Emergency Skills Workshop (ESW)

What is the ESW program?

Midwives are required to have specialized skills to deal with emergencies that occur at home and outside of the hospital. The AOM provides the most comprehensive and high-quality, CMO-certified course by and for midwives to stay current in these critical skills. Because many emergencies are rare, practicing skills in a simulated environment via the Emergency Skills Workshop (ESW) is crucial. It is also a mandatory course required to maintain competence as per the College of Midwives of Ontario. The ESW program is a recertification program and participants who wish to participate are required to meet specific eligibility requirements.

Who can attend an ESW recertification?

• Registered midwives and Aboriginal/Indigenous midwives.
• Student midwives can attend if they have previously completed the ESW Basic (or equivalent).
• Second attendants are eligible to participate in the ESW if they are registered health care providers (e.g. nurses, physicians, paramedics).
• If a second attendant is not a registered health care provider and wishes to participate in the ESW, they must request permission to participate and provide additional information to AOM ESW staff.

For questions related to eligibility requirements, please email esw@aom.on.ca.

What if I can't attend any of the ESW events that are listed on the AOM's ESW events page? 

There are different pathways for midwives to access an ESW event. If you are unable to attend any of the upcoming events on the AOM's ESW events page, you can request an ESW in your community. If you would like to do this, please go to the ESW PRN FAQ for more information. 

What is covered at the ESW in-person workshop?

The ESW workshop is a half-day in-person recertification workshop. On the day of the event small groups of participants are guided by ESW instructors to review and practice emergency management steps for a number of clinical topics and scenarios. Participants should come prepared to demonstrate their knowledge of emergency management steps for the clinical topics covered in the ESW manual as well as neonatal resuscitation.

What is the agenda for my ESW?

The ESW is a half-day recertification workshop. Participants register for either an AM or PM session. Depending on the number of participants and instructors, the workshop uses two different agendas with different instructor and participant ratios.

Agenda for 3-2 or 3-1 participant to instructor ratio

Agenda for 2-1 participant to instructor ratio

How do I access the new ESW manual?

When you register and pay for the ESW recertification, the bundled cost includes the ESW recertification workshop, the 7th edition of the ESW manual (pdf format), the online ESW presentation and the exam. Once you register for the ESW event, your event registration confirmation contains a link to the ESW manual in a downloadable pdf format.

If you reside outside of Canada please visit the AOM shop to purchase a copy of the manual.

How does the ESW exam work?

• The ESW exam is based on the contents of the 8th edition ESW manual (2021).
• Successful completion of the ESW exam is required prior to attending the ESW workshop.
• Access to the exam is provided 30 days prior to the workshop.
• You can log into and out of the exam during the 30 day period. It does not need to be completed in one sitting.
• The ESW exam is open-book.
• You must receive a grade of 80% or higher to pass.
• Registration for the ESW workshop includes two attempts at the exam. If you require a third attempt, please contact esw@aom.on.ca
• Please be aware that once you answer an exam question and click “Next Question,” there is not an opportunity to go back and review/revise your questions.

Support is available during regular business hours (Mon - Fri, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

If you have any feedback about an exam question, please email esw@aom.on.ca. Be sure to provide the question number or a screenshot of the question along with your feedback.