Peer Review

Peer review brings together San Francisco Doulas to discuss their cases and learn from each other. It provides a local forum and foundation in the case a grievance has been filed by a client, a medical care provider, or a hospital administrator. Having ongoing peer review provides a stable and trusted environment for solving problems and lending support to one another.

Beyond community support lies the professional ethical questions and concerns. Peer review adds validity to the doula's professional development and certification process. The public and health care providers can know that doulas participate in peer review, and that if a concern is raised, there is a platform for discussion and follow-up.

There are two ways that the SF Doula Peer Review system will work.

  1. A Doula will present for review a case about which she has questions.

  2. A grievance case will be filed and presented for review. In this case the Doula is required to respond directly to the grievance in the company of her peers. She will ask for and receive feedback. The filer of the grievance will receive a formal response and statement of outcome after the peer review has been completed.

If a formal grievance is filed against a Doula, the first place the complaint will be addressed officially will be in local peer review. Establishing local peer review is worthwhile preparation for future problem solving.

Guidelines for cases reviewed:

  1. All information is confidential.

  2. Either the Peer Review Coordinator or a Board member will be appointed the Moderator to ensure the following format is respected:

  3. Ideally 2-3 doulas will present during a Peer Review meeting and three or four board members will be present.

  4. During case review presentation everyone remains quiet until the doula presenting the case has finished. After completion of the presentation, the presenting doula is encouraged to give/get a self-review. Suggestions include: What did I do well? What I could have done differently or better? What do I need help with?

  5. If the case has been filed by someone outside the doula community, i.e., a grievance case, written feedback will be given to document the process, feedback, outcomes, and follow-up measures. Doulas who present their case are also encouraged to document feedback they learned throughout the process.

  6. At the close of a Peer Review meeting the Moderator will once again remind the attending Doulas that confidentiality is assured for all proceedings.

Contact person for Peer Reviews:

Peer Review Coordinator: Pamela Star, sfstarbaby@yahoo.com