Professional Midwifery Advocate Preparation

If you're a current midwifery practitioner, the Professional Midwifery Advocate (PMA) course is for you. We'll combine academic rigour with practical applications to create a forward-thinking, dynamic midwifery practitioner with the ability to lead the services in which you work.

Combining preparation for the PMA role with an innovative exploration of leadership and management in healthcare. Lectures on leadership will be shared with students on Applied leadership and Management, to develop interprofessional networking. Sound theoretical knowledge of leadership theory underpins the role and competencies of the PMA. We aim to develop your skills and expertise in the four functions of the Professional Midwifery Advocate: education and development (formative function), restorative clinical supervision, monitoring, evaluation and quality control (normative function) and personal action for quality improvement.

On successful completion of the module, you’ll be able to undertake the role of the Professional Midwifery Advocate (PMA), and be appointable as a Professional Midwifery Advocate by your employing organisation. This module has been developed to meet the PMA standards set by NHS England, including the mandated 10 taught days https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/a-equip-midwifery-supervision-model.pdf

Outline content

• Background to the development of the A-EQUIP model
• Role of the Professional Midwifery Advocate
• Adult learning style
• Restorative clinical supervision
• Compassionate resilience
• Quality Improvement - methods and measures
• Fundamentals of leadership and its defining characteristics. Differences between leadership and management and the role of the PMA
• The concepts of leadership and management in an organisational, social environmental and multicultural context
• The key roles that leaders play in creating visions and strategies, and the implementation of leadership and management strategies to meet current and future organisational demands
• Critical issues in leadership and management development, including how leaders are selected, development tools that are available and issues of evaluation
• Ethical leadership and advocacy
• Leading change, and the key challenges that organisations and individual managers encounter in the organisation
• Organisational culture and organisational dynamics. Performance management
• Leadership skills for building teams and securing involvement and participation. Core communication skills used by leaders to motivate followers
• Giving and receiving feedback
• Promoting collaborative working and engaged followership behaviour.

The expectations of students accessing the PNA/PA/PMA are that they are available for the full study day from 9.00 hrs – 16.00hrs each week for the 10-week programme.

Students will need to ensure they are available to complete the self-directed study each morning prior to the late morning/afternoon sessions.  

Each week students will be invited to be part of a small group where they will have opportunity to practice and discuss RCS skills. They will be allocated to the same group each week. It is important students attend this activity.

Group lectures will also take place each week usually in the afternoon. Student discussion and participation will be an essential part of these sessions.  Most of the sessions on the PNA/PA/PMA are not recorded. This programme requires a full study day each week for 10 weeks and 2 full day self-directed study days to complete the summative assignments.