Continuous evaluation of midwives as to professional standards

Abstract

Introduction: Implementation of professional standards as well as evaluation and assessments of providers has an important role in health promotion of each society. The purpose of this study was to assess the midwives working at midwifery offices as to performance of professional standards and effectiveness of continuous evaluation and education on them. Methods: This is an interventional study in which all of midwifery offices (110) were evaluated. The study was done in three stages using standard checklist observation and interview in each step. Based on detected errors, appropriate education was done and their performance was reevaluated in the next step of supervision. Finally total scores in each step as well as scores in different subjects were compared among three evaluated stages. Results: Overall mean score of faults at midwifery offices decreased from step 1 to step 3 in the following fields: environmental health and infection control (P<0.0002), personal and patient care (P=0.0005), individual health (P=0.003) and adherence to laws and rules (P<0.0001). Conclusion: Continuous evaluation is essential for assessing the effectiveness and improvement of our educational program. With continuous evaluation, correction of observed defects will be done at an early stage by appropriate intervention and education. So our medical and health programs will attain the planned goals.Keywords:Midwifery, Professional standards, Education, Evaluation