Midwifery Practice – Emergency Skills

The Emergency Skills Workshop (ESW) is a national program that provides continuing education in emergency skills within a midwifery context both in hospital or home/out of hospital setting. In fact, it is the only emergency skills training available in Canada that specifically includes home birth and other out of hospital birth settings.

Topics include:

• Managing Emergencies
• Postpartum Haemorrhage
• Antepartum Haemorrhage
• Abnormal Fetal Heart Rate Patterns
• Malpresentation and Cord Prolapse
• Shoulder Dystocia
• Undiagnosed Breech
• Undiagnosed Twins

The workshop consists of instruction, practice and evaluation at simulated emergency situations and a written exam. Participants rotate from one station to the next, demonstrating their skills by role-playing and discussion. The written exam is in a mixed format:  short answer, multiple choice, true/false and layered scenario.

Successful course completion confirms to the provincial or territorial regulatory body that the midwife has been taught the skills to manage care in a variety of emergency situations prior to the arrival or accessing of specialized medical care. Each provincial regulatory body requires that emergency skills be maintained at regular intervals; please contact your provincial or territorial regulatory body for more information. While the ESW program was developed more specifically for midwives, other health care professionals working in obstetrics are welcome to participate (i.e. physicians, nurses, second attendants, paramedics, etc.).

Course completion is not a certification of competence.

Please contact admin@canadianmidwives.org for more information.