Mary I am glad you have asked these questions. I have to say from personal
experience that it is very discouraging when one goes through the
application process, only to be rejected. I empathise with the WA midwives
who have not 'met the criteria'. (sounds like the criteria for birth
centres, doesn't it?)
I and other independent practitioners in Victoria who belong to the MIPP
collective would say that we meet the criteria, although I can't say whether
we would pass the test. Those of us who are reasonably articulate would
probably be able to express what we do in a way that satisfies the censor.
Other midwives who do a wonderful job may not have the same skill in
writing. The word 'formal' bothers me. How formal? Perhaps Trish will
comment on that.
1. Articulate formal quality assurance initiatives.
MIPP members and other homebirth midwives in Vic have gathered statistics on
our births, and looked at the evaluation forms that our clients have filled
out. Jenny Parratt is presenting a couple of papers at Hobart in September.
2. Articulate formal self-evaluation. eg reflective practice journal
Yes, many of us write our stories. I doubt that this could be called
formal. And how deeply I reflect on a particular issue depends on my
sensitivities at the time. I am not only a midwife - there are all the
other life things happening at the same time.
3. Articulate formal processes of peer review.
A few midwives have on occasion got together for coffee to review a
particular 'case'. Most of the time it's telephone and e-mail. In writing
about our experiences on this list I believe we are engaging in peer review.
But it's not formal.
MIPP meetings occasionally have peer review, or case presentations. However
you can imagine that even in a small State like Vic, it's not easy to get
together. We usually meet in Brunswick, and usually every 2 months. People
travel several hours to be there. Sometimes it's only 4 or 5 of us. So
it's very patchy. The midwives in Mildura who are members of MIPP don't get
to meetings. We might see them at ACMI conferences.
I understand that the WA midwives need the acmi accreditation in order to
access public funding for homebirth. In Vic there are no such funds, and no
other benefits to being accredited.
I hope these thoughts have added to the wider understanding of the issues.
Homebirth midwives make easy targets, and there is a high attrition rate.
If the community and the profession want to keep the choice of homebirth
open, there needs to be support and protection for homebirth practice.
sincerely
Joy Johnston
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Mary Murphy
Sent: Wednesday, 7 July 1999 19:05
To: midwifery mailing list
Subject: ACMI Accreditation requirements.
Dear All,
I am writing on behalf of some W.A. midwives who have not met the
criteria in the following areas:
1. Articulate formal quality assurance initiatives.
2. Articulate formal self-evaluation. eg reflective practice journal
3. Articulate formal processes of peer review.
Use the cues "Plans/Process/Outcomes" "evaluation tools"
Now I know I have been in private practice for 16 years and kept my nose
clean and done lots of other worthy things in life, however I have never
been able to make head nor tale of those requirements when I see them on an
application form. It seems that we have none of those processes in place
and would like to have some advice from those midwives who successfully
articulate/demonstrate the above. I am particularly interested in midwives
who practice autonomously and therefore have no-one directly observing or
evaluating their practice, and those who have obtained ACMI accreditation by
successfully demonstrating/articulating the above to the satisfaction of the
accreditation panel.
Yours in anticipation, Mary Murphy
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