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Grading of practice is a mandatory element of programmes leading to registration as a midwife in the United Kingdom, required by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. This validates the importance of practice by placing it on an equal level with academic work, contributing to degree classification. This paper discusses a scoping project undertaken by the Lead Midwives for Education group across the 55 Higher Education Institutions in the United Kingdom which deliver pre-registration midwifery programmes. A questionnaire was circulated and practice tools shared, enabling exploration of the application of the standards and collation of the views of the Lead Midwives. Timing and individuals involved in practice assessment varied as did the components and the credit weighting applied to practice modules. Sign-off mentor confidence in awarding a range of grades had increased over time, and mentors seemed positive about the value given to practice and their role as professional gatekeepers. Grading was generally felt to be more robust and meaningful than pass/refer. It also appeared that practice grading may contribute to an enhanced student academic profile. A set of guiding principles is being developed with the purpose of enhancing consistency of the application of the professional standards across the United Kingdom., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aim: To reduce variations in grading of midwifery practice and enhance reliability of assessment., Background: The first phase of a national project showed there to be widely ranging interpretation and application of professional educational standards in relation to grading of practice in midwifery. This raised concerns about reliability and equity of professional assessment. The second phase therefore sought to achieve consensus on a set of core principles., Methods: A participatory action research process in two stages, using a Mini-Delphi approach. Educational leads from all 55 institutions delivering midwifery programmes nationally were invited to participate. Stage one: Questionnaire comprising 12 statements drawn from the findings of the initial phase of the project. Stage two: Face-to-face discussion., Findings: Statements were categorised based on questionnaire responses: 1) Consensus, 2) Staged consensus, 2) Minor modifications, 4) Controversial. Consensus was achieved on 11 core principles through group discussion; only one was omitted from the final set., Recommendations: All midwifery programmes nationally to incorporate the agreed core principles. Findings should be disseminated to the regulatory body to help inform changes to midwifery and nursing educational standards. The core principles may also contribute to curriculum development in midwifery and other professions internationally., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Research skills are developed in pre-registration midwifery curricula to enhance student midwives' appreciation and appropriate application of evidence within their midwifery practice. A spontaneous, innovative session was facilitated based on student experiences of non-midwifery placements, which helped demonstrate how qualitative data are analysed and can then be presented. By listening to each other's varied experiences, the students were able to relate their research knowledge to date with their collective 'empirical data' to enhance their understanding of presenting qualitative research. The paper reports on the learning process. It is an evaluation of the session, with student permission for publication gained; it is not research.

Many universities use a tripartite assessment within the pre-registration midwifery curriculum to grade student practice; we consider what the purpose and value are from an educational, formal and social perspective. By utilising research, policy documents and reflections from our experiences we explore the principles which underpin this judgement of student performance. After deliberation, we consider the increased presence in practice to have many benefits, but have evidence that it is not required educationally, to assess student practice, or to formalise the assessment process, since sign-off mentors are now better prepared to undertake this role. Thus, to support our increased partnership with practice, afforded by tripartite assessments, we offer an alternative., (Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This series of six articles is inspired by themes arising from the Royal College of Midwives' state of midwifery education report. The series explores the current landscape and challenges in educating the future midwifery workforce, particularly those that relate to the higher education workforce. This penultimate article examines the interplay between the practice and academic environments and the impact this has on both students and staff alike, particularly in the wake of changing standards for student supervision. The article explores whether the nature of being an educator in a health field such as midwifery is unique because of the need to support students through placement challenges when there are limitations on what higher education institutions can realistically influence. It also examines the 'extra' responsibilities put on midwifery education staff to support students by way of 'academic assessor' roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This series of six articles is inspired by themes arising from the Royal College of Midwives' state of midwifery education report. The series explores the current landscape and challenges in educating the future midwifery workforce, particularly those that relate to the higher education workforce. This fourth article looks at what it is like to work in midwifery education compared to in practice as a midwife. The challenges associated with transition, remuneration, workload, casual working and the breadth of the midwifery education role are examined, particularly in comparison to other disciplines in higher education. The article explores how educators can be better supported in their training of the future midwifery workforce, while assuring their own progression and equal treatment in an increasingly competitive and tightly regulated sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This series of six articles is inspired by themes arising from the Royal College of Midwives State of Midwifery Education report. The series explores the current landscape and challenges in educating the future midwifery workforce, particularly those that pertain to the higher education workforce. This second article highlights some of the inequalities experienced by the majority female midwifery education workforce and their impact, exploring how these inequalities are symptomatic of many of the inequalities women experience more generally within patriarchal structures. The article examines if midwifery education is 'women's work', and how this can work to impede progression in leadership, research and scholarship for midwifery academics. How midwifery curricula can influence the future academic workforce in dismantling inequality is also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]