 2010 Dec;111(3):201-202.
• Callister LC. Making meaning: women’s birth narratives. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs 2004 Jul-Aug;33(4):508-518.
• Johanson R, Newburn M, Macfarlane A. Has the medicalisation of childbirth gone too far? BMJ 2002 Apr 13;324(7342):892-895.
• Belghiti J, Kayem G, Dupont C, Rudigoz RC, Bouvier-Colle MH, Deneux-Tharaux C. Oxytocin during labour and risk of severe postpartum haemorrhage: a population-based, cohort-nested case-control study. BMJ Open 2011 Dec 21;1(2):e000514.

 

 

How to conduct research: A dummy’s guide to conducting research

Seminars held by the worlds top universities generally present the most up to date and respected ideas in relation to conducting research. Recently, I was lucky enough to attend a conference where several seminars were held over a one week period…How very convenient!…These seminars in combination were able to map out a broad blue print of how to conduct research for their audiences (myself and other chums).

As a result of attending these wonderful seminars, I am now able to translate what was shared into this dummy’s guide to conducting research. I write here not only to refresh my own knowledge in this area, but also in the hope that it may be of use to the readers of this post. Wish me luck!…

So why do we do research?…Because we have an idea?, a problem to solve?, or an area where a lack of knowledge resides?..(See #whywedoresearch) …These are all valid reasons to conduct research within reason, but…What is research?…

OK, so we need to define a research question…What question, need or idea are we trying to answer?..What itch do we have to scratch? We need to formulate a research question….and also formulate a research problem.

How to formulate a research problem

• Explore the nature of the problem. Why is it a problem?..who does it affect?
• Explore the context of the research problem. Where does it ‘sit’ among other things?
• Define your variables. What would vary?…what can’t you control?…what would be the impact of that?
• Think about what would happen if you didn’t address this problem. What would be the consequences of doing something else?
• Define your objectives? What are you trying to achieve by doing this research?

How to formulate a research question

Think first…is your research question:

• Interesting
• Relevant
• Focused
• Answerable

Then…narrow your ideas down to develop a great research question.

Broad topic	Narrowed topic	Focused topic	Research Question
Children’s health →	Children and diabetes →	School meals and sugar content→	Is there an association between sugar content in school meals and diabetes risk?
Walking →	Walking related injury →	Walking related injury and adults→	How does Walking related injury affect adults?
Bullying →	Teenagers and bullying →	Teen peer pressure and aggressive behavior→	What role, if any, does peer pressure play in the development of aggressive behavior among teens?

                                          

1. Non directional hypothesis = Pregnant women will experience some change in their pattern of urination.
2. Directional hypothesis = Pregnant women will urinate less frequently.
3. Null hypothesis = A statistical assumption. e.g: There will be no difference in the frequency of urination for pregnant women who swim compared with those who do not swim.

And to test this theory…..(quasi-experimental or experimental study design)..we must ascertain the relationship between variables.

Components

Experimental group = Pregnant women swimming

Expected result = e.g Pregnant women will urinate less frequently

Comparison group = Pregnant women who do not swim

 

Quantitative and qualitative research characteristics….

Characteristic	Quantitative research	Qualitative research
Philosophical origin	Logical positivism	Naturalistic/Interpretive
Focus Reasoning	Concise and objective	Broad and objective
Reasoning	Logistic and deductive	Dialectic and inductive
Basis of knowing	Cause and effect relationships	Meaning, discovery and understanding
Theoretical focus	Tests theory	Develops theory
Researcher involvement	Control	Shared interpretations
Methods of measurement	Structured interviews, questionnaires, observations, scales or measurements	Unstructured interviews and observations
Data	Numbers	Words
Analysis	Statistical analysis	Individual interpretations
Findings	Generalisation, accept or reject theoretical propositions	Uniqueness, understanding of new phenomena and/or theory

Image source and further reading = Crowe, Michael, and Lorraine Sheppard. “Qualitative and quantitative research designs are more similar than different.” Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice 8.4 (2010): 5.

Quantitative data analysis methods	Qualitative data analysis methods
Involve statistics/number analysis	Text analysis
Seek deductive interences	Seek inductive inferences
Focus on quantifiable phenomena (comparisons, differences, trends and relationships)	Focus on meanings (themes)
Involve data clustering analysis for relationships in non-hypothesis testing	Involve data structuring and coding into themes and groups.
Involve systematic predetermined analysis	Involve in-depth fluid analysis
Value-free enquiry	Considers the impact a researcher may have on others’ values
Objective	Subjective
Narrow and specific	General and broad

Variable = Anything that varies

Independent variable = does not depend on that of another. Can be introduced or withdrawn by the researcher

Dependent variable = Depends on the independent variables and it’s out come variable e.g: Trauma, bleeding, symptom changes.

Extraneous variable = Unwanted influence that may interfere with either the dependent and/or independent variables.

Demographic variable = Age, gender, race etc.

Top tips:

• We can ask..’What is the relationship between two or more variables?’ However, we cannot infer ’cause and effect’.
• Experimental study designed (hypothesis testing) is considered to be the ‘Gold standard’ for evidence. However, you can gather a multitude of this type of evidence via systematic review and/or meta analysis (See more information on these here or in the image below).
• Ethical considerations should be revisited throughout the study, as well as before commencement.
• Take control of any extraneous variables by random sampling (from a larger sample base), random assignment (into either a control or experimental group), selecting a homogeneous (similar on an important variable) sample and by matching the control to the experimental group on important variables.

In conducting a systematic review, you can also arrive at new research problems and questions…meaning that the possibilities of conducting research are endless!..

 

But why do all of this hard work if you are not going to share what you have found, analysed, discussed and then concluded?

It is important to publish and share your work at both a high and low level, so that new knowledge is available to everyone!…Students and professors alike should publish. It is never too soon or early in your career to get started on this. If you are not confident about writing or publishing your work, contact me and I will be happy to partner with you throughout the process.

If you would like to follow the progress of my work going forward..

Follow me via @SallyPezaro; The Academic Midwife; This blog

Until next time…Look after yourselves and each other 💚💙💜❤

What makes a good midwifery manager? Satisfaction vs Dissatisfaction in the workplace

Reducing stress and fatigue among maternity staff is key to reducing baby deaths and brain injuries during childbirth, according to a detailed new analysis published by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

This ‘each baby counts’ initiative confirms that “Decision-making is more difficult when staff feel stressed or tired”.

“This report shows that there is a need for additional support for our maternity staff and units so that every mother and every family has the healthiest possible outcome from pregnancy and birth,” said Judy Ledger, founder and chief executive of the charity Baby LifeLine.

This news supports my own research quest, as I work to find new interventions to support midwives in work-related psychological distress.

This state of affairs also suggests that it may be prudent to do all that we can to ensure midwife satisfaction in the workplace. In fact, anything good in the workplace has to be safer/better than the bad stuff right?

At the 31st International Confederation of Midwives’ Triennial Congress held in June 2017, I stumbled upon an interesting research presentation on what could promote satisfaction/dissatisfaction in the midwifery workplace. More specifically, the characteristics of midwifery management behaviors were used to demonstrate what might promote satisfaction and dissatisfaction in managerial relationships. I will translate my brief notes from the session here:

In promoting workplace satisfaction, a midwifery manager:

• Is supportive
• Respects, values and appreciates midwives
• Is an advocate for staff
• Follows through on promises
• Facilitates new ventures and learning
• Cares for staff
• Is aware of stressors

In promoting workplace dissatisfaction, a midwifery manager:

• Is punitive
• Is demanding
• Is inconsistent
• Is ineffectual
• Is ‘Terrible’
• Tolerates or perpetrates bullying
• Does not listen

Not a big shock here right?…I mean it’s not rocket science. Nevertheless, this knowledge must be shared in order to promote healthy workplace cultures in the pursuit of excellence in maternity care.

The best midwifery care can only be delivered by midwives at their best…. Can we all begin to set our working day by these rules? Can we all be a little kinder? caring?..respectful to one another?

This was just one of the many things learnt at this year’s #ICM2017#ICMLive.

In time, I will try to share more about why #midwivesmatter

If you would like to follow the progress of my work going forward..

Follow me via @SallyPezaro; The Academic Midwife; This blog

Until next time…Look after yourselves and each other 💚💙💜❤

 

Highlights from the 31st ICM Triennial Congress in Toronto, Canada #ICM2017 #ICMLive

My vacation is now over following a visit to the 31st International Confederation of Midwives Triennial Congress in Toronto, Canada (ICM). I think we would all agree that this was an emotional occasion, as thousands of midwives came together from all over the world to both celebrate our wonderful profession and share new research, knowledge and ideas about our exciting future.

I was personally in awe of our midwifery leaders, who certainly inspired a passion for change, strength and future thinking in midwifery practice. I would like to think that my work will go some way towards building a bright future for the profession, and one day I hope to stand beside those on the main stage of midwifery who are ultimately steering the ship. Yet for now, I am learning from a plethora of inspirational midwives about how to thrive and implement change. As I come to the end of my PhD, I reflect on how I might move forward in partnership with the most inspiring midwives I know. It was an honor to spend time with them in Canada….see all of those flags?…What a wealth of knowledge!

Naturally, we were flying the flag for the Brits…

Throughout the conference I naturally gravitated towards all of the midwifery workforce presentations, my favorite and most passionate area of workforce research…Here are some highlights from these sessions below:

I would like to thank all of these wonderful research groups for sharing their insights with me, and for helping my understanding of midwifery workplace wellbeing to grow. I would also like to thank those at Nottingham University and Elsevier for inviting me to their exclusive evening receptions. I felt very honored to be among the best academic midwives in the world!

Thank you also to those of you who came to see me present some of my own research (done in partnership with my wonderful colleagues at Coventry University and NHS England of course). It was really enlightening to hear your thoughts on the staff experience!…The best is yet to come!

Equally, I would like to thank the audience who came to discuss my PhD work following my presentation at this wonderful conference. Indeed, there was much interest in this work going forward, and whilst other interventions were presented for mothers and babies, it was clear that by following the MRC framework for developing complex interventions and by incorporating the Revised Transactional Model (RTM) of Occupational Stress and Coping, this intervention, being deeply rooted within an evidence base, is now ready for co-creation.

It was particularly interesting to hear the audience keen to invest in this project and disseminate it widely across the profession. As an online intervention designed to support midwives in work-related psychological distress, this intervention certainly has the potential to be widely adopted. This was music to the ears of a global midwifery audience, who may often see things developed in other countries, and yet be unavailable in their own area of practice.

Again, the theme arose here that midwives wanted a place to talk and seek help confidentially, away from traditional channels. I see such places growing organically in the online arena, yet none seem to be fit for purpose, evidence based or co-created on a large scale. To me this suggests that the next phase of my research (to build and test an evidence and theory based online intervention designed to support midwives in work-related psychological distress) will be well received by the midwifery community, especially if it has the support of larger healthcare organisations who can champion its implementation, dissemination and testing.

To spread and embed a large and complex intervention such as this across the midwifery profession would indeed be a legacy. Yet this work may also support excellence in maternity care, increase safety and support effective retention and recruitment strategies for maternity services around the world. As such, taking this work forward will indeed be crucial since it has been reported that reducing stress and fatigue among maternity staff is key to reducing baby deaths and brain injuries during childbirth, according to a detailed new analysis published by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The challenge is to turn the vision for online support into practice.

This was a wonderful, inspiring and thought provoking conference. To see a more detailed day by day summary, please see the wonderful blog by my dear friend @Dianethemidwife ….

Day One

Day two

Day three

Day four

Day five

Last day

It is sad that my time in Toronto is now over, but I have returned home with a new found sense of hope and enthusiasm for doing great things in the midwifery profession….

Until next time..🤚🇨🇦🇬🇧

 

If you would like to follow the progress of my work going forward..

Follow me via @SallyPezaro; The Academic Midwife; This blog

Until next time…Look after yourselves and each other 💚💙💜❤