Competencies and skills for remote and rural maternity care: a review of the literature

Abstract

Educators need to be aware of the barriers facing rural practitioners, and there is potential for increasing distant learning facilitated by videoconferencing or Internet access. They should also consider other assessment methods than portfolios. More research is needed on the levels of skills and competencies required for maternity care professionals practising in remote and rural areas.

Implementation challenges of maternal health care in Ghana: the case of health care providers in the Tamale Metropolis

“…For too long it has been accepted that as long as the health workers received some (often too little) training in midwifery, this was sufficient [17]. There has to be clarity as to the understanding of competence- ability to perform aspects of the job and competencies, the basic knowledge skills and behaviours required of a midwife to practice safely in any setting [18]. …”

Provider Readiness for Neonatal Resuscitation in Rural Hospitals

“…Simulation (Cooke, Larsen, Hamstra, & Andreatta, 2008) and staging mock codes (Blakely, 2007) have been identified as ideal interventions to maintain procedural knowledge and skills. Rotation of rural nurses and physician to periodic service in larger, regional perinatal units may help rural practitioners update and maintain skills while also providing the opportunity to network with peers (Ireland et al, 2007).…”

“…Limited opportunity to participate in neonatal resuscitation education (Foster, Craven, & Reid, 2006), less availability of continuing professional education (Jukkala, Henly, & Lindeke, 2008a), and hospital staffing patterns that affect resuscitation team composition may also affect rural provider readiness for neonatal resuscitation. The fast pace of change in knowledge underlying neonatal resuscitation protocols further contribute to the challenges facing practitioners in rural settings (Ireland et al, 2007). Further, acquired knowledge and skill for implementation of the protocol are known to decline rapidly during the months following successful completion of neonatal resuscitation education programs (Dunn, Niday, Watters, McGrath, & Alcock, 1992; Kaczorowski et al, 1998; Trevisanuto et al, 2005).…”

Providing rural and remote rural midwifery care: an 'expensive hobby'

“…Caroline is happy to do her professional updates but she encounters several barriers: geographic location, on-call demands, travel, accommodation, course costs, lack of or poor local resources (libraries, broadband access) and lack of provision of locum cover for mandatory and elective educational days. These difficulties are unsurprising and have been previously identified (Ireland et al, 2007). Yet this self-responsibility for maintaining continuing professional development adds an extra burden to the rural practitioner (MacKinnon, 2010).…”