From an independent degree to a one-year specialisation

During the first years of the School and following the regulations of the time, when a midwife finished her studies at Santa Cristina she had to validate them at University to finally obtain the title. In 1953, a new education plan was put forward to increase the course from two to three years. However, it was not put into practice as the association of practitioners were opposed to the upgrading of the professions of midwives and nurses. Thus, at the end of 1953, the courses for nurses and practitioners were merged into one called ATS (Technical Healthcare Assistant) and midwifery became a specialization course lasting one year.

This change brought many consequences with it: after finishing the ATS course and the specialisation they received a Diploma, not a Degree. Even the name became Obstetric Assistant although it then said midwife in brackets. This transformation also meant that in the long term, the independent college of midwives disappeared, a problem which means that midwives often feel defenceless because, as they are a small collective, their interests were not supported by the majority group. The School at Santa Cristina, like the others in Spain, had to adapt to the new situation. The advantage was that the situation led to an increase in the number of professionals entering the job market each year.

However, when the ATS schools were integrated into university as University Nursing Schools in 1977, nobody bothered to modify the specialised studies which remained the same. When Spain joined the European Union, this meant that our country did not comply with European regulations, which stipulated that midwives had to have independent studies of at least three years or a specialisation in the Diploma in Nursing of two years. This forced all the schools of midwifery in Spain, including Santa Cristina, to close in 1987. Not until 1996 did new professionals enter the job market.