Value-based recruitment in midwifery: do the values align with what women say is important to them?

Aim: To discuss theoretical conceptualisation and definition of values and values-based recruitment in the context of women’s views about what they would like from their midwife.
Background: Values-based recruitment received headline status in the UK government’s response to pervasive deficiencies in compassionate care identified in the health service. Core values which aim to inform service user’s experience are defined in the National Health Service Constitution but clarity about whether these encompass all that women say is important to them is needed.
Design: Discussion paper
Data Sources: A literature search included published papers written in English relating to values, VBR and women’s views of a ‘good’ midwife with no date limiters.
Discussion: Definitions of values and values-based recruitment are examined. Congruence is explored between what women say is important to them and key government and professional regulatory documentation. The importance of a ‘sustainable emotional’ dimension in the midwife-mother relationship is suggested.
Conclusion: Inconsistencies are identified between women’s views, government, professional documentation and what women say they want. An omission of any reference to emotions or emotionality in values-based recruitment policy, professional recruitment and selection guidance documentation is identified.
Implications: A review of key professional documentation, in relation to selection for ‘values’, is proposed. We argue for clarity and revision so that values embedded in values-based recruitment are consistent with health service users’ views. An enhancement of the ‘values’ in the values-based recruitment framework is recommended to include the emotionality that women state is a fundamental part of their relationship with their midwife.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Callwood A., Cooke D. & Allan H. (2016) Value-based recruitment in midwifery: do the values align with what women say is important to them?. Journal of Advanced Nursing 72(10), 2358–2368. doi: 10.1111/jan.13038, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jan.13038. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.