Should left-handed midwives and midwifery students conform to the ‘norm’ or practise intuitively?

Power, A. and Quilter, J. (2016) Should left-handed midwives and midwifery students conform to the ‘norm’ or practise intuitively? British Journal of Midwifery. 24(9), pp. 656-659. 0969-4900.

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Power_Alison_BJM_2016_Should_left_handed_midwives_and_midwifery_students_conform_to_the_norm_or_practise_intuitively.docx.pdf - Accepted Version

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Abstract:

It has been suggested that the proportion of left-handed people, or more specifically, the greater acknowledgement of left-handedness over the past century may be due to fewer left-handed people being ‘forced’ to use their right hand to conform to the ‘norm’, rather than a greater incidence of left-handedness (McManus, 2002). There are approximately 27,000 midwives in the UK (Royal College of Midwives (RCM), 2015); however there is no official data as to the proportion of midwives who are left-handed, nor research into whether they practise with left-handed dominance. This article was inspired by hearing the experiences in practice of first year student midwives who are left-handed. It also documents the experiences of Julie, a left-handed Senior Lecturer in Midwifery who trained in the early 1980s. Questions raised by this article include whether the left-handed student midwives of today have different experiences in practice to those of 30 years ago?; should all student midwives be trained to practise with right-handed dominance or should student midwives be supported and encouraged to practise intuitively, according to their natural dominance?

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Left-handed, midwife, episiotomy, simulation, clinical practice

Creators:

Power, A. and Quilter, J.

Faculties, Divisions and Institutes:

Faculties > Faculty of Health & Society > Midwifery

Date:

2016

Date Type:

Publication

Page Range:

pp. 656-659

Journal or Publication Title:

British Journal of Midwifery

Volume:

Number:

Number of Pages:

Language:

English

DOI:

10.12968/bjom.2016.24.9.656

ISSN:

0969-4900

Status:

Published / Disseminated

Refereed:

Yes