The hospital birth environment: Impacts on midwifery practice during labour and birth

Abstract

Nursing andMidwiferyAccreditationCouncil (ANMAC)having regulatory responsibility for the development and assessment of these standards under the course accreditation system. As a key influencer in the revision of these standards, the midwifery profession must now set a clear and consistent agenda about what we believe is essential for midwifery education in Australia. The professional practice requirements are often viewed as the most contentious issue, however the midwifery profession needs to also view the standards more holistically and also consider benchmarking to international standards. There is limited available literature on midwifery education standards. The current ANMAC standards (ANMC, 2009) are the definitive standards for Australianmidwifery curricula,whilst the InternationalConfederationofMidwives (ICM) (2010) provide Global Standards for Midwifery Education. Both these standards provide clear guidelines on requirements, however debate continues over the complex issue of numbers, hours and types of midwifery experiences that should be required for midwifery registration programs. The current Australian standards require students to complete a number of continuity of midwifery care experiences. These experiences were first established in the inaugural midwifery education standards (ACM, 2001) and were viewed as an opportunity for midwifery students to experience continuity of midwifery care. There are serious implications for the future of midwifery education in Australia if the professional experience requirements are reduced for pre-registration midwifery education programs. The future for midwifery education in Australia relies on considered discussion and leadership to ensure that these standards provide the best possible opportunity formidwifery students to meet competency standards.