Valuing the work of midwife preceptors

Registered midwife preceptors play a pivotal role in the clinical education of student midwives and are essential for growing the profession. Despite dramatic increases in cost of living, for almost 30 years the midwife preceptor stipend remained stagnant at only $500 per month and did not reflect the skills, responsibilities and working conditions required to precept effectively. In comparison, physician preceptor stipends, which were comparable to midwife preceptor pay in 1994, continuously saw growth. Today, physician preceptor stipends are approximately $1000 per month and sometimes higher.[1]

After years of advocacy by the AOM, the midwife preceptor stipend increased to $200 per week (or $800 in a four-week month) in the 2023-24 contract. It is a step in the right direction. After significant delays in implementing the increase, the Ministry of Health confirmed the agreement has finally been executed and the payment should be released in June, retroactive for preceptor work completed since April 1, 2023.

The issue historically had little traction at the bargaining table for years, in part because government viewed stipends, which are administered and set by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, as outside of the responsibility of the Ministry of Health. However, the decision of the Human Rights Tribunal clearly indicated that the Ministry of Health has a legal obligation to proactively monitor, prevent and remedy gender discrimination. The issue of preceptor stipends illustrates how gender discrimination is embedded, invisible and normalized in the government’s executive administration of the Ontario Midwifery Program and Midwifery Education Program. The ripple effect of pay inequity disincentivizes midwives from precepting, which hinders the growth and sustainability of the profession, greater exacerbating health human resources issues in midwifery. 

The midwife profession in Ontario has continued to grow because midwives have committed to the important work of training students, despite not being compensated appropriately for years. Preceptor stipends are one of many compensation elements being assessed within the Joint Compensation Study (JCS), to be included in overall compensation. The AOM continues to build on this win in future bargaining with the Ministry of Health.

We celebrate the preceptors who champion student midwife learning – from their first blood draw to the day they wear their red shoes.