The pay & conditions debate - what is the reality of the working environment in midwifery higher education? - Accepted Manuscript

Sep 7, 2026

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This fourth article in a six-part series examines the working conditions of midwifery educators, drawing on themes from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM 2023) State of Midwifery Education report. It evaluates transition, remuneration, workload, casual working, and the scope of educator roles, contrasting these realities with midwifery frontline practice and other higher-education disciplines. The discussion highlights the need to support educator training while enabling progression and fair treatment in a regulated sector, to improve student safety and workforce sustainability.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Introduc􀆟on

Equal and fair?

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appears in final form in British Journal of Midwifery (BJM), copyright © MA Healthcare, after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see [https://www.britishjournalofmidwifery.com/content/sapientia/the](https://www.britishjournalofmidwifery.com/content/sapientia/the)pay-and-conditions-debate-the-reality-of-the-working-environment-in-midwifery higher-education The pay & condi􀆟ons debate: what is the reality of the working environment in midwifery higher educa􀆟on? Abstract This series of six articles is inspired by themes arising from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM 2023) State of Midwifery Education report. The series explores the current landscape and challenges in educating the future midwifery workforce, particularly those that relate to the Higher Education (HE) workforce itself. This fourth article in the series looks at what it’s really like to work in midwifery education vs as a midwife. The challenges associated with transition, remuneration, workload, casual working and the breadth of the midwifery education role are examined, particularly in comparison to other disciplines within higher education. We explore how educators can be better supported in their training of the future midwifery workforce, whilst assuring their own progression and equal treatment in an increasingly competitive and tightly regulated sector. Key words Higher education, pay, conditions, casual working Introduc􀆟on Working in midwifery, can be (as with many health professions), incredibly hard work. Shi􀅌s are typically long and/or an􀆟-social, medicalisa􀆟on and complexity provide ongoing challenges, the threat of li􀆟ga􀆟on looms large and the Na􀆟onal Health Service (NHS) (where the majority of UK registered midwives work) has been chronically underfunded and under resourced for the beter part of ﬁ􀅌een years (Ham, 2023) . These things, alongside an alarming number of serious incidentsand inves􀆟ga􀆟ons over the previous decade, including the recent damning birth trauma inquiry report (APPG Birth Trauma, 2024), have contributed to a much changing percep􀆟on of the value and meaning of midwifery in modern UK society. Against this backdrop, it might seem a peculiar focus to consider the working condi􀆟ons of midwifery academics rather than the midwives that may be struggling in challenging frontline condi􀆟ons. What we put forward for considera􀆟on here is that in a workforce with a high turnover of clinical staﬀ and an established shortage of approximately 2,500 midwives, it is midwifery educators that are nurturing the next genera􀆟on of staﬀ that will go some way towards a solu􀆟on to some of the issues. More staﬀ, and properly trained staﬀ, will backﬁll gaps, improve working condi􀆟ons and fulﬁl the goals of the NHS long term workforce plan (2023a) . As detailed in the RCM State of Midwifery Educa􀆟on report (2023), a focus on equitable pay and condi􀆟ons in higher educa􀆟on are paramount to atract talent and this is needed if we are to increase student places and bolster the workforce asthe NHS future workforce plan demands. More importantly, we must create the condi􀆟ons for midwifery students to receive a quality and safe educa􀆟on and this cannot be reasonably achieved unless the educators themselves are also mo􀆟vated, nurtured and happy. We take for granted the impact of our midwifery educators at our peril; poorly educated or poorly treated student midwives do not make safe, compassionate midwives (that is, if they complete their educa􀆟on at all) . Midwifery educators are the lynchpin in this process. This ar􀆟cle discusses the current working condi􀆟ons of the educators with these points in mind to propose solu􀆟ons to nurture and support the future profession. Equal and fair? The average star􀆟ng salary for a lecturer in the UK is £34,308 (UCU, 2023) . This is less than the £35,392 received at entry ste

FAQs

What is the focus of this article within the six-article series?

The article examines what it is like to work in midwifery education compared with working as a midwife, especially regarding educator working conditions and role challenges.

Which working-condition areas are analyzed for midwifery educators?

The article considers transition, remuneration, workload, casual working, and the breadth of the midwifery education role.

Why does the article argue that educator pay and conditions matter for midwifery students?

It states that quality and safe education depends on educators being motivated, nurtured, and happy, and that poorly treated educators undermine student outcomes.

Sep 7, 2026

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