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Background: Resilience has been considered a key personal characteristic for a healthcare professional to be able to cope with the demands of their profession. There is a paucity of research that has considered resilience in midwifery and none has used a resilience scale over the length of the midwifery programme. Methods: A resilience scale was used with one cohort of student midwives on five occasions throughout their midwifery programme. Results: The mean across all of the five scale scores for the 15 participants was 122 (range of mean scores:92–135). The majority of participants (n=13) had average, moderate or moderately high resilience and all student midwives except one increased their resilience between the first and fifth completion of the scale. Conclusions: The true resilience scale is a useful tool to use in midwifery undergraduate programmes to determine the development of resilience in student midwives. Importantly, the scale could be used at an early opportunity to identify any support needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student midwives have to complete a demanding programme to become a midwife, and therefore it is questioned whether they need resilience to be successful. The study's aims were to explore whether resilience developed in one cohort of 25 undergraduate student midwives and what the concept of resilience meant to them. This study adopted a longitudinal case study approach in one Higher Education Institution in England during the first 18 months of their programme. The study used Wagnild and Young's (1993) (updated 2015) True Resilience Scale©, administered on three occasions. Additionally, four focus groups were conducted twice and six participants were involved in one-to-one interviews to explore issues raised in the focus group. SPSS Pairwise comparisons revealed that there were significant differences in True Resilience Scale© scores between the first and the second completion (p=0.034), and time one and time three (p=0.002); there were no significant differences between time two and time three (p=1.0). In this cohort of student midwives, the scale showed that the majority had developed their resilience during the study and this was supported in what the students reported. A conceptual model, which defines resilience for student midwives, is presented to strengthen how resilience can be supported and developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Portfolios are a frequently used tool for recording, cataloguing and presenting reflections for revalidation purposes, and are used by a number of healthcare professions. More recently, with the development of online resources, the webfolio has become more commonplace in midwifery undergraduate programmes. This article will review the literature in relation to portfolios and outline the key stages in the development and implementation of a webfolio in a midwifery undergraduate programme. The audit of compliance in students and sign off midwifery mentors for the first cohort who used the webfolio will be presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In higher education, the term 'values-based learning' is used to emphasise aesthetic, values-based knowing; that is, the art, rather than the science, of caring. In midwifery, aesthetic learning is premised on the creation of meaningful relationships and the use of knowledge and skills that recognise individuality and support humanity. Therefore, it was deemed important to develop a midwifery curriculum that recognised the aesthetic values of care and compassion and those of midwifery educators. The new midwifery curriculum was developed over a 2-year period of iterative discussion with the midwifery academic team and wide consultation with stakeholders. This article presents a pragmatic approach to designing and developing values-based learning opportunities in a midwifery undergraduate programme in one English university, and how a values-based midwifery curriculum model was conceptualised and made central to the learning and teaching strategy for a new curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the obvious need for student midwives to be exposed to meaningful learning experiences that consider engagement in the wider context of international health care and the associated benefits, there is a lack of information on how this is achieved within midwifery curricula both nationally and internationally. At the University of Nottingham, work has been undertaken to ensure the midwifery curriculum is internationalised and global mobility is promoted to all midwifery students. Processes and strategies have been put in place to encourage students' mobility including the Erasmus+ programme, elective placements and short-term ad hoc international opportunities. Thanks to the strategies that have been implemented, the Division of Midwifery has seen an increase in students undertaking an international placement from 5% in 2013/14 to 18% in 2015/16. Moving forward, future works will aim to develop 'virtual mobility' projects and evaluate the Erasmus+ programme in conjunction with European partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Student midwives face a number of challenges during their pre-registration programme, both academically and in clinical practice. Aims: This pilot study aimed to examine the role that resilience might play in supporting student midwives to continue on the midwifery undergraduate programme. Method: Five second-year student midwives volunteered to take part in the pilot. All five students completed Wagnild’s updated True Resilience Scale (TRS), and partipated in a focus group and a one-to-one interview. Findings: One participant scored ‘moderate’ on the TRS, three ‘moderately high’ and one ‘high’. Six main themes emerged from the focus group and interviews: defining and recognising resilience; building and developing resilience through reflection; developing resilience through positive and negative encounters on the midwifery programme; the relevance of significant others; transferable resilience; and different styles of resilience. Conclusions: The pilot offered insights into the significance of resilience and student midwives that will contribute to the main study. This initial study has generated some findings that are reflected in the broader resilience literature. The characteristics of resilience were articulated and the data contained examples of a range of challenges and the role resilience might play. This pilot is to be followed up by a study that will follow one cohort over the first 18 months of the midwifery programme to get a longitudinal view of the midwifery students’ resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transforming interprofessional groups through education resources (TIGER) has released the 'parenting and disability' materials as open education resources to be used by a range of practitioners in the care of parents who live with a disability. They are particularly relevant to the maternity services. The materials can be used by midwives independently or with other health professionals in a virtual learning environment. This case study highlights the benefits of the TIGER repository for midwives continuing education. INSETS: Advantages of developing an open education resource;Sample of the students¿ comments about the parenting and ...;Feedback in relation to design of the TIGER Repository;Could you be a TIGER Champion? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Second-year student midwives attended a two-day interprofessional learning set based in a deprived area of an inner city. Through a case study model they considered how well the interprofessional team was meeting the clients' needs. The groups of students offered solutions to these complex cases. Through immersion within the locality and involving service users students were better able to appreciate the challenges of addressing inequalities of health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the integration of electronic learning in interprofessional education (IPE). It notes the authors' experience of the Carpe Diem workshop at the University of Leicester in Leicester, England, in which they were tasked to develop an educational programme for a patient who suffered a stroke, while applying principles in inter-professional collaboration. It cites the obstacles faced by the program and how it was resolved by the help of the information technology (IT) personnel

The article discusses the collaborative community intravenous (IV) therapy service from the Clinical Nurse Specialists for Intravenous Therapy at Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust (HRCH). Particular focus is given to how the collaborative IV service aims to provide safe, effective care close to home. The use of elastomeric pumps to deliver appropriate IV antibiotics in the service is also noted.

The following case studies describe the use of the Smith Medical implanted ports and Gripper huber needles. Smiths Medical produces a range of implanted ports that include the Port-A-Cath and P.A.S. Port Power P.A.C. systems. The ports are easy to implant, maintain and remove. They are lightweight and have features that are designed to reduce complication rates, including a highly compressed septum to increase needle retention, a titanium chamber with a gouge-resistant floor, a bevelled chamber for optimal rinsing, a round shape to avoid overturning and the Ultralock connection. They are available in various configurations, with single and dual lumens. There is also a needle for power-injection of contrast media for certain types of diagnostic imaging scans (Smith Medical 18). The Gripper Plus needle is designed with an emphasis on safety, effectiveness and patient comfort. These non-coring needles have a bevelled tip that sits flush with the back of the port without impeding the flow of fluid; this also prevents holes forming in the septum (Barton et al, 2018). The needle is available in different gauges and lengths, which can be tailored to reflect individual patient needs and the amount of adipose tissue present. It is essential to select the correct size, which will reduce the risk of dislodgement. The Gripper needles are compatible with paclitaxel and lipid solutions, and are recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) (1999). They are compatible with both the Port-a-Cath and P.A.S. Port Power P.A.C. systems, and can be ordered from the same manufacturer, which has the potential to make ordering, training and support more efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]