Helen Recchia
Senior Lecturer in Midwifery

Profile

Biography

Helen qualified as a registered (adult) nurse in 1999 at the University of Leeds. After working in orthopaedic nursing Helen commenced the BA (Hons) Midwifery Practice Programme at the University of York. She spent the majority of her practice as a midwife working in York Hospital rotating between the antenatal, postnatal and labour wards.

Helen was regularly involved in mentoring and supporting student midwives in practice. In 2007 she became a Supervisor of Midwives; a mechanism to protect women and babies by actively promoting a safe standard of midwifery practice.

Helen joined the Midwifery Education Team at the University of York in 2009, initially on a two year secondment and later as a midwifery lecturer. She has studied Health Sciences at Masters Level and enjoys all aspects of midwifery education and practice; although her particular interests are professional and legal issues and intrapartum care. 

Helen has undertaken programme leadership and curriculum development roles for pre-registration midwifery.

Helen is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an experienced external examiner for midwifery.

Currently, Helen is undertaking a part-time PhD at the University of York exploring the influence of resilience on midwives' career-related decisions.

Qualifications

• MSc Health Sciences
• NMC Registered Lecturer
• BA (Hons) Midwifery Practice
• Registered Midwife
• Registered (Adult) Nurse
• Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP)

Departmental roles

• Deputy Programme Lead for Midwifery programmes
• Stage 1 Lead for Midwifery programmes
• Member of the Fitness to Practice Committee
• Mentor within the mentorship pool

Teaching

Undergraduate

• Co-Module Lead for Universal Midwifery Care: Postnatal (stage 1)
• Module lead for The Professional and Legal Frameworks Regulating Midwifery Practice (stage 2)
• Module Lead for Knowledge and Evidence Informing Midwifery Practice (stage 2)
• Module Lead for Dissertation (stage 3)

Academic Assessor for undergraduate midwifery students in all programmes stages.

External activities

Memberships

• Member of the Nursing and Midwifery Council 
• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

External examiner roles

• External Examiner for the University of Wolverhampton (2017-2021)

Invited talks and conferences

• Presentation: 'Developing the 'Future Midwife' curriculum at the University of York: opportunity, challenge & resilience' Faculty of Science pedagogy and practice event, 13th Jan 2022, University of York, with co-presenter Helen Bedford (online)
• Poster: Using Grounded Theory to Explore the Influence of Resilience on Midwives' Career Related Decisions. Royal College of Midwives (RCM): Annual Research Conference, March 2020 Leeds. with co--authors Galdas, P. Bedford, H. Kanaan, M. (2020)