Natalie Van Der Gucht

I joined the University of Huddersfield following a career in clinical midwifery, practice-based and higher education. I graduated from the University of Leeds in 2008 and subsequently undertook roles as a clinical midwife within local NHS Trusts. I moved into an educational role in 2014 as a practice educator within Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, supporting students and practice supervisors/assessors with learning and assessment in the clinical setting. This role also provided an opportunity to support newly qualified healthcare professionals throughout their preceptorship period and facilitate their transition to autonomous practitioners. Accepting a Lecturer in Midwifery position in 2020 at the University of Leeds facilitated a move into Higher Education, where I have been able to pursue my current academic and research interests.

My educational and research interests underpin my current doctoral research exploring the practices of assessment in pre-registration midwifery clinical education. My research is informed by a practice-based sociomaterial approach to explore how assessment is demonstrated within pre-registration midwifery clinical practice. I also have a keen interest in physiological birth, and how this can be supported and facilitated within contemporary midwifery practice.