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toughness (Clough and Strycharczyk 2012), can foster clinical reasoning and critical decision-making abilities, which are vital in this profession. Midwives must have the ability to question and challenge practices and make difficult decisions based on available evidence and the preferences of women in their care (Parsons and Griffiths 2007).There is currently a great deal in the press about the kind of skills and attitudes healthcare professionals need to have. This is related to the recent Francis Report (2010) and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) (2013) report into maternity services at Barrow in Furness. This has led to the Department of Health (DH) strategy to set out the requirement for care and compas- sion around those who are in the caring profession (DH 2012).Further reading activityRead: The vision for midwifery care within the Department of Health strategy.[Available online] http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/6c-midwifery.pdfActivity 1.3 ‌Think about how you can be caring and compassionate at all times and what aspects of the 9caring environment could challenge this?Effective communication is crucial. Midwives work in a multidisciplinary environment and therefore must be able to consistently communicate accurately and clearly with women, their families and to other professionals. Being able to communicate effectively both verbally, and in writing to ensure that all care provided is safe, is essential. The NMC (2009) standards reflect this requirement and assessment aims to reduce and challenge barriers. Professional expectations As soon as a person commences a professional programme that on completion will allow entryonto the NMC register, then their behaviour is under scrutiny. This behaviour is set out in NMC documents, which are periodically updated. The code of practice and the NMC guide for stu- dents sets out clearly what is classed as acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.Further reading activityRead: The Code (NMC 2008a) and student guidance on professional conduct (NMC 2011a) andthink about what aspects of your behaviour you might need to change in order to meet these codes.One of these aspects of behaviour may be the use of social networking sites. Practitioners and students must not put anything on these sites that they would not be happy for the entire world to see. This has implications in relation to the confidentiality of patients and other health- care workers, as well as to appropriate language and comments (Jones and Hayter 2013). The transition to a student midwife can be a challenging one and it is useful to revisit the code and student guidance, as well as discussing this with midwifery lecturers and midwives. Life as a student midwife Further reading activityRead: Lisa McTavish’s article about her experiences as a student midwife and think about whatlessons you can learn from her story and write your own story.McTavish, L. (2010) ‘A student midwives’ experience in the 21st century’
British Journal of Midwifery
18 (1), pp. 43–47.Student midwives often face challenging times on their demanding midwifery programmes. This is good preparation for post-registration practice: some ‘mental resilience’ is needed for students and midwives alike. This is currently more challenging due to the latest changes to the NHS structure which are underway and the financial situation within the NHS. This means thatstudents and midwives need to develop coping strategies in order to manage the working10 environment, whilst still giving good quality care.Further reading activityFor more information on the latest changes in the NHS, read: The New NHS 2013.[Available online] http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/about/Pages/nhsstructure.aspxAs midwifery education is very intimate in its delivery and practice, ‘people’ skills are para- mount. This is where, arguably, the emotionally intelligent element plays a significant role in course progression. Generally, mentor/student