By 1996, midwifery pre-registration education in the UK was fully integrated into higher education and, currently, 92 universities offer approved midwifery courses in England (Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), 2015). Successful completion of the programme of study provides student midwives with both a theoretical and professional qualification. This move to higher education was perceived by some to distance theoretical input from practice; a disconnect known as the ‘theory–practice gap’. While this phenomenon has been more widely debated in relation to nursing education, it is reasonable to consider it in the context midwifery education (Upton, 1999; Henderson, 2002; Scully, 2011; Monaghan, 2015).
A report from the Chief Nursing Officers of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (2010: 19) said midwifery education programmes ‘require substantial academic, clinical and professional input from skilled educationalists’ and that ‘it is essential to protect and assure the quality of the student learning experience’.
NMC Standards for pre-registration midwifery education stipulate that programmes of study must have a practice-to-theory balance of no less than 50% practice and no less than 40% theory (NMC, 2009). Midwifery teachers coordinate the theoretical aspects of the programme of study in the university setting, with NMC Standards to support learning and assessment in practice stating they should ‘create an environment for learning, where practice is valued and developed, that provides appropriate professional and interprofessional learning opportunities and support for learning to maximise achievement for individuals’ (NMC, 2008: 26). By inviting service users and a range of expert speakers into the classroom, the theoretical content of the curriculum is consolidated and topics are given clinical context and credibility as speakers share their knowledge and experiences, often illustrated with examples from practice.
The pre-registration curriculum at the University of Northampton welcomes a range of expert external speakers into the classroom (such as a consultant anaesthetist, consultant midwife, specialist bereavement midwife and midwifery matron) and the forthcoming series of articles will examine this initiative. Articles will outline the professional roles and responsibilities of a range of expert clinicians, explore individuals’ motivations to engage with pre-registration midwifery education and give an overview of the topics covered and their relevance to all aspects of the curriculum (theory and practice). Where appropriate, articles will also include students’ evaluation of the value of ‘clinicians in the classroom’ to their learning experience.