general glossary of terms eng

8/3/2019 General Glossary of Terms Eng

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Document completed: 2011 Due for review: 2017Location: Y:\Task Forces - Global Standards www.internationalmidwives.org

INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF MIDWIVESGlossary of Terms January 2011

Ability

Generic Definitions Used in ICMDocuments

The quality of being able to perform; a natural or acquired skill or talent

Specific ICM RegulationGlossary Terms

Specific ICM Education Glossaryterms

Accountability


Being responsible for ones decisions and actions


Midwifery accountability: A midwife must be accountable for herdecisions and actions. This accountability is primarily to the woman, butalso to the profession and to the public.


Accreditation


A process of review and approval by which an institution, programme orspecific service is granted a time-limited recognition of having metcertain established standards.



External review of midwifery programme: An evaluation of a midwiferyprogramme by qualified midwifery reviewers who have no role,responsibility, or conflict of interest within the programme beingevaluated.


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Admission



Admitting & discharge rights: authority granted to a community-basedmidwife by a hospital/birth centre governing board to provide care to awoman and her baby in the hospital/facility and to access hospital/facilityservices, including back up emergency services.


Admission: the process by which a person gains entry into a midwiferyprogramme as a student.

Adult learning


Involves active participation of a mature student in learning based on lifegoals and building upon/incorporating prior learning and life experience.



Assessment


A systematic process for collecting qualitative and quantitative data tomeasure, evaluate or appraise performance against specified outcomesor competencies.


Assessment of midwifery practice: the systematic procedure forcollecting qualitative and quantitative data to assess performance,progress or practice decisions/actions in relation to standards and/orcompetencies.


Assessment of student learning: The processes used to evaluatestudent performance and progress in achieving learning outcomes anddemonstrating required competencies.

Attitude


A persons views (values and beliefs) about a thing, process or personthat often leads to positive or negative reaction.




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Autonomous


Self-governing, self regulating: taking responsibility for ones decisionsand actions.


Autonomous midwife: is responsible and accountable for all decisionsmade and the care provided.


Autonomy


The condition of being autonomous.


Midwifes/Womans autonomy: The freedom of a woman and hermidwife to make choices about care and for those choices to berespected. It implies that individuals have competence to makeinformed decisions and that they should not be coerced or forced duringthe decision-making process.


Basic and social sciences


Content in a curriculum that provides the foundation for understandingthe human condition/behaviour.



Behaviour


A persons way of relating or responding to the actions of others or to anenvironmental stimulus




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Censure


An official rebuke of an individual, a document, or agency


Midwifery censure: official rebuke of a midwife by a MidwiferyRegulatory Authority.


Code of ethics


The rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the conductof the members of a profession.



Competence


The combination of knowledge, psychomotor, communication anddecision-making skills that enable an individual to perform a specifictask to a defined level of proficiency.

Specific ICM Regulation

Glossary Terms


Competency-based education


Teaching, learning and assessment activities that are sufficient toenable students to acquire and demonstrate a predetermined set ofcompetencies as the outcome of learning.




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Conditional


Imposing, depending on, or containing a condition.



Continuing Professional Development (CPD)


A range of learning activities through which health professionalsmaintain and develop throughout their career to ensure that they retaintheir capacity to practise safely, effectively and legally within their scopeof practice



Curriculum


A systematic process that defines the theoretical and practical content ofan education programme and its teaching and evaluation methods.



Equivalence


A term used to describe and/or determine a relationship of paritybetween one system, jurisdiction or institution and another with respectto the value and significance of courses, diplomas, certificates, licenses,and/or degrees. Ideally these relationships are mutual so that holders ofequivalent credentials are treated in the same way by institutions andoccupations.




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Formative evaluation


Ongoing assessment of learning with feedback to the student to improvewhile learning is in progress.



Guideline(s)


A detailed plan or explanation with illustrative examples of actions; aseries of steps to implement a standard. By definition, a guideline isnever mandatory in contrast to a standard that is expected to be met.



Health professional


An individual who is educated in a health discipline andlicensed/regulated to practice that discipline; e.g., midwives, nurses,medically qualified doctors and clinical officers.



Independent


Free from the influence, guidance, or control of another or others; self-reliant and autonomous.




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Knowledge


A fund of information that enables an individual to have confidentunderstanding of a subject with the ability to use it for a specificpurpose.



Lay member of a midwifery board


A person who is not and never has been registered as a midwife andwho is not a member of any other regulated health profession.



Legislation


A law or body of laws enacted.



Midwife


A person who meets the ICM Definition of the Midwife who has beeneducated and trained to proficiency in the ICM Essential Competenciesfor Basic Midwifery Practice demonstrates competency in the practice ofmidwifery and is legally permitted to use this title.




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Midwife clinical preceptor/clinical teacher


An experienced midwife engaged in the practice of midwifery who iscompetent and willing to teach, observe, and evaluate midwiferystudents during their practical/clinical learning.



Midwife teacher


A qualified, competent midwife who has successfully completed aprogramme of study and/or demonstrated competency in teaching thatincludes the art and science of curriculum development, methods oftheoretical and practical teaching of adult learners, and methods ofmeasurement and evaluation of student learning.



Midwifery competency


A combination of knowledge, professional behaviours and specific skillsthat are demonstrated at a defined level of proficiency in the context ofmidwifery education and/or practice.



Midwifery continuing competence


The ongoing capacity to demonstrate the knowledge, professionalbehaviour and specific skills necessary to work within the MidwiferyScope of Practice.




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Midwifery continuing education


Ongoing education undertaken from time of first qualification throughoutones career to enhance or maintain a midwifes level of competence.



Midwifery education


The process of preparing individuals to become competent midwivesand to maintain midwifery competence.



Midwifery education institutions


The organisation that provides the midwifery education programme. Theorganisation may include universities, polytechnics, colleges, schools,government ministries, NGOs.


Glossary Terms


Midwifery faculty (teaching staff)


The group of individuals who teach students in a midwifery programme,including midwife teachers, midwife clinical preceptors/clinical teachers,and experts from other disciplines.




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Midwifery fitness to practise


Evidence that a midwife has the knowledge, skills, professionalbehaviours, character and health status necessary to meet thestandards or competencies required for entry to the midwifery professionand for the practice of midwifery.



Midwifery governance


The system of management and administration used by the MidwiferyRegulatory Authority to exercise its authority to control and guide theprofession.



Midwifery partnership


Implies a relationship of trust, reciprocity, and equity between a midwifeand a woman. Each midwife strives to ensure that she does not impose

her professional and personal power onto women; rather, throughnegotiation a midwife seeks to establish relationships in which eachwoman is the primary decision-maker.



Midwifery philosophy


A statement of beliefs about the nature of midwifery practice ormidwifery education.




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Midwifery programme


An organised, systematic, defined course of study that includes didacticand practical learning needed to prepare competent midwives.



Midwifery registration/licensure


The legal right to practise and to use the title of midwife. It also acts as ameans of entry to the profession within a given jurisdiction.



Midwifery regulation


The set of criteria and processes arising from the legislation andprescribed by the Midwifery Regulatory Authority that controls thepractice of midwifery in a jurisdiction including identifying who can holdthe title midwife and practise midwifery.


Regulation includes registration/licensure, approval and accreditation ofeducational programmes, setting standards for practice and conduct andprocesses for holding midwives to account in relation to professionalstandards.


Midwifery scope of practice


Those activities which midwives are educated, competent andauthorised to perform.




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Midwifery stakeholder


Any person(s) or organisation that affect(s) or can be affected by thedecisions and actions of a midwife, the midwifery regulatory authority, amidwifery education programme or the ICM.



Midwifery standards review


A systematic process that enables the midwife, whatever her practicesetting, to reflect on her midwifery practice in relation to professionalstandards with midwifery colleagues and consumers of midwiferyservices.



Midwifery student


An individual who has met the criteria for selection and enrolment in amidwifery programme.



Midwifery supervision


Overseeing and supporting the practice of one midwife by another inorder to ensure the provision of safe and competent midwifery care.




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Natural justice


Procedural fairness including principles of good faith and lack of bias.



Practical experience


Student time in midwifery practice settings for acquiring and applyingknowledge, skills and behaviours and demonstrating competency in thepractice of midwifery



Practical sites


Variety of settings where midwifery care is practised; includesinstitutional, community and home settings.


Glossary Terms


Primary health care


First level health service, community-based and universally accessiblewith focus on health education and promotion and prevention ofindividual health problems.




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Public health


Supporting and improving population health and wellness through healthpromotion, disease prevention and community-based services.



Professional association


An association of practitioners of a given profession.



Provisional


Temporary; existing only until permanently or properly replaced



Protection of the public


The key function of a regulatory authority is to ensure the safety of thepublic through its regulatory mechanisms.


Midwifery protection of public: midwifery regulatory mechanisms ensurethe safety of mothers and babies.



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Quality improvement


An ongoing process for determining the effectiveness of actions andmaking needed improvements.



Register of midwives

Generic Definitions Used in ICM

Documents

The official list of qualified /licensed/certified midwives as identified by

the midwifery regulatory authority in a given jurisdiction; available to thepublic.



Recognition of prior learning


Procedures or processes whereby students are assessed and may begiven recognition for past learning and experience relevant to currentenrolment in a midwifery programme.



Regulatory authority (body/agency)


The organisation that regulates a specific profession and ensures thatthe public is protected against incompetent or unethical practitioners.An organisation authorised by law or by government to regulate theprofession.


Midwifery regulator: The person(s) who carry out the functions of theregulatory authority.



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Relicensing/Recertification


To issue a renewed license or certificate within a specified period oftime; generally linked to assessment of the practitioners continuingcompetence.



Reliability


Refers to the ability of a tool to measure the same way each time it isused related to a pre-determined standard.



Reliable assessment methods: Use of reliable measurement tools orstrategies that allow different people to use the same tool and come tothe same conclusions about progress in learning related to a givenlearning outcome.

Secondary education


Usually understood as completion of 12 years of study from thebeginning of primary education.



Self-governing


The capacity of being responsible and accountable for making decisionsand accepting responsibility for the outcomes of those decisions andactions.


Self-governing profession: In any jurisdiction where the midwiferyprofession is given a legal and social mandate to regulate itself.



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Skill


Ability learned through education and training or acquired byexperience, to perform specific actions or tasks to a specified level ofmeasurable performance.



Standard


A norm/uniform reference point that describes the required level ofachievement (performance).


Practice Standard: The desirable and achievable level of achievement(performance) against which actual practice is compared.


Education Standard: a norm/uniform reference point that describes therequired level of achievement (performance) for quality midwiferyeducation.

Summative evaluation


Assessment of learning at a given point in time to determineachievement of established learning outcomes.



Suspend/Suspended


To bar a midwife from practice for a period of time.


Specific ICM Education Glossary

terms


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Task


A specific component of a larger body of work



Teacher effectiveness


Evidence that a teacher is performing in a quality and timely way thatfacilitates student learning.



Temporary


Not permanent; provisional.



Validity


Refers to the ability of a tool to measure what it was intended tomeasure against a pre-determined standard.



Valid assessment methods: use of valid and reliable measurement toolsor strategies to measure student learning in a given content or practicalarea related to a specific learning outcome.


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Wellbeing


A persons freedom to live and work in an environment that promotesones basic human rights.

