A review of midwifery leadership

Abstract

Despite frequent reports criticising leadership skills in the profession, midwives have dedicated many years to increasing representation at the highest level. Elizabeth Maria Bannon, Fiona Alderdice and Jennifer McNeill explore the many decades of progress The ineffectiveness of leadership across maternity services in England has been a recurrent theme over a number of years, with reports continuing to identify the same issues. These reports reflect the concerns previously identified by the Healthcare Commission in its review of maternity services in England, which drew attention to the links between poor morale and ineffective or authoritarian leadership, as well as highlighting the overemphasis on financial pressures, all of which were concluded to be detrimental to the care provided for women. This article will explore the history of midwifery leadership, examining the reasons why midwives in particular have been perceived as failing to have developed the necessary skills to lead and manage maternity services.

Perceptions of midwives on shortage and retention of staff at a public hospital in Tshwane District

“…Ditlopo et al (2014:8) emphasise that nurses’ participation in the development of policies and strategies enhances their job satisfaction and retention in the health sector. Through role managing and leading maternity units the midwives can use this knowledge to influence policy and service direction (Bannon, Alderdice & McNeill 2017:659). According to Pezaro et al (2015:2), midwives could be at an increased risk of work-related psychological stress, because of the fact that they are independent practitioners and working in an area of high litigations.…”

A narrative review of Master’s programs in midwifery across selected OECD countries: Organizational aspects, competence goals and learning outcomes

“…Midwives need to develop negotiation, persuasion and influencing skills as well as political astuteness to take on leadership and management roles. To build these competences, midwives need to understand the structure as well as the language of the systems they are working in, especially focusing on safety and quality, finances and resources as well as workforce planning and modernization 66 . In general, these competences are found in the Master’s programs examined as their learning outcomes focus on graduates being able to take on clinical management tasks 38 , 48 , 49 , 52 - 56 , 59 , 60 , but it is not clear within the scope of the review to what extent these abilities are developed.…”

On the Nth Roots of –1 and Complex Basin Boundaries: Fractals from Newton–Raphson

“…Yet understandings in how to identify and enable 'strong' leadership in midwifery may be particularly important as it has been shown to increase staff satisfaction levels, enhance safety and decreased rates of mortality in a variety of healthcare settings (Murray et al, 2018). Contrariwise, weak leadership in the context of midwifery has been linked to a range of scandals and adverse outcomes (Bannon et al, 2017).…”