Preventing Midwifery Burnout - Practising Professional Midwifery Advocacy across our Trust | News

Preventing Midwifery Burnout - Practising Professional Midwifery Advocacy across our Trust

pma Gemma Price, one of our Professional Midwifery Advocates (PMA) in the Practice Development Team outlines the key support we’re extending across our Trust to midwives in need of a helping hand, both professionally and personally through Professional Midwifery Advocacy.

As an emotionally challenging and pressure-intensive role, the profession has high levels of ‘ burnout’, causing midwives who are early in their careers to begin pursuing a new profession. To reduce burnout for our colleagues, our BWC Professional Midwifery Advocates are on hand to support across all bands, departments, and specialisms. All band 5 midwives have a dedicated PMA, delivering restorative clinical support, and professional and personal advice alongside career development – so that they can learn how to grow and focus on their strengths.

Gemma said: “We hope to be a thoughtful voice of reason for our midwives, providing ‘resources of thought’ and new perspectives and ways of working. We have development and improvement plans across all bands but also want to share a more personalised way of caring for our colleagues. Our midwives aren’t just cogs in a machine, they’re people and we value their immense dedication to supporting the women and the wider health care system.”

PMAs can be referred to our midwives or they can request advocacy through self-referral. PMAs are essentially midwives with a greater degree of training, adjusted to nurture and aid our midwives. They understand that the role is incredibly rewarding but it can also be incredibly taxing for colleagues.

Gemma said: “A lot can be solved by simply talking things through in a non-judgmental, safe and open way – this could be over a one to one or in a group session to work through problems using appreciative enquiry. We work alongside the clinical educators who can provide you with professional and clinical assistance, and our PMA team are on hand to support with midwifery challenges and personal obstacles, reinforcing positive thinking, realistic planning and work-life balance.”

PMAs often welcome new starters to help with the transitional period, or those going into new senior roles – however, professional advocacy is open for all midwives at all stages in their careers.

Gemma concluded: “It’s a privilege to be able to nurture and help our midwives across BWC. It’s extremely rewarding to support in a variety of ways, to be versatile in meeting the needs of others and empowering them in their roles.”

We have placed cookies on your computer to help make this website better. You can at any time read our cookie policy. Otherwise, we will assume that you're OK to continue.

Please choose a setting: