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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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:
Date:
15 August 2016
Date Type:
Acceptance
Page Range:
pp. 656-659
Journal or Publication Title:
British Journal of Midwifery
Volume:
24
Number:
9
Number of Pages:
4
Language:
English
ISSN:
0969-4900
Status:
Published / Disseminated
Refereed:
Yes
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