Midwifery Students

Midwifery students may be involved in your care. If your midwife has a student working with them, they will ask your permission to have the student present for your visits and your birth.

The students with placements at our practice are from the Midwifery Education Program (MEP) in Ontario. The MEP is a 4-year bachelor’s degree in health sciences. The student is assigned to work with preceptors on either the blue or green team.  Students play an active role in client care.  They work alongside their preceptors in clinic, at home visits, and at births. They also answer pages and consult with their mentors about their care management plans.

There are many benefits of having a student involved in your care including:

  • An extra pair of hands to provide labour support, or offer your partner a break at your birth.
  • Continuity of care! Although you will have the opportunity to get to know all the midwives on your team, students will be in clinic as much they can for learning opportunities. Clients often develop a special relationship with their students.
  • Midwifery students are learning the most up-to-date information, and are eager to research the most current evidence to answer any questions or concerns you may have.
  • Energy and enthusiasm! Students are ready to work hard, passionate about midwifery, eager to go the extra mile, and bring fresh perspective.
  • Your feedback helps students learn and become skilled, knowledgeable, and compassionate midwives.
  • By having a midwifery student, you help ensure other birthing parents will have to have the option for midwifery care in the future.

A midwife teacher will always be present and nearby when you are with a student. Midwifery students are always supervised according to their skill level. It’s always your choice if you would like a student involved in your care. We always suggest you try meeting the student and see how you feel. We think students are great, and we think you will too!

Fundamentals I and II Students

Students in their NC placement are with the practice for 24 weeks spread over 7 months. This placement focuses on the development of midwifery skills and providing care in normal and variations of normal situations. It is a combination hands-on learning and distance education. This includes doing pre- and postnatal care, taking phone calls from clients, monitoring labours, catching babies and doing newborn exams. All of the care that the student provides will be under careful supervision.

This is their first placement in the program, and they are clinical beginners. During the first 1.5 years of the MEP, students complete a pre-clinical curriculum that includes science, social sciences and basic midwifery philosophy/skills. They’ve also had the opportunity to observe midwifery clinic, attend births in an observer role, and practice in simulated situations with standardized patients and on each other to ensure they are ready to be involved in client care.

Senior Students

Senior students are in their fourth year of the MEP and focusing their studies on complex clinical care, while finessing their midwifery skills in their final semesters before becoming full-fledged midwives themselves! They are with our practice for a calendar year. They will often be found working independently (for example, attending postpartum home visits and answering pages alone), but are still paired with a team of mentor midwives for support and accountability.

Current Student Biographies

Emily Brock, Sr Student (May 2024 – April 2025)

Hello! My name is Emily, and I am so excited to start my final year-long midwifery placement at Maternity Care Midwives in Thunder Bay! I have always been interested in health care and began my university education at Laurentian University where I studied Kinesiology. Although I was born and raised in Sudbury, I’m currently residing in Sault Ste. Marie. I have completed midwifery placements in Muskoka, Sudbury, the Sault, and Markham. Having roots in Northern Ontario, I am passionate about the accessibility and quality of reproductive healthcare in this region. Outside of midwifery, I spend my time taking film photos, camping, and snuggling my bearded dragon, Saul.
Thank you to the families who generously share their experiences with midwifery students and the midwives who share their knowledge and wisdom through mentorship. The privilege of being invited into your community and taking part in your care is one that I will not take for granted.

Grace Molinski, Fundamentals I and II student (January – July 2025)

My name is Grace Molinski, and I am a second-year midwifery student from McMaster University. I am from a small village about 2 hours east of Thunder Bay called Rossport but am very familiar with Thunder Bay and the surrounding areas. Prior to studying midwifery, I attended high school in Terrace Bay, doing co-ops at the local hospital in the laboratory and diagnostic imaging departments. Outside of midwifery, I enjoy spending time with my cat and dog, discovering new music, spending time outdoors, and exercising. I am very excited to be returning to my home community to learn and to provide midwifery care for those in North Western Ontario.