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Midwifery trained registered nurse's (MTRN) scope of practice is contentious and it has not been
evaluated so far in the Sri Lankan context.This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to address the
existing knowledge gap describing findings of a survey among MTRNs in intra-natal units at tertiary
care hospitals in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. Their opinion of labour room (LR) tasks, and
responsibilities was obtained through a postal survey which was mailed to 227 MTRNs at five
selected tertiary care hospitals. Response rate was 82% (186).Respondents rated the primary
responsible person for each of 39 tasks in the LR. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20;
descriptive statistics were calculated.
Only 12/39 tasks were rated as primary responsibilities of MTRNs; all other tasks were identified as
over-lapping with the roles of other professionals. Eight tasks were rated as primary responsibilities of
both MTRNs and doctors;4 as the primary responsibility of MTRNs and Midwives; 6 as primary
responsibility of MTRNs, Doctors, and Midwives. The most contentious LR task was performing
deliveries, which was rated as a primary responsibility of three professionals; 88% rates this as
MTRNs' own tasks, 70% as midwives’ tasks, and 40% as doctors’ tasks.
MTRN's held different opinions about their primary responsibilities, a large number of the LR tasks
seemed to overlap with other professionals’ tasks; this can lead to role confusion and conflicts among
interprofessional teams in maternity care settings. Well-defined professional boundaries are needed
for MTRNs in order to improve interprofessional collaboration and ensure safe maternity care
delivery.
