Monday, November 24, 2014

Birth Rocks Academy in UK

In case you missed it over the weekend, here is the link to the interview I did for Birth Rocks Academy in the UK.

Click here to read the interview.




Thursday, November 20, 2014

Obstetric Violence & Human Rights - Dr. Amali Lokugamage

I invite you to listen/view Dr. Lokugamage's lecture.  It may be the most important 15 minute video you watch this year!




 

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Tips When Writing Behavioral Objectives

As a nurse, midwife, childbirth educator or doula, you may be asked to write behavioral objectives for a new program or when you become a speaker at a workshop, seminar or conference.  I have put together some helpful tips for writing these objectives.

Behavioral objectives, learning objectives, instructional objectives, and performance objectives are terms that refer to descriptions of observable student behavior or performance that are used to make judgments about learning. Whether you are a childbirth educator, doula, nurse, lactation educator or trainer, at some point you will be asked to write behavioral objectives.

While some feel that writing behavioral objectives is a waste of time, it is generally felt that using behavioral objectives allows the educator to actually see what will be covered during a specific time period and not to overwhelm the student. Using objectives help to clarify what details to include under what generalized topic area, plus allows for examination of the order in which topics and details will fall. Further, using behavioral objectives promotes creativity with
the educator when developing teaching strategies for use with all learner types.

The three parts of a behavioral objective are:


1.Conditions (a statement that describes the conditions under which the behavior is to be performed).

Behavioral objectives are about curriculum, not instruction. Therefore, the list of objectives may be preceded by the phrase, "At the end of this session, participants will be able to…"
2. Behavioral Verb (an action word that connotes an observable student behavior).
Behavioral verbs for use with curricula or CE (or continuing education unit) forms are typically upper level verbs and include classify, construct, define, demonstrate, describe, diagram, distinguish, estimate, evaluate, explain, identify, interpret, label, list, locate, measure, name, order, predict, reproduce, solve, translate.
See this link for Blooms Taxonomy and measurable behavioral verbs.  Click here.
3. Criteria (a statement that specifies how well the student must perform the behavior).
Behavioral objectives are measurable (note the four below), which means that the objective can be turned into a test question or evaluation item at a later date.

So, for someone who is writing a curriculum to include the topic of comfort measures for use during labor, a measurable behavioral objective might be:

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

List four comfort measures that can be used during labor.

When developing a curriculum and writing objectives, it may be useful to use a format where the objectives, outline of the content, time frame and teaching strategies can be viewed simultaneously.



Most professional documents require references written in the APA Style.  APA (American Psychological Association) is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, Purdue University, revised according to the 6th edition of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. 

Friday, November 07, 2014

Not all birth advocacy comes from the usual suspects!

Meet Top RN to BSN: Your guide to the best RN to BSN programs.  This website serves all nurses and nurses to be with the means to find BSN programs and also do some education.  I was contacted by the website’s Linda Harris.  RN to BSN has created an infographic – Bringing Birth Back: The Rise of Cesareans and the Movement to Safely Prevent Them.

The infographic has contains the latest evidence-based information including the newest  US cesarean rate percentages and the WHO studies that mention a recommended percentage of 10-15%.  The complications for both mother and baby are examined, although missing is information such as the grieving process many mothers go through after having a cesarean birth and the dangers of cesareans for future generations by changing the epigenetics.   The infographic mentions “how we got there” and hints at elective cesareans on the part of doctors and women, as well as the threat of litigation.  There is even a state by state graphic which correctly lists hospital cesarean rates from 7%-70%.

The graphic does include the “6 cm is the new 4cm” information and cautions against early diagnosis of labor arrest.  Induction timing is also a focus, referring somewhat to the “Go the full 40 weeks”.  One of the biggest positives of the graphic is the attention to VBACS and the effects of (birth and postpartum) doula care.

While I understand that an infographic is a short snapshot of time, I do wish they had included the emotions ~ grieving and possible links to postpartum depression.  While the resources include the CDC, ACOG, DONA , March of Dimes, and Childbirth Connection,  a reference to the importance of childbirth education and the role it can play in cesarean prevention would have been nice.  The only reference to childbirth education came as a quote from then Lamaze International President Michele Ondeck, siting the ACOG recommended practice changes as “This is a Game Changer”. 


Truly, infographics are in the future of education.  Like handouts, infographics can be disseminated to a larger audience of individuals and create on-the-spot learning.  I applaud Toprntobsn.com for educating nursing students.  This is one area where childbirth educators need to focus on for implementation of best practice.

Check out the infographic for yourself:


Bringing Birth Back
Source: TopRNtoBSN.com/