1

SOMSA - Midwifery Education: A new dawn- seeking new approaches

towards 2015 and beyond

Elgonda Bekker, SOMSA &ICM Education Standing Committee

2

Midwifery education new developments

• International standards for midwifery education

• International standards for midwifery regulation

• Essential competencies for basic midwifery education

• Education standing committee• Skills/equipment lists Nov 2012

3

Triple Gap identified by SOWMR

• Competencies:Not enough fully qualified midwives• CoverageEMOC services- poorly staffed and equipped• AccessAccess issues from women’s perspectives are

often not addressed

4

Importance of triad of ERA

• Education, regulation and professional association

• Education: produce midwives proficient to practice all the essential competencies

• Optimal standards are unmet• Need to improve: Curricula, faculty,

educational resources and supervised clinical practice

5

Recommendations from report

Regulatory bodies:• Protect the title “midwife” and establish scope of

practice• Establish criteria for entry, educational standards

and practice competencies• Accredit schools and education criteria• License and re-license midwives, maintain codes

of ethics, codes of conduct and manages sanctioning

6

Recommendations from report cont.

Midwifery training institutions:• Curricula that produce graduates proficient in all

essential competencies• Use ICM standards to ensure theory- practice

balance• Recruit faculty, maintain their competencies in

midwifery and transformative education• Promote research and development of leadership

7

SOMSA

• Continuing work with SANC, Laws committee- scope of specialist midwife practice

• Linking with DENOSA- SOMSA not functioning as trade union

• Resource and advisory capacity

8

Questions

• 1) Nurse or midwife?

9

2) Does our education address the needs and context?

10

3) Competence: Knowledge, skills, professional behaviour and clinical

judgement translated in care

11

Philosophy and model of care

12

Madness?

13