2013 Amendments to International Confederation of Midwive’s Essential Compentencies and Education Standards Core Documents: Clarification and Rationale

Abstract

The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Council of Delegates approved the revision of the Essential Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice and endorsed the newly crafted Global Standards for Midwifery Education with Companion Guidelines in June 2011. ICM views each of their documents as “living” documents, subject to change based on emerging evidence from science, implementation, and practice. This article informs the users of these two core documents about revisions and amendments that were made over the 3-year period from 2011 to 2013 in response to changing evidence, end-user questions, and concerns. The evidence that underpins the revisions made to the basic knowledge and/or skills statements in the Essential Competencies document is presented. The rationale for amendment to the format of the education standards and expansion of the guidelines document is offered. These changes were accepted by the ICM Board in 2013 and will be presented for endorsement by ICM Council of Delegates at the triennial meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, in June 2014.