The effects of Standardized Patient-based teaching and Feedback lecture on midwifes’ clinical competence in counseling of fetal disorders screening

Fetal abnormality screening counseling is one of the duties of midwives according to fetal abnormality screening guidelines. Since promotion of midwives' clinical competence through efficient training system with modern educational methods is very important and necessary, therefore, this study was performed with aim to compare the effect of standardized patient-based training and feedback lecture on midwives' clinical competence in counseling of fetal abnormality screening.

This interventional randomized clinical trial was conducted on 67 licensed midwives in Mashhad in 2018. The subjects were divided into two groups of standardized patient-based training groups and feedback lecture. After doing the pre-test, a 4-hour training program was conducted for each group, and midwives' clinical competence was assessed two weeks after training, using a questionnaire and a researcher-made questionnaire of clinical competency assessment. Data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 16) and using independent t-test, paired t-test, Mann-Whitney and Chi-square tests. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Changes in mean score of clinical competency 2 weeks after the intervention were significant in both groups (p <0.001).There was no significant difference between the two groups in the mean score of clinical competence before the intervention (p = 0.711) and 2 weeks after the intervention (p = 0.412).  

Both methods of standardized patient-based teaching and feedback lecture is effective on promotion of midwives' clinical competence in fetal abnormality screening counseling.