Close to 70 years after Shaare Zedek Medical Center certified the first midwife in Israel, Shaare Zedek School of Nursing is opening a midwifery course in Jerusalem. It has been 40 years since the last midwifery course was held in Jerusalem.
The course has been designed under the direction of the Israeli Ministry of Health ???? ??????? and is one of five such courses offered throughout the country. At the conclusion of the course, all of the participants will need to pass a standardized exam to become a certified nurse midwife in Israel.
Ms. Tami Glatt, the Head of the Nursing School explained, “This course is an another example of the advanced training and continuing education courses the Nursing School has recently begun to offer. We are very proud that the participants in our other courses (such as, Lactation Nurse Specialist Advanced Course and Neonatal & Premature Intensive Care Unit Specialty Advanced Nursing Course) have passed the rigorous licensing exams.”
The course will be coordinated by Shaare Zedek’s nurse midwife, Dr. Pnina Fishbane Mor. Pnina shared, “Earlier this year, I was asked to coordinate this program which is especially exciting for me since I participated in the last midwifery course in Jerusalem 40 years ago. In addition, there is a special feeling about training midwives in the Holy City of Jerusalem. Over the years, Shaare Zedek’s Labor and Delivery Unit has offered student midwives one of the largest clinical rotation sites in the country.
Shaare Zedek’s midwifery course will include 36 carefully selected nurses from Jerusalem’s major hospitals and public health systems (Shaare Zedek Medical Center both campuses, Hadassah Ein Karem, Hadassah Har Hazofim, and the public health system Kupat Cholim, etc.). Senior doctors and midwives from Shaare Zedek, as well as from other hospitals from all over Israel, will teach the course.
My mission is to provide the students with up to date medical knowledge, as well as the professional and social skills needed to be an exemplary midwife. A midwife’s expertise is a key factor in empowering women during their childbearing process and throughout their lifespan. Midwives have the opportunity to promote excellence in health care for women, infants, and families by employing three dimensions of midwifery; therapeutics, caring and profession. I believe that midwives are uniquely positioned to help women address an array of feminine needs.”
Dr. Pnina Fishbane Mor grew up in Toronto, Ontario Canada, came to Israel in 1968 and soon after started studying nursing at Shaare Zedek’s Nursing School. During her studies she became more focused on women’s health and midwifery. She has also been involved in numerous programs and courses at the Ministry of Health and for over ten years she has been a member of the staff at the Machon Tal (Jerusalem College of Technology) Nursing program and runs Shaare Zedek’s NOGA Clinic (for BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers).
“One member of the class shared, I recently gave birth to my eighth child. During the delivery I became determined to become a midwife. When I heard about this course opening I knew I had to be part of it. I am nervous, scared and very excited. I want to be very professional, help the mothers giving birth and I don’t want to become jaded. I have been working in the baby nursery for eight years and for me every day is special, I want every birth to be special and significant to me.”
We welcome these new students and wish them the best of luck with their studies.
