Why an international placement for Student Midwives?

History of the UBC Students for Global Citizenship Program (SGS)


The UBC SGS program began in 2005. Each summer, 3rd year midwifery students undertake optional 6-8 week placements abroad. In previous years students have gone to Uganda, Nepal, Holland, Zambia and Mexico. This year 4 students are going to Uganda and two students are going to Nepal. Placements are interdisciplinary: each year a family physician and registered midwife accompany students on placement. In the past medical and nursing students have also participated. This year a nutrition student will be joining us. 


The student goals of the program are

• Learn about health care systems and reproductive care in other countries
• Develop an understanding of Safe Motherhood Initiatives and current maternity issues in a global context
• Experience ways that other cultures experience and manage birth 
• Gain experience to apply to rural and remote settings in BC
• Participate in planning, implementing and evaluating part of an international maternity care project

Recent Achievements

• In 2008 Ugandan midwife Prossy Cossy Musoke was sponsored to come to BC for 4 weeks. She became a Neonatal Resuscitation Program certified instructor and was provided with resuscitation teaching equipment. She has since been teaching NRP in the Masaka region of Uganda.
• Emergency skills workshops and NRP certifications are held annually for Ugandan health care providers
• Other workshops offered for health care providers include Labour Management Without Episiotomy and Leadership in Maternity Care
• A system has been developed to re-enforce use of oxytocin to prevent a postpartum hemorrhage
• A strategy has been developed for improving working conditions for midwives by improving infrastructure, equipment, and availability of supplies and medications. Both hospital births and staff numbers have increased and team work has improved.

Immediate and Future Goals of SGS

• Sponsor 2 Ugandan Midwives to attend the International Confederation of Midwives Conference in Durban in June 2011. These midwives will present papers on partnership activities undertaken in the past 5 years
• We will be offering a workshop on post-miscarraige care for health care providers at Jinga Hospital
• in 2011/2012 SGS will become its own Global Maternal Health course open to other health disciplines at UBC