The 2018 Members’ Survey opened on May 15 signaling the start of the process for developing the next 3‑year strategic plan. 436 members, 23% of CAM members, participated in the exercise to help the Board of Directors decide how to focus CAM’s resources. Diverse representation from almost all provinces and territories is critical in ensuring the Board of Directors has a good understanding of members’ concerns.
CAM last surveyed its membership in 2014, when 285 members answered questions about the priorities for their national association. This year’s survey was structured in a similar fashion to the 2014 survey, to help the association track changes in perception over time. Many of the main themes from 2014 continued to be priorities in the 2018 survey, including the strategic objectives, which were ranked with the same order of priority. In terms of particular concerns, 2018 survey respondents were preoccupied with the tension between providing continuity of care and maintaining a work/life balance, the integration of midwifery with the health system, and compensation and pay issues.
Not surprisingly, the provinces with the most respondents are those with the most midwives – Ontario, BC, Quebec and Alberta. However, the provinces with the best response rates were the Maritimes, where there are the fewest midwives. Nova Scotia in particular had a great response rate of 77% (7 of 9 midwives). Alberta also had a high response rate of 49% of 115 midwives. 25% of NACM’s membership responded to the survey as well.
Thank you to all the members who responded to the survey. Your reflections and ideas are key to advancing midwifery in Canada.
