Clinical midwife consultant wins national award
Date Updated:
A Melbourne clinical midwife consultant has won a national leadership award for her work developing an innovative care program for women with uncomplicated pregnancies.
Vanessa Watkins, of Eastern Health, was awarded the Deakin University-Health Super 2011 Leadership in Nursing and Midwifery Award on October 26, receiving $20,000 to put towards nursing education and professional development.
Ms Watkins has created a more collaborative health care framework and better options for women during pregnancy with the development of the Expected Pathways of Care for Pregnant Women program.
Ms Watkins, who is originally from the United Kingdom and joined Eastern Health in 2003, realised a more collaborative approach from midwives and clinicians would improve the care of women during pregnancy and also reduce the incidence of post-partum complications.
As a result, the evidence-based care Pathways program was designed for women expecting to have uncomplicated pregnancies, which was labelled the ‘green’ pathway.
It includes clinical practice guidelines and quick-reference algorithms for changes that could increase a woman’s risk, such as gestational diabetes.
In the event of any changes, women are referred to the appropriate clinician, who then writes a care plan so the woman can take a hand-held record into labour.
Women with past complications, that may not affect current pregnancies, are placed into an ‘amber’ pathway while a ‘red’ pathway was designed for women with pre-existing conditions, such as hypertension, that may affect their pregnancy.
After two years of planning, a six-month pilot program was launched featuring education packages to support professional development, and resulting in increased safety for women.
Pathways has reduced the risk of severe post-partum haemorrhaging by helping to better manage the earlier stages of labour.
Already the program is paying dividends for women at Box Hill Hospital, where it has helped halve the rate of severe post-partum haemorrhaging.
As a result, Pathways has become an ongoing part of professional practice at Eastern Health.
“There is now an organisation-wide expectation that midwives will be able to work in their full scope of practice to provide high quality care for women with uncomplicated pregnancies,” she said.
“Pathways has made significant inroads toward a functional and achievable model for collaboration in maternity care, based on mutual respect and understanding of the scope of professional practice for each group of clinicians.”
Ms Watkins now plans to use her prize to fund her PhD study on the ongoing Pathways program, including a ‘realistic’ evaluation, and will visit hospitals at the centre of innovations in maternity care in the United Kingdom.
“Professionally, I’ve never been happier,” she said.
“A woman’s experience of giving birth stays with her for the rest of her life. It’s a privilege to share that transition to parenthood with women and their families.”
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