During the early development stages of A-EQUIP (an acronym for advocating for education and quality improvement) an education work stream was established to support both midwives education towards becoming a Professional Midwifery Advocate (PMA) and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to develop A-EQUIP training.

The group, made up of representatives from Health Education England, Lead Midwives for Education (LME) and Supervisors of Midwives, have driven the production of implementation guidance, now part of the overall A-EQUIP Operational Guidance.

There are now a number of committed HEIs supporting A-EQUIP training in England, all seeking to offer the short course (for previous Supervisors of Midwives) in the 2017/18 academic year. The longer accredited course (for experienced midwives seeking to become a PMA) will follow.

The HEIs involved in the training are listed on an interactive map below. Contact the HEI direct for details on both courses:

View A-EQUIP Committed HEIs – July 2017 in a full screen map

Two e-learning sessions have been developed to support the A-EQUIP model implementation. They have been designed to provide further information and links into the A-EQUIP Operational Guidance for midwives, leaders, managers, maternity providers, commissioners and HEIs.

The first package is a prerequisite for anyone undertaking the short or long Professional Midwifery Advocate (PMA) training course. The second package has been specifically developed for midwives wishing to access a PMA and gain a better understanding of the role and the A-EQUIP model.

The sessions, which last for around 30-40 minutes and will enable you to explore the A-EQUIP model from a conceptual and practical perspective, supporting you to reflect on, and embrace the opportunities for the future; a model that supports and empowers midwives to provide safe, high quality, kind, compassionate care to women and their families. There is also an opportunity to self-assess your knowledge and reflect on this throughout the session. Using case studies, it highlights how the model can support you in your practice and how it adds value for providers of maternity services.

Access to the package is free and you will be offered evidence of completion at the end, which can be included in your revalidation portfolio.

• Midwifery supervision e-learning programme site

The e-learning package has been developed by HEE e-learning for Healthcare in collaboration with NHS England, Higher Education Institutions, the Royal College of Midwives, A-EQUIP pilot sites and other key stakeholders.

Higher Education Institution Support

Educating midwives to become future PMAs is a significant opportunity for HEIs. Delivering this at pace and scale will be key to A-EQUIP’s success. The A-EQUIP Operational Guidance offers implementation support, which can be found in part 4, section 3, to HEIs.

To ease this process, we are providing the section and its related elements for ease of reference:

• Guidance for HEIs
• PMA Shortened Programme
• PMA Competency Profile
• PMA Job Profile

Support on course start up, accreditation and standards can be gained through your LME Network or by contacting Nicky Clark, Chair of the LME Network – N.J.Clark@hull.ac.uk