The International Confederation of Midwives' study of essential competencies of midwifery practice.
OBJECTIVE: To delineate the knowledge, skills, and behaviours that would characterise the domain of competencies of the midwife who is educated according to the international definition of the profession. DESIGN: Phase I: a qualitative Delphi study; Phase II: a descriptive survey research process. PARTICIPANTS: A stratified random sample of member organisations of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and regulatory representatives from these same countries. FINDINGS: A list of basic (essential) and additional competencies for midwives who have been educated in keeping with the ICM/WHO/FIGO international definition of the midwife was developed through an interative Delphi process, and then affirmed, using a survey research method. The final list includes 214 individual task statements within six domains of midwifery practice. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This list of competencies can serve as a basis for educational curriculum design, as a guideline for regulatory policy development, as a reference document for individual practitioners in an assessment of their initial and continued competency and by the ICM and its member associations as a resource for advocating for the role of midwifery within health-care systems world-wide.