The future can be expected! The first batch of midwifery undergraduates graduated

Recently, the first batch of midwifery undergraduates in China completed 4 years of study at Southern Medical University and successfully graduated. In 2017, with the approval of the Ministry of Education, Southern Medical University became one of the first four institutions in China to open undergraduate majors in midwifery, which is also the first time that midwifery has appeared in the undergraduate professional directory of the Ministry of Education in the form of independent majors. The graduation of the first batch of undergraduate students majoring in midwifery marks a breakthrough in China's midwifery higher education.

01

The graduates became fragrant

"I learned a lot of practical skills in midwifery and nursing, slowly changed some concepts and perceptions, and enhanced my sense of professional identity." Peng Bin is the only male student among the 2017 midwifery graduates of the School of Nursing of Southern Medical University, and he has signed an employment contract with the Southern Hospital of Southern Medical University.

Talking about why he chose the midwifery major when he enrolled, Peng Bin said that he liked the name of the major at the beginning and looked forward to pursuing a loving career in the future. "It was thought that midwives were only to help perinatal women successfully complete natural childbirth, but through learning, it was understood that from prenatal to postpartum, it is the service of midwives, and this profession is to help any woman with pregnancy needs." Peng Bin said that he chose to work directly after graduation, hoping to find problems and solve problems in his work and promote the development of midwifery.

Zhai Jianwei, a teacher in the Department of Midwifery at the School of Nursing of Southern Medical University, told reporters that "male midwives have certain advantages in some aspects, and the number is not large, so they will be targeted for the situation of students."

Gong Chaofan, a 2017 midwifery graduate of the School of Nursing of Southern Medical University, is about to enter the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital affiliated to Fudan University. She said that she was originally transferred to the department of midwifery, but she never thought about changing majors. After graduation, I intend to become a good midwife. "Midwives provide reproductive health-related care and education to women in addition to care for women during pregnancy, during and after childbirth. As a midwife, my greatest motivation is the sense of accomplishment that comes with clinically independently guiding a woman's natural delivery. ”

Zhai said that in addition to mastering the basic obstetric skills such as prenatal examination, pregnancy health care, normal delivery midwifery, and labor monitoring technology, midwives should also master the ability of midwifery first aid and cooperative processing in obstetric emergency and critical situations such as postpartum hemorrhage, eclampsia rescue, and threatened uterine rupture. "The school pays attention to cultivating students' comprehensive ability, and the first batch of midwifery undergraduates in the four years of study, with normal pregnancy, childbirth management and midwifery skills as the core, pay attention to the early identification of obstetric emergency and critical illness and the cultivation of team first aid collaboration ability."

Up to now, among the 54 graduates of the 2017 midwifery major of the School of Nursing of Southern Medical University, 43 have implemented the graduation direction, 7 are planning to go to graduate school, and the proportion of employed students who are midwives is 93.02%. "Midwifery undergraduate graduates have become sought-after in major hospitals." Zhang Lili, dean of the School of Nursing at Southern Medical University, said.

02

The post still needs supporting policies

The United Nations Population Fund reports that care provided by midwives will avoid about two-thirds of maternal, newborn deaths and stillbirths. Southern Medical University has been enrolling nursing (midwifery undergraduate major) since 2011, becoming the first batch of pilot midwifery undergraduate enrollment institutions of the Ministry of Education in 2014, and the first batch of midwifery undergraduate students in 2017.

"At present, there is a large shortage of midwives in China, and the opening of undergraduate majors in midwifery will help solve the problem of vacancies in undergraduate education in midwifery." Zhang Lili said that nursing staff is not enough in the clinic, and midwives are more important as talents with professional development directions. Midwives not only have certain nursing skills and abilities, but also have an advantage over caregivers in obstetrics and gynaecology care, and are more attractive in terms of employment and future career development.

Zhang Lili also said that although the number of applicants for midwifery majors has increased year by year, the current enrollment scale of 60 people per year is difficult to meet the needs of society. "A number of employers have responded that the supply of midwifery graduates in the school is in short supply, hoping to further expand the scale of enrollment."

Talking about the career promotion path and development prospects of midwives, Zhang Lili is worried. "Midwives currently have no dedicated promotion path and still have to be promoted professionally according to the nurse series." Zhang Lili appealed that he hoped to formulate a special midwife title promotion sequence from the policy level. In addition, it is necessary to explore and promote policies related to the prescription rights of midwives, provide more professional, comprehensive and timely care for pregnant women, and enhance the self-development space and career value of midwives; colleges and universities should create conditions to set up midwifery-related disciplines and cultivate senior midwifery talents such as masters and doctors in the field of midwifery. "The public's recognition of the midwifery profession is not high enough, and many non-medical people believe that midwives are nurses, so there is still a need for more publicity."

Text: Health Daily reporter Wang Qian Xu Bingnan

Source: Health Newspaper