Kent midwife receives national midwifery honour
By RCM on 07 June 2017 RCM Fellowship
A midwife from Kent has received a national award from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) for her contribution to midwifery. Áine Alam has received a prestigious Fellowship from the RCM. This is an honour given to just a handful of midwives each year. Áine is a midwife at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust
Among many things the Fellowship recognises Áine’s contributions in many areas of midwifery including teaching and research. These include specialising in midwifery led care, multidisciplinary teamwork and teaching practices that are based on learning in the workplace.
She has garnered a number of educational qualifications in nursing, midwifery, advanced midwifery practice, clinical teaching and learning assessor awards. She also holds a Cert Ed, Masters in work based learning (WBL) and is currently completing PhD studies in WBL at Middlesex University Institute of Work Based Learning.
Her enthusiasm for midwifery is not just confined to the UK. Áine recently returned from a three year sabbatical teaching midwives at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Aga Khan University in Karachi. She was part of a teaching team that brought the Bachelor of Midwifery degree for the first time to an Asian country.
Áine’s many other achievements include an International Fellowship Award from the charity Wellbeing of Women and the RCM in 2014. She is also the author of a book titled Teach Don’t Tell: Effective strategies for training midwives.
She received the Fellowship yesterday at the Royal College of Midwives Zepherina Veitch Memorial Lecture in Oxford.
The RCM Honorary Fellowship is for people who make an outstanding contribution, or give outstanding service, to midwifery, maternity services, services for women and their families or to the RCM.
Áine said: “I am indebted to the RCM for inspiring me to undertake international voluntary midwifery consultancy work. This was directly as a result of engagement with the RCM Global Midwifery Twinning Project. I am grateful for the enduring support of the GMTP and Momentum team in UK and Uganda. A special thank you to Professor Rafat Jan of the Aga Khan University Karachi for allowing me to work and teach midwifery with her dedicated team.
“I could not have achieved this without the added support of my family, colleagues and The Institute of Work Based Learning, at Middlesex University. Thank-you all so much it is indeed a privilege to accept this award.”
Jenny Cleary, Head of Midwifery and Women’s Health at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, said: ”I am delighted that Aine has received such an honour from the RCM. She demonstrates a strong commitment at MTW ensuring that women in Kent and East Sussex receive a high quality service, and takes up every opportunity to share her wide knowledge and experience with junior staff.“
Professor Lesley Page, the outgoing President of the Royal College of Midwives, said: "The Royal College of Midwives is delighted to award Áine this Fellowship. Her contributions to teaching and to the education of midwives is considerable, She is a worthy recipient of this honour and I congratulate her heartily for these achievements, and I am sure, many more to come.”
Visit the RCM Honorary Fellowship section for more information.
To contact the RCM Press Office and for a picture of Áine call 020 7312 3456, or email pressofficer@rcm.org.uk.
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Notes to editors
The RCM is the only trade union and professional association dedicated to serving midwifery and the whole midwifery team. We provide workplace advice and support, professional and clinical guidance and information, and learning opportunities with our broad range of events, conferences and online resources. For more information visit the RCM website at https://www.rcm.org.uk/.