Nordejordemodern - Midwife of the North
With a mission to educate skilful, professional midwives and make use of new information technology, the network Nordejordemodern has been able to make the most of the opportunities within Nordplus Higher Education. In total, the network has fourteen partners of which eleven are educational institutions and three are public hospitals. All Nordic and Baltic countries, including the three autonomous areas are represented, allowing the network to reach for another important aim: that their midwifes have the competence to work in an international context.
The project has student-, teacher- and tutor exchange, intensive programmes, network meetings, homepages and curricula and method development. Reports from both student and teacher exchange are available at the homepages of the network.
Here are some of the experiences from the network, written by Eva Matintupa, network coordinator:
The advantages among others are that the different forms for exchange within the network make it possible for the educational departments and faculties to get closer. It also creates opportunities for a better comprehension and respect for differences between the cultures of the countries included, as well as differences and similarities regarding education and profession. The midwife profession is represented by the three public hospitals in the three autonomous Nordic Islands. Getting knowledge in each other's educational programmes and traditions is today extremely valuable in a free common market concerning employment between the Nordic and Baltic countries.
Faculty members can make it possible for the students to acquire this knowledge during their education programme. Valuable bridges between countries and people will promote friendship between the countries. There are examples of students who have returned to their mobility placements as graduated midwives. The linguistic as well as the cultural factor, give a natural closeness in the cooperation with the other Nordic and Baltic countries.
One challenge is the differences in the educational programmes regarding rules, regulations and organization between the countries and the partner departments. This might be a problem when planning student exchanges. Midwifery practice in the educational programmes varies which can result in different expectations regarding competence. A minor difficulty is the different languages and also the dialects that are spoken in different parts of the involved countries.
