Midwifery lecturers' views of shortened midwifery programmes in the UK

摘要

UK midwives are educated in one of two ways: non-nurses undertake'long' (three- to four-year) programmes, and nurses complete a 'shortened' programme of study (typically 18 to 24 months). When numbers of qualified midwives are particularly low, commissioners of midwifery programmes and employers might consider increasing the number of places on the shortened programme. How students perform on the shorter programme would, therefore, seem to be a topic of some importance, though there is currently little research evidence available on this subject.