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relationships are acknowledged as compatible or not; adjustments can easily be made if required. The important thing is to recognise if there is a problem and address it. This requires a confident, self-compassionate and resilient individual and highlights that appropriate student recruitment is vital.There is undisputed evidence to suggest that healthcare practitioners cope better than others with the challenge of the demands placed upon them, and there are also those who actively flourish and thrive. Resilience has been defined as:
. . . The inner strength, competence, optimism, flexibility and the ability to cope effectively when faced with adversity...
(Wagnild 2009, p. 105)Control is crudely, a cognitive ability, which requires knowledge and skill. It is seen as impor- tant when coping within the workplace and cited as a major cause of burnout if lost. Resilience has a core philosophy, which makes individuals take responsibility for their own success or failure, and it is a measure of self-worth (self-compassion). It focuses on emotional flexibility, responsiveness, strengths and resilience. Compassion has been defined as:
. . . Being open to and moved by the suffering of others, so that one desires to ease their suf- fering. It also involves offering others’ patience, kindness and non-judgmental understand- ing, recognising that all humans are imperfect and make mistakes...
(Neff 2003, p. 224)Buddhist belief regards the self and others as interdependent; therefore to be compassionate to others is not possible without compassion for the self (Baer 2010).University students must be adult learners who must develop and enhance their own learn- ing skills. Student midwives therefore should identify their needs; self-assess and be able to seek help and support proactively. Seeking help retrospectively, following poor performance in assessments, indicates earlier missed opportunities. There are many people within the univer- sity and the clinical practice areas who can help and support students; it is the student’s role to seek them out when necessary. The programme The midwifery degree is a degree of two awards: first, the professional award, Midwifery, whichis regulated by the NMC, and must adhere to all the NMC documentation, standards and guid- ance. The second award is the academic award of a degree, which is regulated and monitored by the university where it is being studied.With the professional recognition of becoming a midwife, having evidenced all the require- ments and competences to be admitted to the professional register and achieve the University’s 11 academic standard to be awarded a degree, comes an increase in workload and commitment.Despite being forewarned of this, this creates a major struggle for some student midwives.There are two lengths of programme. One is 156 weeks in length, or 3 years (NMC 2009); the other is where the student is already registered with the NMC as a nurse level 1 (adult). The length of this programme is not less than 78 weeks full time. Both student groups are
pre- registration
midwifery students, who will be competent to practise, at the point of registration. The theoretical content is driven by the Standards (NMC 2009); the clinical practice is driven by local provision and the EU Directive. The university processes generate the structure, assess- ment, teaching style and resources. All universities that provide pre-registration midwifery must appoint a Lead Midwife for Education (LME).
. . . The lead midwife for education is an expert in midwifery education and has the knowledge andskills todeveloppolicy, aswellastoadviseothersonallmattersrelatingtomidwiferyeduca- tion. She should liaise directly with commissioning and purchasing agencies for midwifery edu- cation, as well as being involved in any decisions regarding midwifery education...
(NMC 2009, p. 8)Midwifery lecturers are practising midwives who hold a recognised teaching qualification. Universities who run