The Virtual International Day of the Midwife: A synchronous open online conference for continuing professional development and learning for midwives

Abstract

AIM: To examine the contribution of the Virtual International Day of the Midwife (VIDM) conference to midwives' continuing professional development (CPD). BACKGROUND: Knowledge and understanding of CPD for midwives as synchronous online learning is limited. Studies of e-learning programs for CPD have underlined the need for interaction with others. The VIDM is a synchronous online 24-hour conference freely available for midwives designed to provide a unique CPD opportunity. METHOD: An online survey with a mix of fixed-response, multiple-response, and open-ended freetext questions was available to participants for 1 month after the conference via the wiki page in 2012 and 2013. FINDINGS: The survey was completed by 239 conference participants. Midwifery students and clinical midwives were the largest groups of attendees. The most common countries of residence were Australia, United Kingdom, and United States. Respondents believed that the conference contributed to their professional development by enabling professional growth, facilitating shared learning, and raising awareness of global issues. CONCLUSION: Offering synchronous events is important to facilitate deeper learning for those engaging in online activities. As an annual synchronous 24-hour, open online conference, the VIDM has become a valuable CPD opportunity for midwives.