Clinical Skills Facilitator for Maternity

Job/Role Summary

This is a new role within the Maternity Service in the SEHSCT. My role is to support staff by overseeing the preceptorship/induction of staff, with particular emphasis on newly trained staff and those who need extra support. I play a pivotal role in education provision within the Maternity department both in a clinical and a classroom settings.

Specific qualifications and experience required

Registered Midwife with 5 years post – registration experience as a Band 6, 3 years of which were in an intranatal environment.

Hold or willing to work towards a Post Graduate Certificate in Education or equivalent.

Career Milestones

Having worked for 6 years as a Midwife, rotating to all areas of the service I became a Midwifery Sister in Intrapartum care. I worked in this position for 15 years developing my clinical and management skills. During that time I completed my Masters in Midwifery, became a Basic Life Support Training and a trainer in Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics and completed my PGCE.

What attracted you to this job?

The job requires the post holder to be an expert clinician very much involved in a clinical role.

The job provides the post holder with the opportunity to educate the midwives of the future in best practice and assist them to become skilled, competent practitioners.

Enjoyable aspects of the job/role

• getting to know new staff and watch them develop from anxious new members of staff to competent, confident midwives who play a significant role in the multidisciplinary care team.
• getting positive feedback from staff on how the role has made their transition from student to qualified midwife much less stressful than they imagined it would be.
• after 28 years of working shifts, being able to organise my own work schedule has had a positive influence on home life.

Challenging aspects of the job/role

• as this was a new role within the post one of my first challenges was to ensure that the clinical managers understood what my role was and how it differed to other roles such as the practice development midwives/ practice education facilitator.
• dealing with and supporting staff who are having practice issues can be a challenge when they continue not to reach the standard expected. Patient safety always remains the priority.
• working outside of my own organistion with others eg University and Clinical Education Centre has been very new to me.

Important success factors

• support of my line manager and other specialist midwives has been invaluable as I took up my new post.
• regular feedback from my colleagues and manager, as well as the new staff I have worked with has helped me develop my own direction for the role.

Advice for those considering the type of job/role?

I would encourage anyone wishing to take up this role to gain extensive clinical experience. When it comes to providing education to new staff the one thing that they say they value most is the knowledge that you know the issues they face on ” the shop floor”. You must have a desire to teach and pass on your experience and use the time in clinical care to become involved in education initiatives.

Key skills that can be gained within this job/role?

• computer skills in relation to email management and presentation preparation.
• presenting skills to all sizes and mixes of audiences.
• organisational skills when hosting lectures/workshops etc.
• skills to deal with challenging behavior.

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