Kowhaiwhai Teal Header

For midwives

Home ›... Learning and research › Learning › For midwives
Learning and research

For midwives

A team of midwifery educators lead the development of a full education calendar for Waikato DHB midwives. A more recent addition to the team is Lucy, a state-of-the art mannequin (realistic wireless childbirth simulator) specifically designed to assist with training on all stages of delivery and on rare emergency scenarios.

We employ more than 90 midwives, who provide full midwifery care across the scope of practice; they also provide support to lead maternity carers and specialist obstetric services. Career opportunities are available for experienced midwives looking for a new challenge and for graduate midwives looking to build experience.

Waikato DHB offers a full range of birthing options, from primary care birthing units to women presenting with complications in pregnancy requiring our specialised high dependency unit.

As a health provider in an district with 21 per cent of people identifying as Māori (compared to 16 per cent total New Zealand), we have a specific commitment to cultural support for Māori and Pasifika midwives, and for all midwives to deliver culturally appropriate care.

Our cultural support team provides support for Maori and Pasifika students, new graduates and existing midwives. Read more about the team here

These are held four times a year across the Waikato DHB district, bringing together Waikato DHB midwives and Lead Maternity Carers (LMCs) in meetings that focus on information sharing, professional support and education.

Midwifery Standards Review (MSR) is a unique quality assurance process developed by the New Zealand College of Midwives to reflect the partnership model of midwifery practice. MSR is a professional development process that supports midwives to reflect on their individual midwifery practice in a formal manner, with the assistance of specially educated reviewers. Midwives work with the reviewers to reflect on their midwifery practice and identify a professional development plan.
Midwifery Standards Review is designed to help the midwife to:

  • maintain professional standards of practice
  • Reflect on the partnership between women and midwives throughout the childbirth experience using the feedback received from women. Consumer feedback forms provide women with the opportunity to provide feedback on the care they received. The midwife and her reviewers use this information during her review.
  • Reflect on her work using the College Standards for Practice and Turanga Kaupapa as the accepted guiding principles of midwifery care in New Zealand
  • Demonstrate her commitment to ongoing professional development and accountability
  • Examine her practice with midwifery peers and consumers of midwifery services.

The College has produced a booklet ‘Midwifery Standards Review Handbook’ to assist and guide midwives through the review process. The Midwifery Standards review booklets are available to order through the College shop

Please note that the Waikato DHB is funding your review. Therefore should you withdraw from the scheduled date for any reason without giving NZCOM enough notice to reschedule there reviewers , then you are responsible to fund the cancellation fee and reschedule.

Contact information

If you are a Waikato hospital midwife, the local statistics you need in addition to the documentation from the College, can be obtained from the women’s health educators. If you are employed in a rural facility, you require the statistics from your local unit or if you are a caseload midwife, you need to have your own data.

Need help or guidance with obtaining hospital statistics or to guide you in preparing your portfolio
Contact your Midwifery educator at womenshealtheducators@waikatodhb.health.nz
Or
Visit her in person – office Level B3, Elizabeth Rothwell building

Documents

PROMPT involves midwives, emergency department nurses, medical ward nurses, hospital doctors and often local GPs and paramedics learning to work together in emergency scenarios. Given the wide geographical area covered by Waikato DHB, this training is vitally important to handle situations in rural and remote areas.

Quality Leadership Programme for Midwives is a nation professional development and career planning framework which Waikato DHB strongly supports. The QLP is also designed to recognise and reward midwives for their individual domain of practice and their contribution to their service.

  • Midwives are able to progress through domains of practice by preparing and submitting a portfolio to demonstrate how they meet the general requirements for a specific QLP domain of practice.
  • Midwives employed by Waikato DHB can find details on the staff intranet.

The Pebbles programme is a professional development programme for clinically-based registered health professionals provided by the Waikato DHB. Read more