University News Last updated 05 January 2023
Sally Ashton-May, Director of Midwifery Policy and Practice at the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), has received an honorary degree from Birmingham City University (BCU) in recognition of her outstanding service and commitment to midwifery and the wider healthcare sector.
Sally received her Honorary Doctorate during Birmingham City University’s graduation ceremony, held at the prestigious Birmingham Symphony Hall on Thursday 5 January 2023, which saw Midwifery and Nursing students cross the stage to become alumni.
On receiving the award, Sally said: “It feels really humbling and exciting – it’s important that the whole midwifery profession is recognised for its contribution to society.
In her role at the Royal College of Midwives, Sally is passionate about developing midwifery education, practice and leadership to help deliver consistently safe, high-quality and compassionate care. Throughout her career, she has championed the crucial role midwives play both in healthcare and society more broadly.
‘I hold being a midwife close to my heart’
Sally’s 30-year career has seen her gain experience and expertise, not only in midwifery but in a variety of roles in the healthcare sector.
Before starting her role at the Royal College of Midwives, she worked for Health Education England, where she helped create registered midwife training and increased student midwife numbers by thousands over a four-year period.
In her speech to graduates and their families at the ceremony, she highlighted how “nothing is ever lost, even if your pathway takes an unexpected turn” – citing examples in her career where she took on roles which were not directly related to midwifery, but ultimately enriched her contribution to the profession in the long run.
“I was part of a team which developed the Nursing Associate role – I saw no obvious connection to midwifery at the time, but later in my career when I was involved in creating the midwifery support worker education, competence and career framework, I was able to transfer the knowledge and learning from that previous experience.”
Sally’s message to midwifery and healthcare graduates reflected the values she has held throughout her own career: “As you set off on your new path, keep passion at the centre of all you do… the measure of our success as individuals both personally and professionally is about our integrity and being true to our values and beliefs.”
Powering the frontline
Sally’s career has also seen her work with Birmingham City University on a number of projects. “My interest in expanding student midwife numbers, developing the workforce and creating new education and career pathways has presented opportunities that led me to work very closely with university colleagues, and it has been a pleasure to work with BCU on a number of projects. I feel very proud to have been recognised by the University with this award.”
Birmingham City University provides training to nurses, midwives, paramedics, physiotherapists and other healthcare professionals, alongside the UK’s only contract to train and educate the Armed Forces’ nurses, radiographers and operating department practitioners.
Health Education England chose BCU as one of seven universities across the country to deliver a new blended learning nursing degree, featuring a mixture of online and face-to-face teaching. BCU is also one of only four universities that Health Education England has selected to develop a similar blended learning degree for Midwifery.
BCU is the largest trainer of undergraduate nurses in the UK, offering degree courses in different specialisms and nursing apprenticeships, developed with local employers.
Each year, Birmingham City University makes a number of honorary awards that recognise outstanding service to the University, to the city of Birmingham and the wider West Midlands region, or to public or professional life, nationally or internationally.
As in the past, this year’s recipients come from a number of different professional backgrounds and reflect the wide variety of relationships which the University has, together with the range of educational provision offered by its faculties.