The Midwifery Upskilling (MIDUS) Course was developed in consultation with remote area midwives and doctors, following an identified need for a short course that specifically targeted midwives and obstetric trained GPs working in a remote or isolated setting.
The MIDUS Course aims to provide midwives and doctors in remote, isolated and/or rural settings with the skills and knowledge to offer culturally safe and evidence-based maternity care across the childbirth continuum. It provides an overview of current evidence informed best practice in antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care, all from the perspective of evidence informed, high quality care, contextualised to the rural and remote setting.
Key strengths of CRANAplus’ MIDUS Course
- It is a very interactive with facilitated small group, student led learning, with four case study rotations and four skill station rotations which cover PPH, NNR, Breech and Shoulder Dystocia.
- There is very little didactic learning e.g. lectures. Instead, we aim to tap into and build on an existing knowledge base and established midwifery scope of practice, and encourage course participants to bring their own context, knowledge and skills to the table for discussion and shared learning.
- It includes updates on normal pregnancy, birth and postnatal care, as this is often ‘bread and butter’ for the remote midwife, and ensures that if normal parameters are well understood, then variations can be quickly identified and managed, and/or escalated for consultation/referral/retrieval as required. Most other courses focus on maternity emergencies, which are critical, but only part of a midwifes’ scope of practice, and in particular for the rural and remote midwife who may work in isolation, neither have access to updates and education in their remote setting, and often work without a great deal of collegial support on a regular basis.
- All content is contextualised to the rural and remote maternity care provider. As we know, there is no point to suggest a pathway, or emergency response, a piece of equipment, which is just not available in a small, low-resourced setting.
- It is the only course specifically designed for the rural and remote maternity service provider and adds the rural and remote context to the content of current, evidence informed practice. We closely reference the CARPA Women’s Business Manual, The Primary Clinical Care Manual, along with the NSQHS Standards, and those of other relevant professional bodies, and refer closely to the ACM National Midwifery Guidelines for Consultation and Referral, to guide and support the practitioner.
There are, of course, other excellent courses available for midwives by other providers. However, these are mostly run in the big city centres, are conducted in situ with discrete teams, cover mostly emergency management, and are not contextualised to the rural and remote setting.
The CRANAplus MIDUS Course is offered across the country, approximately five times per year, and runs over almost three days, from 3pm on Day 1, then two very full days on Days 2 & 3.
There are pre-course and on course assessments which cover theory, and on course practical assess- ments, which assist the course participant to focus and direct their learning into key areas and enable them to feel confident that they are updated in both theoretical and clinical knowledge.
