WORKING AS A COORDINATOR MIDWIFE IN A TERTIARY ...

of a consultant is described by Isa et al., who explain; “for a midwife to feel comfortable
in overstepping a consultant’s instructions, takes one with a strong sense of confidence in
her own practice and decision making ability, and to be absolute within boundaries of
safety. It would take only one mistake to undo years of gain and we are always very
aware of that, consequently we must always be certain of our decision making” (p.26).
This observation reinforces the findings of Timmins and McCabe (2004) that a midwife
with less experience and confidence would be less likely to voice her opinion.
The coordinator’s communication skills, her approachability and her willingness to work
collaboratively will influence teamwork, open communication and learning. This is
echoed by Earl (2004) who describes her perspective of the role of the coordinator
midwife whereby “she sees her role not as one in a hierarchical system where she is the
ruler, but as one of support and adviser” (p.89).
The New Zealand Midwifery Workforce and ‘Feeling Safe’
Midwifery shortages significantly impact on provision of care to women and on safe
staffing issues in hospital settings. The ‘Safe Staffing, Healthy Workplaces’ Inquiry was
initiated in 2005 (Safe Staffing /Health Workplaces Unit, 2006) as a joint partnership
project between District Health Board New Zealand and the New Zealand Nurses
Organization (NZNO). Its objectives are to develop best practice guidelines for patient
forecasting and management systems in addition to the development of a ‘best practice’
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