Global Midwifery Mentorship

Dr. Elaine Jefford, midwifery researcher, is an author and editor-in-chief for the International Journal of Childbirth: Women’s and Reproductive Health and employed as a senior midwifery lecturer at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Her research focus is within the field of midwifery decision-making and abdicating one’s professional accountability. This research underpins midwifery education practice and policy, and leadership and mentorship, as the relationship of one or all on midwifery decision-making can impact risk, safety and quality of care provision. A programme of research has led to strong collaborations in national and international research, service development work and practitioner training initiatives. Other research interests include birth trauma, perinatal mental well-being, deteriorating women, childbirth for incarnated women, self-compassion and women’s health such as menopause. She led the validation of the Australian Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised. This scale has been appraised by international opinion leaders and has been endorsed by the International Consortium of Health Outcome Measurement (ICHOM) as the measure of choice to assess ‘birth satisfaction’ worldwide within the ICHOM Standard Set for Pregnancy and Childbirth. She is now leading the Partner-Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (PBSS-R) Australian validation team. She has also been involved in national and international midwifery curriculum development and was a member of the Midwifery Accreditation Committee, which is part of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council. She is also Chair of the Trans-Tasman Midwifery Education Consortium.

Dr. Lyn Ebert is a registered nurse and midwife, a women’s health and midwifery education researcher and Associate Professor in Midwifery at the Southern Cross University (SCU). She is the Midwifery Work Integrated Learning Academic Coordinator (WILAC) for SCU. The WILAC role entails managing and administering the work integrated learning (WIL) or Midwifery Professional Experience (MPE) of a programme and ensures academic, clinical and strategic oversight and coordination of the WIL for the programme. She is committed to supporting the development of innovative health education strategies, curriculum teaching and learning methods that support student learning, childbearing women’s safety and improved midwifery workforce culture.