The CMNH offers interprofessional educational initiatives that model interprofessional practice and include unique, hands-on, learning opportunities in normal birth. Our projects are always led by a team of family physicians, obstetricians, midwives, nurses and doula educators and include:
a four-hour, hands-on, normal birth workshop co-taught every six weeks at BC Women’s Hospital as well as in the Northern and Island medical programs. Medical students (ob/gyn clerkship), midwifery (2nd year), nursing students (3rd year), and international medical graduates (IMG) participate.
interdisciplinary student groups rotate through OSCE-like stations to experience obstetrical skills including suturing, hospital triage, delivering a baby, and palpating actual pregnant women’s bellies. The 2010 event included more than 100 students from medicine, nursing and midwifery, the largest turn out to date for this annual event.
fifteen medical, nursing and midwifery students are selected each year to participate in this program (accredited in the faculty of medicine). The students work in interprofessional teams to provide doula support to women from the Fir Square Combined Care Unit at BC Women’s Hospital, as well as from the Sheway Project in the Downtown Eastside. Fir Square is an in-patient maternity care unit at B.C. Women’s Hospital which cares for women struggling with addictions in pregnancy, as well as after the birth of their babies. The students meet for 3 hours each week, with Lehe Elarar of the CMNH, and a guest community member for presentations and discussions to prepare them for supporting women during labour. In 2009/2010, 9 births were attended providing valuable support to women who may have been marginalized in some way.
an interprofessional rotation on the SRMC unit which allows students from medicine, midwifery and nursing to experience collaboration in maternity care practice. The students participate in a combination of interprofessional teaching sessions addressing common areas of antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum care and real life experience with women on the unit. To date, 80 students have completed the SRMC rotation.
a four-hour interprofessional workshop on emergency childbirth for the trainers of fire rescue personnel from fire departments throughout the lower mainland. This workshop provides both classroom and OSCE station hands-on learning in normal childbirth, attended in emergency situations out-of-hospital attended by fire fighters.
15-20 short clips of women’s thoughts on giving birth and maternity care in BC will be produced and played throughout the upcoming CMNH conference “What is the Future of Birth and Why does it Matter?”. We plan to film a diverse group of women to capture a range of experiences, including rural and remote and marginalized populations.