On Friday the 7th of December, DENOSA General Secretary, Thembeka Gwagwa, delivered a presentation on Leadership to The Society of Midwives of South Africa (SOMSA) at their four-day Congress in Pretoria.
The congress was attended by over 350 midwife delegates, and it began on Tuesday 4 December and ran up until Friday the 7th of December.
As the presentation was on the last and concluding day of the Congress, the presentation touched on a number of crucial points within the midwifery sphere that delegates were to take home and think about, which included leadership and management, SOMSA and change, difference between managers and leaders, SOMSA as a leader, and professional cases as reported in 2012.
“Majority of us are occupying managerial positions and are expected to lead and guide others, and that is why the topic on leadership is a pertinent one,” said Thembeka Gwagwa.
She said it is important to acknowledge that midwives are expected to turn the tide when it comes to addressing the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) 4, 5 & 6, which are at the very heart of the profession.
“Therefore, I argue that South Africa needs midwives that are leaders in every level. If not, then we will never improve goals 4, 5 and 6 of the MDGs. No one needs to be in a managerial position to lead,” she said.
On SOMSA’s advocating for change in the nursing profession/midwifery scenario to nursing and midwifery or a nurse and a midwife, Gwagwa said the Society needs to identify and win followers on the matter, and that it needs to move beyond communication to persuasion of all role players who have interest and stake on the matter.
