Design an Introduction Statement for your Practice Guidelines Manual

Please use your own words to make this a unique expression of how you interact with your practice guidelines and how you want others to relate to them, including clients, colleagues, midwifery students, other health care providers and regulatory personnel, etc.   Use whatever is consistent with your midwifery style and actions; add what is missing that is an ongoing part of your midwifery care throughout these guidelines.   Choose those items most important to you.

• Systematically developed

• Researched

• A guide for the consistent delivery of safe, quality midwifery care

• Based on current best evidence for optimal care

• Consistent with midwifery standards of care

• A resource used to communicate with staff, volunteers, birth assistants and students

• Enhance communication with other health care providers

• Aid clients in making informed decisions

• Improve client care and outcomes

• Increase client satisfaction and understanding of care

• Reviewed annually and revised when new evidence arises or standards change

• Coordinates decision making and can be influenced by the clinical conditions and available resources at any given time

• Not inclusive of all proper methods of care that are reasonably directed toward the same result

• Midwife considers relevant clinical circumstances and is responsible for final judgment regarding actions taken or omitted

• Significant guideline deviations and their rationale are noted in the client�s medical record

• Client education and informed consent discussions are conducted throughout pregnancy care as time and clinical conditions allow and are not necessarily listed in each individual Midwifery Management section of the guidelines

• Client education and comfort measures are an integral part of care and not noted specifically in each guideline

• Reflect a common approach in a multi-midwife practice

• Communicate clinical limits to staff, clients, students, and other health care providers

• Aid decision making about appropriate care under specific clinical conditions

• Provide a clear picture of safety, quality and responsibility

...etc

Note: the same general idea may be expressed several ways on this list to assist you in developing a personalized introduction to your Guidelines Manual.