Hello everyone
The year is speeding past. I hope you were able to take some time out with friends and family over the long weekend, even if you were working?!
I am really interested in clinical practice.
So much so that my PhD was a study of the practice of breastfeeding support. Maybe you are interested in this too? How we learn to be clinicians, how we develop our skills through practice and how we get better at what we do. Clinical practice is a complex activity. Nurse theorist Patricia Benner said that expert practice is “more about asking the right questions than having the right answers.”
Has there been someone in your career who has influenced you with their actual clinical practice or approach to practice? What was it that you learned from this person?
At ABA we are very interested in helping people to become good at supporting breastfeeding women and families.
I wanted to share with you about an amazing education package that is a “breastfeeding 101” for beginning practitioners but could also challenge some of the rather durable practices we often see.
The BFHI Education modules: supporting the breastfeeding mother in the neonatal period were advertised here in Professional Express in January but I wanted to share some more detail about it with you folks because I know you know – how rare it is to find great breastfeeding education like this.
The whole program is based on the requirements of the BFHI competencies. Those of you who work in BFHI accredited services will be aware of the requirement for staff to undertake eight hours of formal lactation training. This package can provide that education for staff of accredited organisations, but it can also be used by health services who are working towards accreditation. And guess what? It is also an excellent education resource for every health service that works with breastfeeding women and families.
You can read about this is detail on the ABA website, but these are the module titles:
- Counselling skills for breastfeeding support.
2.Breastfeeding education for pregnant women.
3.Supporting a mother to initiate breastfeeding.
4.Assessing a breastfeed.
5.Supporting a mother to hand express.
6.Establishing and increasing milk supply.
7.Counselling a mother with breast and nipple challenges.
8.Challenges to feeding at the breast and alternative methods of feeding.
I have worked through most of the package, and it has a real ABA flavour. That means it places importance on the way we speak to women, is current and clear and it covers all the knowledge needed for clinicians to provide great support for women and families.
For individuals the cost is $355 for the whole package. You can complete the modules on your own device and in your own time. For health services the good news is that The More You Buy, The More You Save! No. Really. (The cost for 100+ staff members in one health service is only $95). ABA can provide completion details for staff members and you can attach your own logo to the learning package.
If you are interested in providing this education for multiple staff members in your health service, please email me at: engagement@breastfeeding.asn.au
I would love to meet with you over zoom and answer any questions you might have.
Jen
