An action-research account of a successful improvement to practice presented for assessment within a taught MA in education was given a fail grade. The student's challenge to this decision led the university assessor to re-evaluate and change his own practice in assessment in much the same way as the student had in the original report. The…

Suggests feminist principles relevant to midwifery include affirmation of equal rights; derivation of individuals' value from their capacity to contribute to society, not from biology; and accordance to women of the same rights over their bodies as men have over theirs. Notes feminist theory and principles should underlie midwifery education and…

Applies and tests Foucault's theories about local centers of power and knowledge by rhetorically analyzing a Minnesota Midwifery Study Advisory Group. Illustrates how knowledge may be produced/suppressed and how a rhetor may become empowered by projecting negative traits upon the "other." Demonstrates how some traditional midwives…

A nurse-midwife committed to the value of general nursing education as a prerequisite to midwifery responds to Lois Muzio's article expressing the opposite point of view. (JOW)

Reviews prenatal and postnatal methods of gestational age estimation and evaluates implementation of this information in research. Recommendations concerning the assignment of gestational age in the perinatal period and the use of age correction for preterm infants are offered. (Author/BC)

Critical incident analysis, combining actual experiences with structured reflection, can facilitate learning from clinical practice and develop interpersonal skills and self-awareness. (SK)

Nursing education should play an important role in developing culturally sensitive health care. Nurses and midwives should be trained in assessing health needs of different cultural groups and developing appropriate care. (SK)

The collaboration between the Frontier Nursing Service and the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing provides a way for those with associate degrees in midwifery to obtain a baccalaureate degree in nursing and become eligible for advanced training in midwifery. Distance learning facilitates instruction for the geographically dispersed midwives.…

National Vocational Qualifications assessment methods have the potential to fragment and damage learning. Holistic approaches to competence such as those used in Australia are more congruent with the needs of professional nurses, midwives, and health visitors in Britain. (SK)

The changing face of midwifery practice and education in Australia is challenging the previously accepted notions of the birth experience, the options of care that are available for women and their families, and the role of the midwife in that experience. The role of the midwifery educator is also challenged by the move away from a predominantly…

Increased academic standards in midwifery education are causing conflict between research-based and traditional knowledge used in clinical assessments. Training of evaluators, frequent changes in clinical placements, and lack of contact between students and evaluators also impinge on the validity and reliability of assessments. (SK)

Ina May Gaskin, a traditional midwife and founder of The Farm Midwifery Center in Summertown, Tennessee, discusses how she first became involved in midwifery, where she learned her skills, the status of midwifery, and her future plans. Ms. Gaskin has been instrumental in the revolution of birth practices worldwide. (LP)

Argues that, for problem-based learning (PBL) to succeed, a sound program of staff development is required and describes the introduction of PBL into Nursing and Midwifery curricula at the University of Dundee (Scotland) including key components and evaluatory evidence to support its efficacy. (DB)

Reviews the process of tailoring an online search that would span several files on the topic of music during the childbirth experience. Search strategies and terms used in PsycINFO, Mental Health Abstracts, MEDLINE, ERIC, Sociological Abstracts, Social Scisearch, Scisearch, and Dissertation Abstracts Online are noted. A nine-item bibliography is…

Joseph Chilton Pearce, a writer who lectures internationally on child development, discusses the importance of the birth environment on infant development, the negative effects resulting from doctor-assisted births, his experiences in the births of his children, the importance of bonding, and the relationship between childbirth and childhood…