Learning resource for professionals offering antenatal and newborn care

Abstract

Health ExpectationsVolume 9, Issue 2 p. 188-190 Open Access Learning resource for professionals offering antenatal and newborn care First published: 08 May 2006 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1369-7625.2006.00398.xAboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Valerie Musson RN BA (Hons) MSc Nursing and Jill Rogers BA MPhil HSHS, Maris Centre, 45 Hauxton Road, Cambridge CB2 2LT, UK.E-mail: musson@health-homerton.ac.uk Screening Choices: A learning resource for professionals offering antenatal and newborn care November 2005, 2nd ed., ISBN 0-9543684-3-6 Introduction Screening Choices is a new open learning programme developed to meet the needs of a range of health professionals offering antenatal and newborn care. It was commissioned by the UK National Screening Committee and developed by the Cambridgeshire-based partnership of Homerton School of Health Studies and Jill Rogers Associates over an 18-month period (Fig. 1). Figure 1Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Screening Choices programme opening page. The programme was launched in July 2005 by senior figures, including: Dr Fiona Adshead, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health Sir Muir Gray, Programme Director, UK National Screening Committee Meryl Thomas, Honorary Vice-President, Royal College of Midwives and Co-chair of Maternity Standards, National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services. Informed choice is a challenging, multifaceted and complex construct. The Screening Choices programme aims to enhance the knowledge and skills needed to ensure women and their families can make informed choices about offers of screening during pregnancy and in the immediate post-natal period. Many of these choices are stressful and raise real anxieties and dilemmas for all those involved. Healthcare professionals play a vital role helping women understand available options, the consequences of different choices and in providing support without directing their decisions. Learning materials The programme delivers innovative, flexible and accessible learning materials in a user-friendly format. These materials support healthcare professionals and other key personnel in enabling women, their partners and families to make informed choices about antenatal and newborn screening and to consider the implications of that screening. The materials comprise seven key units of learning focusing on different aspects of screening and informed choice. Together they provide an interesting and comprehensive package that complements the condition-specific materials developed by, for example, the Down's Syndrome, the Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia and the Newborn Hearing national screening programmes. The seven units of learning are: • Informed choice for everyone: valuing diversity • Screening in antenatal and newborn care • The parent perspective on screening • Informed choice in antenatal and newborn screening • Getting the best from the consultation • Understanding and communicating risk • Understanding genetics. The learning materials were prepared with input from a wide range contributors, including subject experts, practitioners, antenatal and newborn screening programme managers, regional antenatal screening coordinators and organizations including the Public Health Genetics Unit, Cambridge Genetics Knowledge Park, Cambridge, the East of England Screening QA Reference Centre, the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine and Department of Public Health and Primary Care. The parent perspective was provided through engagement with the Antenatal Results and Choices organization and the DipEx project. The programme was also subjected to an independent disability and cultural audit. The units of learning are presented as PDF documents which can be worked through on screen or when printed. In addition to the core text, each unit includes: • case scenarios • activities for practice-based focused learning • a tool for self-assessment • a workbook for recording learning • lists of references and other useful resources. The programme as a whole also offers healthcare organizations a way to meet their policy goals by ensuring staff have the necessary skills to provide appropriate antenatal and newborn screening choices to women and families. This has been mapped against a range of current NHS initiatives including the Maternity clinical risk standards,1 National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services,2 the NICE antenatal care guidelines3 and the Knowledge and Skills Framework.4 Website The programme is available in CD format (for Windows and Mac operating systems) and can also be accessed via the UK National Screening Committee CPD website. In addition to the core units, the programme includes a Toolbox which guides the user to evidence-based articles, and links to a wide range of related websites including those focusing on: • condition-specific screening programmes provided by UK National Screening Committee antenatal and newborn • professional organizations • parent-focused organizations. There is also information relating to reflective practice, continuing professional development and professional revalidation. Feedback To date, approximately 10 000 CDs have been distributed across England. Feedback has been extremely positive: I am really pushed at work doing more clinical shifts and trying to perform in my screening role, but have found this package the most fantastic and motivating resource… I am working through all of the units at core level and advanced for the ones that I think are more pertinent to me... I have printed everything off and will be using this as my bible!! (Midwife Screening Co-ordinator, local NHS Hospital Trust) I… am writing to let you know how impressed I am with its content. I found it most helpful and the information included was very beneficial. It has widened my knowledge on screening immensely and [I would like] more copies to enable our Health Visitors to have equal access to this valuable resource. I am going to promote [it] at our next locality Health Visitors meeting, as I think many of us could benefit from this. (Community practitioner: health visitor support) Facilitated workshop Whilst the learning materials can be studied independently, a key expectation is that individuals should participate in a locally facilitated interactive workshop. This focuses on the consultation with the woman, and considers critical incidents and clinical dilemmas. As part of the national roll-out strategy a series of trainer preparation workshops have been delivered, with approximately 200 practitioners participating. The CD contains a comprehensive package of materials for use by local trainers. The programme is inter-professional in its orientation and will be of interest to all professionals offering antenatal and newborn care, including midwives, obstetricians, ultrasonographers, general practitioners, practice nurses, school nurses, health visitors and other public health practitioners. Although primarily intended for qualified healthcare practitioners, the programme also has the potential to be embedded within pre- and post-registration programmes of study offered by universities, medical schools and postgraduate medical deaneries. Availability The full programme is available on CD (free of charge within England) and via the UK National Screening Committee CPD website: http://www.screening.nhs.uk/cpd/webfolder/web_nsc.html. Copies of the CD may be obtained by contacting jra@easynet.co.uk or musson@health-homerton.ac.uk. A small charge will be made for CD requests outside England. Information about other related educational activities can be obtained by visiting the following website: http://www.screening.nhs.uk/cpd/index.htm References 1 NHS Litigation Authority. Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts: Maternity Clinical Risk Standards. http://www.nhsla.com/RiskManagement/CnstStandards/ , 2005. [Accessed on 15 April 2006.] Google Scholar 2 Department of Health. National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services. London: DoH, 2004. Google Scholar 3 National Institute for Clinical Excellence. Routine Care for the Healthy Pregnant Woman. London: NICE, 2003. Google Scholar 4 Department of Health. The NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework. London: DoH, 2004. Google Scholar Volume9, Issue2June 2006Pages 188-190 FiguresReferencesRelatedInformation