TY - JOUR
T1 - Ethics Education in Midwifery Education Programs in the United States
AU - Megregian, Michele
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives
PY - 2016/9/1
Y1 - 2016/9/1
N2 - Introduction: Familiarity with ethical concepts is a required competency for new graduates and a component of accreditation for midwifery education programs in the United States. While midwifery educators have acknowledged the importance of ethics education in midwifery programs, little is known about current methods, format, or evaluation of ethics education. Methods: A Web-based survey was developed for program directors of accredited midwifery education programs in the United States. Clock hours, formats, venues, content topics, barriers, and evaluation methods were evaluated by descriptive analysis. Results: Fifty-one percent of programs completed the online survey (25/49). Of these, only 7 (28%) offer ethics as a stand-alone class, although all responding programs integrate some ethics education into other core classes. Programs show variation in format, venue, resources, and clock hours dedicated to ethics education. The most frequent barrier to ethics education is an already crowded curriculum (60%), although 32% of programs denied any barriers at all. The majority of programs include the ethical concepts of informed consent, shared decision making, and effective communication in curriculum content. Discussion: This survey found that there is considerable variation in ethics education in terms of content, format, and evaluation among accredited midwifery education programs in the United States. Midwifery educators have an opportunity to explore the ethical dilemmas unique to maternity care from a midwifery perspective. There is also the opportunity to create a comprehensive and dynamic midwifery ethics curriculum, which incorporates both stand-alone ethics courses and ethics concepts that are woven throughout the core midwifery curriculum.
AB - Introduction: Familiarity with ethical concepts is a required competency for new graduates and a component of accreditation for midwifery education programs in the United States. While midwifery educators have acknowledged the importance of ethics education in midwifery programs, little is known about current methods, format, or evaluation of ethics education. Methods: A Web-based survey was developed for program directors of accredited midwifery education programs in the United States. Clock hours, formats, venues, content topics, barriers, and evaluation methods were evaluated by descriptive analysis. Results: Fifty-one percent of programs completed the online survey (25/49). Of these, only 7 (28%) offer ethics as a stand-alone class, although all responding programs integrate some ethics education into other core classes. Programs show variation in format, venue, resources, and clock hours dedicated to ethics education. The most frequent barrier to ethics education is an already crowded curriculum (60%), although 32% of programs denied any barriers at all. The majority of programs include the ethical concepts of informed consent, shared decision making, and effective communication in curriculum content. Discussion: This survey found that there is considerable variation in ethics education in terms of content, format, and evaluation among accredited midwifery education programs in the United States. Midwifery educators have an opportunity to explore the ethical dilemmas unique to maternity care from a midwifery perspective. There is also the opportunity to create a comprehensive and dynamic midwifery ethics curriculum, which incorporates both stand-alone ethics courses and ethics concepts that are woven throughout the core midwifery curriculum.
KW - ethics
KW - ethics curriculum
KW - ethics education
KW - midwifery ethics
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U2 - 10.1111/jmwh.12462
DO - 10.1111/jmwh.12462
M3 - Article
C2 - 27341667
AN - SCOPUS:84978726310
SN - 1526-9523
VL - 61
SP - 586
EP - 592
JO - Journal of Midwifery and Women's Health
JF - Journal of Midwifery and Women's Health
IS - 5
ER -