Fetal Wellbeing Midwife, Band 7

Job overview

Fetal Wellbeing Midwife, Band 7 (30 hours a week)

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Practice Development team at Gloucestershire NHS Foundation Trust in the role of Fetal Wellbeing Midwife. This is an innovative and dynamic role, in which the post-holder will be responsible for educating the midwives of Gloucestershire on fetal wellbeing and fetal monitoring. This will include contributing to, updating, and writing local guidelines and policies, as well as developing and delivering training sessions to the local midwifery workforce.

The role will require a small amount of clinical work (maximum of 7.5hrs/week), this would be carried out on the Delivery Suite. The post-holder therefore needs to be proficient in caring for intrapartum women and competent in clinical skills such as suturing and cannulation.

Main duties of the job

- On an annual basis, review, design and deliver a high-quality, evidence-based and up-to-date teaching programme in fetal wellbeing and intrapartum fetal monitoring. This will be expected to satisfy the requirements of the Maternity Incentive Scheme, Core competency framework version 2 and Saving Babies Lives care bundle version 3.

- Ensure all midwives and obstetricians providing antenatal and intrapartum care undertake the local teaching programme in line with the Divisional Maternity Training Needs Analysis, and achieve the required standards of competency.

- Maintain an approachable clinical presence, supporting staff with advice, expertise and feedback relating to fetal monitoring.

- Delivery of both formal and informal in situ education through fetal monitoring workshops, case discussions and training sessions, maintaining registers where relevant. Use every opportunity to promote learning and reflection.

- Maintain own competency through continued professional development.

- Represent the Trust at external professional groups and attend fetal monitoring networking opportunities such as the National Fetal Monitoring Lead network meetings.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical/Professional

- Ensure that all midwives and obstetricians providing antenatal and intrapartum care undertake the training package in line with the Divisional Maternity Training Needs Analysis (TNA).

- Lead weekly fetal monitoring workshops/ training sessions, maintaining attendance registers. Disseminate learning which emerges from workshops.

- Use every opportunity to facilitate teaching, learning and reflection within the clinical area.

- Communicate highly sensitive and complex information to women and their families, clearly explaining the benefits and risks of different care approaches and the alternatives available, recognising barriers to acceptance. To uphold these standards and support midwives in achieving them.

- Represent the Trust on external professional groups and network with colleagues from other organisations as appropriate, e.g., UWE.

- Maintain an identifiable clinical presence and undertake relevant clinical activities to maintain own clinical competency and to support staff in developing clinical practice.

Clinical Leadership

- Act as a clinical role model for effective clinical leadership enabling and facilitating others to take forward initiatives around fetal monitoring.

- Work collaboratively with other professional groups to maximise development opportunities and inter-professional learning opportunities.

- Maximise opportunities to share good practices and innovations with colleagues locally and nationally.

- Contribute to the development of a learning organisation, alerting the appropriate parties to resource issues which may affect this.

- Identify own training and professional development needs to maintain clinical credibility.

- Influence and nurture positive attitudes and behaviours within the teams and wider multidisciplinary team.

Managerial

- Promote a culture where staff are valued, supported and deliver high quality care

- Understand, manage and be accountable for the use of resources in a cost-effective way

Education and Development

- Liaise with the Practice Development Midwives to identify the development and training needs around fetal monitoring within designated clinical areas according to individual needs and service requirements.

- Provide midwifery expertise, ensuring all staff are supported in their practice including midwives and obstetricians in training, in line with the Divisional TNA.

- Participate in regular performance and personal development reviews and work to achieve agreed objectives.

- Promote research/evidence-based practice and audit outcomes to inform clinical practice and set clinical standards.

- Contribute to research initiatives and clinical audit programmes as appropriate.

Quality Management

- Act as a resource for staff to access and raise awareness of national and local policies that will impact upon them and affect the delivery of patient care.

- Ensure that quality standards are set and monitored and that Patient Safety and clinical audit are an integral part of practice developments.

- Facilitate and work with Practice Development Midwives in the implementation of national and local quality initiatives to improve service delivery e.g.

- Implementation of the Saving Babies Lives 2 Care bundle

- Maternity Safety Improvement Plan

- CNST Safety Standards

- The Trust Strategy

- Maternity Skills and Drills

- Establish effective communication and good working relationships with multi-professional colleagues within the Trust to support effective service delivery.