Dear Students,
As you know, the Midwives College of Utah is committed to excellence. We believe that all women deserve a gentle safe birth experience that is free from any bias related to gender, race or religion. We've been very touched and impressed with the emails and calls we've received about out of country clinical practice. It is heartening to see how passionate and concerned many of you are about the issues that have been raised lately in the midwifery community at large, specifically about the organization Midwife International. In addition to many of our students who have done and continue to do midwifery internships overseas, we are an international school, serving students who live outside the United States and Canada. As this issue has come to the forefront, it's become more and more apparent that it is something that needs to be addressed by all midwives, not only those who live or work in disadvantaged areas.
MCU is working on a full plan to address these issues, including cultural competency training for students before beginning clinical training and a review of our standards for international clinical placement. It's a big issue and it's going to take a while for us to get a handle on it in a manner that is appropriate and thorough- not a quick fix But we know a lot of you have concerns about the "right now" and we wanted to address those concerns.
1. MCU has no students in placements at this time with Midwife International and no additional placements with this organization will be approved in the near future.
2. All international midwifery placements are under review. We are not closing the door on international clinical work. Students are welcome to continue their international travels but at this time there is not a guarantee that these experiences will be accepted by the school.
3. It is the expectation that any MCU student traveling internationally will behave in culturally humble ways, and adhere strictly to the Midwives Model of Care, including respect for the autonomy of all clients and honesty in all situations. If you are in an international placement currently or have plans to travel soon, please contact the Clinical Dean immediately with your questions and we will do our best to answer them.
We are deeply troubled by the lack of accountability and standards in some international programs. If a woman is not given the opportunity to consent to care by a student midwife, the Midwives Model of Care is not in place. Any organization or birth place that does not follow the Midwives Model of Care is not an appropriate learning setting for our students. There is no place in midwifery for acts of neo-colonialism.
We'd like to hear more about your experiences and thoughts on this issue. There will be a thread on the bulletin board on this topic for discussion; we will be having conversations about this at the conference and online. The Clinical Rounds that would have been Thursday, October 10 will be replaced by a discussion about international midwifery work and cultural ethics. All students are invited to this session.
In the midwifery spirit,
Kristi Ridd-Young, President
Sarah Carter, Clinical Dean
Nicole Croft, Academic Dean
Karen Hertel, Graduate Dean
