This article identifies the introduction of interprofessional e-learning into the pre-registration midwifery curriculum. It provides a personal reflection of the experiences of using e-delivery of the interprofessional teaching and learning pathway at Coventry university. E-learning is not new, yet, there has been a lack of information (research, literature and evidence) about e-learning and information technology and pre-registration midwifery education. This article provides insights into the modern midwifery curriculum, contextualizing the need for interprofessional education and identifying some of the challenges to the midwifery profession, educators and students inherent in this method of delivery. The article also suggests some solutions to the challenges and offers insight into possible technologies for delivery of the midwifery curriculum in the future.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a collective term for the deliberate alteration, removal and cutting of the female genitalia. It has no known health benefits and can have negative physical and psychological consequences. The number of women and girls in the UK that are affected by FGM is unknown. Recent NHS data suggested that FGM has been evident (declared or observed) in women who have accessed health care; however, there are gaps in knowledge and a limited evidence base on the health consequences of FGM. This article explores the urological complications experienced by women who have undergone this practice, and the effects this can have on their health and wellbeing.
Elinor Clarke RM, Chair of the FGM National Clinical Group, discusses the importance of collaboration in the elimination of female genital mutilation.
Women and girls who have experienced female genital mutilation (FGM) identify that it can "make you really angry, or one becomes so passive that one continues in the role mapped out". Others attest that "it changes our position in our families", while some women suggest, "we can't win. If we circumcise our daughters there is pain. If we don't circumcise our daughters there is a different pain. The community will not accept us" (1). These experiences illustrate the complexity of FGM.The practice of FGM is old, steeped in tradition and ritualistic custom (2). FGM is the deliberate cutting, burning and/or removal of the female genitalia, often (incorrectly) identified as female circumcision, and is a cause of morbidity and mortality. Of all aspects of FGM, the psychological and emotional consequences are the least reported. Toubia (3) cites three psychological cases: "anxiety state" originating from lack of sleep and hallucinations; "reaction depression" from delayed healing, and "psychotic excitement" from childlessness and divorce. FGM is abuse of the most serious kind and has been criminalized in many countries, including the UK (4).FGM is not a new cultural practice or health concern. In 1982, in an attempt to end medicalized forms of FGM, the World Health Organization (WHO) (5) identified that "hygienic", "pain free" and "less drastic" forms of FGM should not, under any circumstances, be performed by medical practitioners. FGM Prevention Programs have been increasing, and in 2012 the UN General Assembly (6) called for an intensification of programs consisting of comprehensive, integrated strategies that include community education, government strategies, legislation and prosecution.Although there are estimates (7), the true numbers of women and girls who have undergone FGM are not known. In the UK it is only recently, due to Intercollegiate guidelines (8) and government pressure (9), that hospitals and healthcare professionals have been asked to record and report the numbers of women and girls effected by FGM using the WHO classification (7). This was also a result of campaigning by the FGM National Clinical Group, which was founded in 1989 by Yana Richens (midwife) and Sarah Creighton (obstetrician) in response to the lack of knowledge and training for midwives and doctors in the UK. Since its inception, the group have developed numerous resources on FGM, including a DVD on how to perform a deinfibulation (10) and clinical standards guidelines for midwives and doctors (11), and will shortly publish clinical competences and assessment criteria for FGM midwife specialists. The Intercollegiate Group (8) has emphasized prioritizing empowerment and support of those affected and at risk in order to achieve the elimination of FGM. The current strategy is to mobilize a movement to end FGM within a generation.The Girl Summit in 2014 (12) enabled women, girls, community leaders, governments, international organizations and NGOs to share success stories while sharing good practice in tackling and ending the harmful prac...
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