NEWS

The Advisory Board have now agreed new scenarios for the practical examination, and they will be introduced in 2010.  At their meeting in August they agreed that the course fee did not need to increase at present, and thanked the administrator (Suzanne Page) for her efforts in reducing costs to enable this.

Irene Calvert, one of the founding members of ALSO in New Zealand has resigned from the Board so that she can concentrate on completing her PhD.  The ALSO Board have thanked her for all the hard work she put into helping get the course running in New Zealand in 2001, and for her efforts with teaching and collaborating with our Australian colleagues to develop the manual further.

May 9th 2009 saw many of the ALSO Instructors meet in Wellington to discuss further improvements to the course, in particular the development of new practical examinations.

In January 2009 Vicki Freeman represented the New Zealand ALSO group at the Annual International ALSO meeting in Kansas City.  She joined 60 representatives from 50 countries where the ALSO course is now taught in a busy weekend's learning.  The NZ group has again led the way in parts of the course development, offering two new scenarios for the practical examination.  Preliminary data was presented from Tanzania following the introduction of ALSO, suggesting 

If these findings are confirmed they will demonstrate quite objectively the benefits of the ALSO course in maternity care. 

A review of the new written examination was carried out after one year of its use.  This showed that none of the questions were either too hard or too easy.  Candidates who were unsuccessful at their first attempt have usually acknowledged that this was because they had not studied the manual in sufficient depth.  Nearly all have re-sat the examination successfully after adequate revision.  An independent review of all the questions was also undertaken by a Midwifery Educator, who said "Thank you for forwarding the MCQ for me to work through.  I thought the questions were clear and concise and the answers attainable.  I feel this is a valuable component to the ALSO course and could not identify any problems with the questions." 

The Advisory Board sanctioned a complete revision of the written examination questions, and the new bank was introduced to the courses in 2008.  Candidates are reminded that detailed knowledge of the course manual is necessary to ensure satisfactory completion of the examination at the course.

The Advisory Board meeting in August 2007 reluctantly decided that the course fees would have to increase in 2008.  The increase in all costs associated with the course has made this unavoidable, and the new course fees will be $1100 (inc GST).  The new Board is continuing to develop the course to reflect New Zealand practice, in conjunction with our colleagues in Australia.

The Winter 2007 edition of O&G Magazine (produced by RANZCOG) carried a review article about "Term Breech Delivery", in which the authors strongly suggested that "all those involved in care of pregnant women have exposure to training in the technique of a vaginal breech delivery, for example by attending courses such as MOET or ALSO." 

May 2007 saw most of the ALSO instructors in New Zealand gather at Wellington Airport Conference Centre for a one-day update and refresher course.  The day allowed the instructors to meet old and new colleagues, and to ensure they were all up-to-date with the improvements that have been introduced to the course.

The ALSO International Advisory Board Meeting in January 2007 was attended by Ian and Suzanne Page.  Further support was given to the development of the course worldwide, using ideas that have already been successfully introduced in New Zealand.  In addition ideas about the organisational aspects of running the ALSO course were discussed.

Work by instructors from the New Zealand ALSO group was presented at the ALSO International Advisory Board Meeting in January 2006 by Anna Wilson, a midwife who works at the Kenepuru Maternity Unit just north of Wellington.  She joined more than 55 delegates, representing nations from every continent except Antarctica, at the meeting in La Jolla, San Diego. The delegates presented feedback from the ALSO programme within their own regions of the world. The International Advisory Board Meeting provides an opportunity to review and develop the ALSO programme and its training materials.  During the meeting Anna presented some changes to the course format which have been developed and trialled within New Zealand.  The proposed changes were met with great enthusiasm and it is expected they will now be introduced world-wide, with minor changes to allow for local customs and practice.

RECOGNITION

The ALSO course is recognised for 16 PR & CRM points by the Royal Australasian College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists.

Successful completion of the ALSO course is approved and allocated 20 points for elective approved education in the recertification programme of the Midwifery Council of New Zealand.  The programme requires 40 points to be achieved during a three year period.  Attendance at the course is allocated 15 points.

Data from the UK in 2003, with regard to the incidence of claims arising from shoulder dystocia, provide surrogate evidence that ALSO courses may be having a real and beneficial effect on the outcome of emergencies in maternity care.