From Surrey to Sri Lanka: student midwife wins National Midwifery Award

Wednesday 1 February 2012

Rachel Yates,  has won one of three Pampers’ Student Vision awards which entitles her to funding towards a four-week placement in Kandy, Sri Lanka though ‘Work the World.’ The prize includes a placement in an obstetric and gynaecological ward at a local hospital.

She received her award at a ceremony at the Grand Connaught Rooms, Covent Garden, London. Attending the ceremony was the RCM’s Chief Executive Cathy Warwick and the journalist and broadcaster Natasha Kaplinsky.

Rachel’s award will help to fund an elective placement to gain greater understanding about how environment and culture can impact midwifery and affect patient care. She will also work in a northern village community learning about Ayurveda medicine, a 5,000 year old alternative therapy.  

Rachel said: “'It was a lovely opportunity to go to the RCM awards and I was thrilled to have a won the Pampers Student award. I'm really grateful to Pampers and the RCM for supporting my trip, where I will gain many new and fantastic experiences whilst exploring a new culture and healthcare system. I'm now really excited about planning the rest of my trip and will fly to Sri Lanka in late August.”

Rachel said in her application: “In Sri Lanka pain relief in labour is unusual, therefore support for women in labour is particularly important. Infection control is not as effective due to lack of resources; understanding how this may affect a woman’s care would be a key learning experience.  In the UK, there can often be a language barrier when providing care. This can lead to complications from relatively minor issues to more serious problems.”

Dr Gillian Marsh, Technical External Relations Manager at Pampers, who sponsor the student award, said: “Pampers understands the important role that midwives play in society. That’s why we are proud to support an award such as this, which recognises the hard work that students like Rachel are doing towards developing practices across the world so that mothers and their babies in conflict areas get the best service possible.”

Kath Lawton, Rachel’s Midwifery Tutor, said: “Rachel is an engaging and enthusiastic member of her tutorial and cohort group, as well as being forward thinking and motivated. I anticipate that she will plan her elective placement well, and use her experience to inform her future practice, as well as sharing this experience with her fellow students.”

Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, said: “This award highlights the important, innovative and pioneering international work being done by students like Rachel. I congratulate her on her commitment to the profession. It is important for people to know that midwifery education is not standing still and is constantly evolving. When student midwives are given the resources, support and freedom to develop their work and learning, the result is empowered midwives and better services, better care and better outcomes for mothers, babies and their families.”