The Virtual Midwife

An interview with Erika Agung Mulyaningsih who submitted a poster presentation to the VIDM 2020 entitled Early Detection of Post Partum Depression (PPD) in Women 1 - 2 weeks Post Partum. 

In this interview you will learn more about 

Visit www.vidm.org for more information on VIDM 2020

As part of a midwifery cultural exchange between
The Ohio State University and The University of Chester operating on the
Bailiwick of Jersey, two American graduate nursing students traveled to Jersey
in March 2020. A primary purpose of the exchange is to observe and examine
differences in midwifery scope and practice in differing environments.While Jersey is not part of the UK or its health system, it is a
British Crown dependency and uses guidelines from the Royal College of
Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) to guide practice. A substantial practice difference recommendation between RCOG and
the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) noted was that
of screening and treatment guidelines related to maternal colonization of group
B streptococcus in the prevention of GBS early-onset disease (GBS EOD) in
neonates.

An interview with Denyse King who submitted a poster presentation to the VIDM 2020 entitled The VRLE Project Virtual Reality Learning Environments - reconfiguring healthcare education

In this interview you will learn more about 

Visit www.vidm.org for more information on VIDM 2020

Could you present yourself - name and affiliation?

Could you tell a brief bit about yourself?

What is the topic for the poster?

How did you come to choose this topic?

What is your main message?

What were your key findings while doing the poster project?

Where do you see this research going?

Getting to know Karen Wilmot - committee member for the VIDM 2020

My name is Karen Wilmot and I am a free spirited, entrepreneurial midwife living in Cape Town, South Africa. This is my first year on the VIDM committee and I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with change makers from around the world.

I believe that the choices available to women about where they give birth and who attends them are becoming increasingly regulated and limited. At the same time, access to vast amounts of information is available at the touch of a button and the function of the family and community has been replaced by online support groups and forums. It seems that the more connected we become, the more disconnected we feel.

Being part of the VIDM is an opportunity to connect, collaborate and drive change by harnessing the power of technology to drive access to resources that reflect the true essence of birth and being “with women” and empowering women to get the choices, recognition, and respect that they deserve.

Getting to know Linda - committee member for the VIDM 2020

I retired in 2013 after 43 years working for the NHS as a nurse and a midwife, and for the last 19 years in Higher Education as a midwifery lecturer. I  completed my student nurse training in London but moved quickly on to completing my  midwifery education in Worcestershire. I then spent several years working as a community midwife, holding a caseload and attending home births and births within a G.P centre. From this experience, and the many years I have been a member of theAssociation of Raassodical Midwives, I have developed a passionate belief in the ability of the majority of women to birth without intervention given the right supporters and environment.

My interest in social media has evolved along with the availability of home computers and latterly smart phones. As an educator, I encouraged the professional use of social media by students and midwives and utilised #SoMe to support students out in practice. Within the university I ran a peer support group exploring the value of the different social media platforms and continue to be invited to speak at conferences across the UK on the opportunities social media offers within the profession for Continuing Professional Development and to engage with women and their families.

I have been involved with the #VIDoM for many years and believe that such innovations provide the midwifery profession across the world with amazing equitable opportunities to share clinical practice and experiences.

Getting to know Halima - committee member for the VIDM 2020

HALIMA MUSA ABDUL,  is a Nurse-Midwife, a Fellow of the West African College of Nursing, and a lecturer from the Department of Nursing Science, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.

She started her journey into Nursing in the year 1996 in the famous School of Nursing Ahmadu Bello University Teaching hospital, Zaria Nigeria, where she qualified as a Registered Nurse in the year 2000 with the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria. She proceeded to the Department of Nursing sciences Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State Nigeria, immediately for the Bachelor of Nursing Science degree and graduated in the year 2005. She was also qualified as a Registered Midwife in the same year.

In 2008, She passed the exams for the West African College of Nursing and was awarded a fellow of West African College of Nursing with the Faculty of Maternal and Child Health Nursing (Midwifery) in March 2009.

In  October 2009, Halima proceeded for a Master’s degree in one of the high profile universities in Nigeria, The University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, where she bagged a Master’s degree in Maternal and Child Health Nursing (Midwifery) in the year 2014.

In 2012, Halima sat and passed the exams for public health Nursing and was registered as a public health nurse with the Nursing and midwifery council of Nigeria.

Halima won an international studentship in 2016, to undertake a Ph.D. study of the wellbeing of the Nigerian midwifery workforce, based in Cardiff University, United Kingdom. She is  currently under the tutelage of Prof. Billie Hunter, who is a seasoned Professor of Midwifery at Cardiff University and two other supervisors  named  Dr Lucie  Warrren and Dr. Dikaios Sekallariou.

Halima has published articles in high impact factor journals and have also presented papers at both national and international conferences.

Jane F. Houston DNP, CNM, FACNM began her nursing and midwifery education in Scotland where she became a registered general nurse RGN with a Bachelor’s degree and completed her diploma in midwifery in 1992 to become a Registered Midwife.

She has always felt called to the profession of midwifery since childhood.

Jane has caught over 2000 babies on 4 continents, in countries including USA, Scotland, Zimbabwe and New Zealand.

She entered graduate school at the University of Florida in 2001 and completed her MSN studies so she would be able to provide midwifery care in Gainesville, Florida. She became the first midwife on staff at a local hospital there.

Jane was in the first DNP class at University of Florida, graduating in 2009 and continued her career in education becoming Director of Midwifery there in 2011-2015.

She joined the faculty at Frontier Nursing University in 2015 as Clinical Director for Midwifery and Women’s Health. She is now the Director of the DNP program there.

Getting to know Chris - VIDM Committee Member

Chris Woodhouse has worked in many different aspects of IT for over 30 years. Chris became interested in how IT systems and apps are created and supported, leading to active involvement in new uses for IT in small organisations and education. Chris has been facilitating since 2000 and widened his practice to include online groups and meetings in 2008. He started working with VIDM in its second year and joined the committee in 2011. Chris has used his IT experience to support how VIDM is organised and run, and his facilitation skills to support the volunteer facilitators during the conference itself.

Chris is now retired and lives in a small village in the Peak District National Park in the middle of England.  He has six grandchildren scattered around England.  He spends his time playing bridge, going for walks with the dog in the countryside, taking part in community life and, of course, seeing family.

Getting to know Annette - VIDM Committee Member

I am Annette Dalsgaard. I have been a registered midwife since 1990 and been practicing midwifery in different practice settings in Denmark. For the last 10 years, I have been working primarily with education and learning as a lecturer/senior lecturer at the midwifery education and an educational consultant in postgraduate education. I am very interested in ICT and learning, especially in the possibilities of using open online environments, and social media for learning, knowledge sharing, and networking internationally. In 2013 I started as a Ph.D. student studying professional development in open online learning environments.

I have been involved with the Virtual International Day of the Midwife since 2010. I am fascinated by the way the VIDM creates connections internationally between midwives and others across borders and time zones in a synchronous online conference and supports the sharing of new knowledge and practice development in midwifery and maternity care. In the coming years, I would be interested in developing the opportunities for interaction at the conference between attendants and attendants and speakers to support the sharing of experiences and networking. I believe that the more the online conference environment can support the attendants in connecting, interacting, sharing knowledge and networking the greater will the personal benefits from participating in the online conference become.
 https://vidm.org

Getting to know Susana - VIDM Committee Member

Hello, I am Susana Ku. I am a Registered Midwife in Ontario, Canada. I am currently working as a full-time midwife. Before starting my career in Canada, I obtained my degree as a Registered Midwife in Peru. I obtained a master degree in Sexual and Reproductive Health, because Women’s health and rights are one of my passions.

 I speak Spanish, English and French at some extent. I am interested in Global Health and Global Midwifery, so participating at the VIDM committee is a fantastic opportunity to learn and share knowledge globally.

I love using social media to be in contact with Midwives from around the world. I believe that VIDM breaks all the geographical and economic barriers and allows people from all over the world to enrich their knowledge in Maternity and Infant care. Moreover, it is a great tool for continuous education for all Health Care providers.

https://vidm.org/