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Preceptor Spotlight
Preceptor Spotlight
At the heart and soul of Midwives College of Utah is a talented, diverse and dedicated community.
At the heart and soul of Midwives College of Utah is a talented, diverse and dedicated community.
Our spotlights focus on the preceptor members of our community, those providing the clinical hands-on-skills and clinical commitment to MCU students.
Our spotlights focus on the preceptor members of our community, those providing the clinical hands-on-skills and clinical commitment to MCU students.
For more from the MCU in Review: https://www.midwifery.edu/
For this Preceptor Spotlight we have the opportunity to highlight a partnership of an LM and CNM working together to provide out of hospital care and who have forged a wonderful working relationship and experience for our MCU student.
Cynthia Jaffe is a Washington state-licensed Midwife and Erin Miksic is a Certified Nurse Midwife. Together, they care for women and families on Whidbey Island, WA.
Cynthia and Erin were spotlighted for the glowing evaluations submitted by their student Diana. “Cynthia is a continual student. She is a wealth of current, up-to-date information for all her clients,” Diana said. “Erin moved here from New York and from a busy hospital practice. She has very quickly adapted to an out-of-hospital practice and learned all the differences between New York and Washington guidelines.”
Cynthia: Becoming a preceptor initially I really wanted the companionship and energy that students brought to my solo practice. Later it became a combination of my desire to continue to learn and my desire to teach, share and guide other women journeying to become midwives.
Erin: I have been out of midwifery school for 4 years and I feel it's my duty, having had so many wonderful mentors along my journey as a student not long ago. Also, working with students keeps you current and up to date in your practice as standards are often changing based on new literature and research.
Cynthia: My advice to preceptors spans many valuable areas. I learned so much watching the "Midwife as Educator" series that is available through the Association of Midwifery Educators. It taught me so much about teaching and about myself. It was invaluable in furthering my skills. I would recommend it to any preceptor whether they are just starting out as a preceptor or, as in my case, have been one for 20 years.
Erin: Clear communication is extremely important in any partnership. Weekly chart reviews help us tremendously. Thorough notes are helpful too.
Yvonne Silbernagel is a Certified Professional Midwife from Oklahoma City. Yvonne “is kind and dedicated to helping her students succeed,” stated her current student Taryn Goodwin.
Yvonne became a preceptor because she “felt it was important to change how we treat students.” Yvonne believes there is a culture in midwifery that treats students as though the preceptor is doing the student a favor, or the relationship resembles indentured servitude more than a respectful educational experience. Yvonne chose to become a preceptor and change this culture. Yvonne’s work includes paying her students, encouraging her students to forge relationships with providers in the area and to create and engage in their own relationship with clients.
She is “passionate about informed decision making and works very diligently to educate all of her clients about their choices alongside risks/benefits,” said Taryn. And as a preceptor, Yvonne says her favorite skill to teach is communication. “More is better and true informed consent involves mentioning the bad and unfavorable, too.”
For Yvonne, her past experiences as a student influences everything she now does as a preceptor. “My students are treated with respect as fellow birth workers.”
For Yvonne, the most important advice she can give to other preceptors is one of potential. “We are making fellow midwives,” she says, “not competition. Make competent midwives that think for themselves, know when to ask questions and are humble enough to admit when they don’t know something or make a mistake.”
Chemin is a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) from Sierra Madre, California. Chemin “has awesome goals and inspires me to stay with her practice to see her goals grow,” was a recent enthusiastic review from her current student Angela Leon.
Chemin came to midwifery as many do, because she felt it was a calling and that calling included becoming a preceptor. To become a preceptor, Chemin feels, is related to midwifery as she “believes women are called to love and encourage each other.” Chemin expressed that when she meets another woman with an interest in midwifery, she knows that woman has the same desire-- as she has to love other women. “I became a preceptor because I want to impart love, knowledge, empowerment, healing, and support God’s will in every woman's life that He calls me to. It is a privilege to love and play a part in growing a baby midwife.”
Chemin enjoys “teaching the student how to listen to the family. It seems like a funny topic, however, it is an important part of loving the family.” Chemin encourages this active listening and participation in loving the family by using a series of birth reflections. Each student is asked a few days after birth to write/answer questions pertaining to their perspective of the birth. The questions include, “Do you feel you performed your role well? What do you feel was the woman’s greatest challenge? What do you feel was the father’s greatest challenge? Where there any family members present that created a dynamic? Write three words that describe this birth.” As a team, Chemin and her students discuss the answers together.
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