Fall 2010 - Association of Ontario Midwives

Research / Government Initiatives
Eileen Hutton, RM, PhD, recently accepted a five-year, endowed professorship at Vrije University in Amsterdam in the
Midwifery Science Division, the first midwife to ever carry the title “Professor” in the Netherlands.
Midwife-researcher appointed to Dutch professorship
Though Ontario has borrowed much from
the Dutch model of midwifery care, it is
now our turn to give back.
This past summer, Eileen Hutton, RM,
PhD accepted a five-year, endowed
professorship at Vrije University in
Amsterdam in the Midwifery Science
Division. Hutton is the first midwife to
ever hold a professorship role in the
Netherlands, as most midwifery educators
there hold a lecturer title.
“I think someone from Canada is
well-suited to move into that position
since our model is so highly influenced
by their model,” Hutton said. “It is very
fitting that we borrowed from them and
are now contributing to their programs.”
She will continue with her role as
assistant dean of the Midwifery of
Education Program at McMaster
University, where her research
background is already a valuable asset.
In addition to her bachelor in nursing,
master’s in parent child nursing and
midwifery degree, Hutton holds a PhD in
clinical epidemiology – the study of health
patterns amongst populations.
Her research work has garnered her
several awards, including the Michael
Smith Foundation for Health Research
Career Scholar award, the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research New
Investigator Award as well as the Society
of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of
Canada Western Regional Award.
Hutton has been a coauthor in at least 10
academic research papers investigating
topics such as home birth, sterile water
injections to treat pain, external cephalic
version, breech birth and late versus early
cord clamping. Her research focuses on
clinical trial methodology and knowledge
translation.
For the Dutch professorship, Hutton will
be mainly working with other professors
and academics from a research point of
view, rather than in a traditional teaching
position. She sees the role as being
transitional and hopes that after her term
is up, there will be Dutch midwives who
will be able to move into the position.
She currently plans to travel to the
Netherlands several times a year.
Hutton’s new role as the Vrije head of the
midwifery sciences department evolved
over time. Three years ago she visited
the university to learn more about their
research and research units.
Following this came the idea that Hutton
could take on the duties of a visiting
professor, which eventually developed
into the current professorship role. Hutton
thinks it is a good fit for both Canada
and the Netherlands. While the Dutch
institute will make use of her expertise to
develop its research capacity, Hutton and
other researchers will benefit from the
country’s longer history of midwifery care
Midwives support Nurse
Practitioner scope review
This summer, the provincial
government announced
considerations to expand the role
of nurse practitioners by allowing
them to admit, discharge and
transfer patients in-hospital and
announced a public consultation
looking into how patients would
benefit from these changes.
The AOM took the opportunity
to submit a letter of support,
highlighting lessons learned from
the integration of midwives into
hospitals.
When midwives gained hospital
privileges with regulation, it
translated into benefits for both
hospitals and patients – midwifery
clients are known to have
significantly shorter hospital stays
and lower rates of readmission.
Nurse practitioners with a greater
range of responsibility in hospitals
could result in similar benefits.
The government is now reviewing
feedback it received in the
consultation process and plans to
meet with individual stakeholders
throughout the fall.
When Bill 179 was passed last
December, nurse practitioners’ roles
were expanded to allow them to
communicate diagnoses to patients,
to perform procedures below the
dermis and to order X-rays without
restrictions, among other things.
The new push from government
to expand the role of nurse
practitioners is part of the Family
Health Care for All Strategy – which
aims to address patients who do
not have a primary care provider
– and comes in advance of the
expected opening of 25 nurse
practitioner-led clinics in Ontario in
2012.
and rich study population.
“Access to a country where midwifery is
the norm and where large numbers of
women receive midwifery care – along
with building collegial relationships – will
have benefit to us as well,” Hutton said.
www.aom.on.ca
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