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Background:

To build the midwifery workforce and maintain quality in midwifery educations, the development of an accreditation system has been initiated in Bangladesh.

Objective:

The objectives of this thesis are 1) to map five midwifery education sites in Rangpur and Rajshahi divisions, Bangladesh. The mapping describe the situation at the institutes/colleges and clinical sites in which the midwifery students and teachers are aimed to reach the learning outcomes of the courses in the 3 years diploma midwifery curricula, 2) to provide information to Bangladesh Nursing and Midwifery Council with acceptable and feasible requirements that could feed into an accreditation toolkit for nursing institutes with midwifery education from nursing instructors perspective.

Methods:

This questionnaire study includes a mapping of the situation at 5 institutes or colleges in the Rangpur and Rajshahi divisions, and 20 nursing instructors’ perceptions of acceptable and feasible requirements to be included in an accreditation tool for midwifery educations. Data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire with closed and open response alternatives analyzed descriptive statistics and answers on open questions in text were categorized.

Results

: Eighty percent of the collages/institutions accepted the proportion theory 40% in relation to practice 60%. The need for adequately qualified midwifery teachers, clinical preceptors/mentors, skills lab facilities and simulation became obvious. Teacher’s and clinical supervisors’ continuous in-service training and available resources were crucial to deliver the midwifery curriculum. Continuous in-service training could cover skills in antenatal care, maintenance of pantographs, care of the newborn and brief knowledge about breast feeding was suggested. Conclusion: This study illuminates gaps in quality education in Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions that could be solved with continuous in-service trainings of the nursing instructors and midwives supervising midwifery students. The government initiated the initiative to support the development of an accreditation system and toolkit closing the gap between the participants outlined in the curricula and the implementation in clinical practice in Rajshahi and Rangpur division.

The clinical applicability

of this thesis is to inform Bangladesh Nursing and Midwifery Council with support from Directorate General of Nursing and Midwifery and supervision of Ministry of Health and Welfare on feasible and acceptable requirements that could be included in an accreditation toolkit for midwifery education in Bangladesh. The thesis findings could be used to inform NGOs and other donor organizations, national and international, on subjects and content when developing in-service trainings.