Comparing the Professional Role and Tasks Approved in Curriculum with the Ongoing Role and Tasks of Midwives Employed in Tabriz Health Care Units

Background: Midwives play an important role in the implementation of health programs in health care units. The objective of this study was to compare the professional role and task in curriculum with the ongoing role and task of midwives working in the health care units of Tabriz (East Azarbaijan, Iran, 2015).

Methods: This cross-sectional study was done via census on all midwives working in rural and urban health units in Tabriz in 2015 (225 persons). The data was collected using a researcher-designed questionnaire based on the national midwifery curriculum approved in 2012. The questionnaire includes questions related to the use of specific teaching courses and their relevancy to the professional roles contained in the curriculum;a self-assessment of the midwives’ current performance was completed by midwives themselves. The validity and reliability of questionnaire were confirmed. Data were presented using mean (SD) and n (%) for numerical and categorical variables.

Results: Professional roles and tasks contained in the curriculum were not fully relevant to current roles and tasks of midwives. The highest relevancy was related to the role of education and the lowest relevancy was seen in ongoing tasks related to disease diagnosis, care and intervention. Of the specialized courses, internships in pregnancy and childbirth and its pathology had the highest and lowest applications, respectively.

Conclusion: This study showed that, midwifery specialized training courses content and professional role and tasks curriculum- based are not consistent with ongoing expected real world tasks. Therefore, it is essential that reforms are made to enhance the curriculum and efficiently align it with practical responsibilities and expectations.