Modern trends of the education in midwives – new methods in practical training in midwifery
Stefania Andrascikova and Lubica Rybarova
University of Prešov, Slovakia
: J Womens Health, Issues Care
Abstract
Introduction: The paper focuses on the innovative teaching methods for clinical training in midwifery, suggests their advantages and disadvantages, and demonstrates their use in the teaching process by means of examples. The traditional teaching approach still persists and exploits standard methods of learning and rote memorization, whereby a teacher explains the topic, and assigns students learning tasks. The teacher manages and controls the education – he is the object of the process, and students are only its subject. However, the current practice shows that it is necessary to alter the methods. Objective: The main aim of this presentation is to show, how we should lead students to critical thinking, independent decisionmaking, use of prior knowledge, and active learning, and thus limit obtaining knowledge by memorizing. An innovative approach means that students should acquire their abilities, skills, and competences independently, and become able to search different ways and options while performing tasks and solving problems. Methods: The educational process should be based on the teacher-student cooperation. Implementation of the new teaching methods such as cooperative learning (the jigsaw technique), practice-oriented workshops, interactive evaluation, group discussions, e.g. colloquia, mind maps, clinical case studies, problem-based teaching, role plays, and E-learning could help to improve the quality of the educational process in midwifery. It means that teachers should offer tasks and issues to their students, but students should be main problem–solvers under their teachers´ supervision. A significant characteristic feature of the new methods is educational activities without teachers´ directive attitudes including students´ independent work under supervision. Results & Conclusion: It can be proved that modern methods introduced to the education of midwives make the learning process more effective and students acquire skills and knowledge, which they can use in clinical practice. True-to-life conditions, model situations, issues of clinical practice used during teaching in laboratory conditions, analyzing situations and phenomena that students can experience later time reliably simulate situations in the clinical practice. Thus, students obtain abilities to deal with them within the patient-health care provider encounter, search problems actively and independently, and solve them in their clinical practice.
Biography
Stefania Andrascikova has completed her Graduation in Nursing at the Faculty of arts, Comenius University in Bratislava- Slovakia in 1988. In 1998, she completed Bachelor degree in Midwifery; Master’s degree in Public Health in 2002 and; PhD degree and received her Habilitation in Nursing in 2009. Since 2004, she works in Faculty of Healthcare of Prešov University as a Teacher in the Department of Midwifery and held the position as Vice Dean for Education. She guarantees the subjects of Midwifery, Public Health, and Applied Psychology for Nursing and Midwifery study programmes. She worked as a Teacher for 20 years and Supervisor for the clinical practice in faculty´s hospital in Presov. She is member of committee for professional projects especially for e-learning education and other fields in health care professions in thematic areas - new technologies, methods and forms in health care education in the national cultural and educational grant agency. She is member of committee for young doctors and researchers in Presov University and member of committee for accreditation of study programmes in Nursing and Midwifery in the Ministry of Health Slovak Republic. She was participated in professional mobility in Israel, Germany, Slovenia, Portugal, Malta and Czech Republic. She has published three monographies and several articles in Slovak and foreign journals and she is main investigator of educational projects especially in midwifery e-learning.
