17/04/09
Faculty selected to collaborate in research on the future of midwifery education
The Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences has been selected to collaborate in an important research project to assess how midwife education improves quality of care, which could have an impact on the future of midwifery education.
The project, funded by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
, has been awarded to a team led by the University of Nottingham in collaboration with the Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences and the Universities of Glamorgan, Plymouth and Robert Gordon.
The Midwives in Teaching (MINT) research project will investigate:
- the various models for delivering pre-registration midwifery education
- the specific contributions to practice learning made by midwife teachers
- how aspects of the curriculum, teaching and learning support affect the quality of care provided by newly qualified midwives
- the value brought to the care of families by midwife teachers.
A key outcome of the project will be to define measures that can be used to identify any added value that midwife teachers bring to the quality of newly registered midwives.
Commenting on the award of the project, Dr Val Collington, Head of the Faculty's School of Midwifery and Child Health, said, "We are delighted to have the opportunity to collaborate in this high profile research. This study will provide new and important insights into the role of the midwife teacher in delivering a high quality of care to mothers and babies".
The design of the study will include a UK wide survey, case study work in six universities and a phase to follow a sample of newly qualified midwives into their first six months of practice.
The MINT project is being undertaken over 18 months, between March 2009 and September 2010.
- Find out more about the School of Midwifery and Child Health