Since the Midwifery Act came into force in 2019, the full academization of the midwifery profession has been implemented in Germany. The Hochschule Niederrhein (HSNR) has been offering the Bachelor's degree programme in Applied Midwifery Sciences at the Faculty of Health Care since the winter semester 2021/2022. Now, 15 universities of applied sciences and universities with degree programmes for midwives in Germany have jointly founded the Midwifery Science Faculty Council (HWFT). HSNR professor Therese Werner-Bierwisch has been elected as an assessor to the presidium.
The new body represents the next step in the academization of the midwifery profession and the representation of the interests of the participating universities. At the founding meeting in Berlin, the members of the founding universities elected the five-member presidium of the newly founded departmental council: Prof.in Dr. Melita Grieshop (Protestant University of Applied Sciences Berlin) as president, Dr.in Henrike Todorow (Medical Faculty University of Leipzig) as vice president, Prof.in Karolina Luegmair (Catholic Foundation University Munich) as treasurer, Prof.in Therese Werner-Bierwisch (Hochschule Niederrhein Krefeld) and Prof.in Dr. Nina Knape (University of Applied Sciences Ludwigshafen) as assessors.
The full academization of the midwifery profession requires that new university structures and processes for the studies of midwives are established and existing ones are further developed. In order to be able to better bundle the associated requirements and concerns also at the level of higher education policy, the participating universities will work closely together in the HWFT in the future. "With the founding of the Midwifery Science Faculty Association, the university and education policy work in the studies of midwifery can be better networked and intensified nationwide in the future," says the newly elected chairwoman Melita Grieshop. "The goal is also to strengthen the academic midwifery profession and the development of the discipline of midwifery."
