Specialized training program too expensive?

In the North American world of obstetrics, there is a specialized program that is considered a “gold standard” of maternity care. It provides information and training sessions for the care of women during pregnancy and delivery. It is a valuable tool for teaching health care providers of all levels from obstetricians, family physicians, registered nurses, and midwives on the multitude of skills necessary for the modern practice of obstetrics. Lawyers who work on maternity cases will often ask if this program was in place to train the staff to an expected standard of care.

However, in the current environment of budget reviews and the “business” of health care that is an emerging trend in Canada, this program is about to disappear. Deemed “too expensive” by administrators, the program is expected to be gone by the end of 2009.

It takes at least two years of full-time work for a nurse new to the area to begin to feel comfortable with anything that can be thrown at her during labour and delivery. We don’t have that kind of time anymore and the training program helped fill that need of skill building because we are losing experienced care providers to retirement. They will not be there to provide the support and hands on training for a bevy of young nurses just starting to get their skills established in this very specialized area which relies very heavily on the expertise of the RN to identify and apply interventions necessary for the well-being of the mom and her baby.

Too expensive to train health care providers? How much are the two lives of mom and babe worth? How much value is there in traumatized staff who only wanted to provide the best care?