Supporting failing students: how collaboration is key

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) standards state that the balance between clinical practice and theory in pre-registration midwifery programmes must be no less than 50% practice and no less than 40% theory, with students being supported by ‘midwife teachers’ and ‘midwife mentors’ (NMC, 2009:18). Midwife teachers are expected to be involved in learning and assessment in both academic and practice learning environments by engaging in activities such as link tutoring; facilitating mentor development and updates; having a part-time clinical role or being involved with practice development, midwives' continuing professional development (CPD) or practice-based research activities. Clinical practice is supervised and graded by sign-off mentors, ‘gatekeepers to the profession’ who confirm that students are clinically competent, commensurate with their level of training, and are fit for entry to the midwives' part of the register at the end of their 3-year programme of study. This article will consider the importance of a collaborative approach between universities and clinical placement providers, particularly in relation to supporting failing students as, while ‘there has to be the recognition that some students need to fail’, sometimes students just require more focused support and planning to achieve the required skills, competencies and confidence in practice

Interprofessional education : shared learning for collaborative, high-quality care

‘Working together for patients' is a core NHS value that aims to provide high quality care and a well-trained, cohesive workforce. Landmark reports have highlighted how poor interprofessional communication and teamwork can have devastating implications for standards of care and service user outcomes. By embedding interprofessional education (IPE) into the undergraduate curriculum, health and social care students are supported to develop the required knowledge, skills and attitudes to make a positive contribution to the interprofessional team, both as students and as qualified practitioners. This article will give an overview of the drivers for IPE in the UK and look at the challenges of developing an authentic IPE ‘collaborative curriculum’ using the University of Northampton as a case study

Redundant deliberation about negative consequences:decision inertia in emergency responders

Major emergencies are high-stakes, ambiguous, dynamic and stressful events. Emergency response commanders rely on their expertise and training to mitigate these factors and implement action. The Critical Decision Method was used to interview n=31 commanders from the Police (n=12), Fire and Rescue (n=15) and Ambulance Services (n=4) in the UK about challenges to decision making. Transcripts were analysed in two ways: (i) using thematic analyses to categorise the challenges to incident command; and (ii) grounded theory to develop a theoretical understanding of how challenges influenced decision processing. There were nine core challenges to incident command, themed into two categories: (i) those relating to the perceived characteristics of the incident itself; and (ii) those relating to uncertainties about (inter)personal dynamics of the team(s) responding. Consideration of challenges featured prominently in decision makers' prospective modelling, especially when thinking about goal accomplishment (i.e., 'What if I deploy now? What if I don't?'). Commanders were motivated to 'save life' (attack/approach goal), yet also sought to 'prevent harm' (defend/avoid goal). Challenges led commanders to redundantly deliberate about what to do; their prospective modelling was related to the anticipation of potential negative consequences that might arise both for acting (attack) and not acting (defend). Commanders identified this difficult trade-off, yet described how experience and their 'responsibility as a commander' gave them confidence to overcome decision inertia. Future research is needed to identify whether decision making training on how to anticipate and overcome difficult cognitive trade-offs would lead to more flexible and expedient commanding

How multi-agency teams made decisions in a simulated terror attack

In setting goals, seeking ‘least worst’ outcomes might lead to faster adaptation and decision-making, write Nicola Power and Laurence Aliso

Preparing for your preceptorship midwife interview: a student's guide

This is a very busy and exciting time in the academic year as third year students come to the end of their programme of study and start to apply for preceptorship posts. Whilst there remains a shortage of midwives (Royal College of Midwives (RCM, 2015), applications for posts are still very competitive and so candidates need to ensure they are as well prepared as possible to ensure they perform at their very best on the day. This article revisits what constitutes ‘a good midwife’ (Power, 2015) and then goes on to look at the recruitment process from the perspectives of the interviewer and the interviewee. Paula Briody, Matron for Intrapartum Care (Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust) is actively involved in the recruitment process for her Trust and outlines the key characteristics she looks for in candidates. The article also shares the experiences of third year students who have recently been interviewed for their first midwifery posts. It is hoped that hearing about the process from both perspectives might be useful for all third year students currently applying for their first jobs as they get one step nearer to realising their dreams of becoming a qualified midwife

How can universities ‘ASSIST’ student midwives with additional needs to achieve?

Previous articles have discussed how pre-registration midwifery education should prepare student midwives ‘to cope with the complex emotional and physical demands of their chosen profession’ (Power, 2016a:66); acknowledged the importance of a partnership approach to education through the ‘Clinicians in the Classroom’ series (Power, 2016b; Power and Rea, 2016; Power and Rooth, 2016; Power and Gupta, 2016; Power and Briody, 2016) and considered how best to support student midwives with appropriate learning and teaching strategies (Power and Farmer, 2017). What is yet to be considered is what extra support is available to students who have additional needs, disabilities or medical conditions that might impact on their studies. This article will take the University of Northampton as a case study and review the support services it has in place to support such students to meet their full potential. This service is called The Additional Student Support and Inclusion Services Team (ASSIST)

Midwifery preceptorship: the next chapter

At the point of registration, the NMC states student midwives should be able to ‘practise safely and effectively without the need for direct supervision’ (NMC, 2010:23). That said, newly qualified midwives should have a preceptorship period where knowledge and skills are consolidated whilst confidence in practice is developed. This period is not designed to meet shortfalls in pre-registration education; rather it is to support registrants during the transition from student to autonomous and accountable practitioner (Department of Health (DH), 2010a), in other words, the journey from novice to expert (Benner, 2001). This article will describe preceptorship within the context of midwifery practice and go on to summarise the roles and responsibilities of the ‘new registrant’, preceptor and employer. It will also discuss a case study preceptorship programme, with narratives from current preceptees and Practice Development Midwife Kate Ewing

Clinicians in the classroom: the bereavement midwife

The aim of pre-registration midwifery education is to prepare the student for the demanding and complex role they aspire to, using a range of teaching, learning and assessment strategies both in theory and practice. This article is part of a series exploring the role of clinicians as facilitators of learning in the classroom environment. This article explores the role of the bereavement midwife and discusses a teaching session conducted by bereavement midwife Tracy Rea with second-year students on the 3-year pre-registration midwifery programme. The session included input from a couple who shared their experiences of the loss of their son and their subsequent pregnancy. The article concludes with student feedback on the session, demonstrating the deep and meaningful learning that took place and confirming the value of bringing the realities of practice into the classroom environment