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Area of Science:

• Healthcare Education
• Midwifery Training
• Patient and Public Involvement

Background:

• The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) mandates specific requirements for pre-registration midwifery programs.
• Universities are exploring innovative methods to enhance the quality and relevance of midwifery education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the implementation of service user involvement in the interview process for pre-registration midwifery candidates at the University of Hertfordshire.
• To outline the recruitment strategies and initial feedback regarding this new approach.

Main Methods:

• Defined inclusion and exclusion criteria for 'service user' participation.
• Recruited service users from university staff and expanded to local organizations.
• Service users participate in interviews alongside academic and clinical staff.

Main Results:

• Initial recruitment focused on internal staff, with expansion to external community members.
• Verbal feedback from service users, lecturers, and clinicians has been overwhelmingly positive.
• Unexpected challenges have emerged, necessitating the formation of a working party for resolution.

Conclusions:

• Integrating service users into midwifery candidate interviews is a developing practice at the University of Hertfordshire.
• Ongoing efforts are focused on refining recruitment to attract diverse service user backgrounds.
• Formal evaluation is pending to assess the long-term impact and effectiveness of service user involvement.