‘Knowing your place’: student midwives' views of relationships in midwifery in Ireland

Abstract

Objective: to explore the feelings and views of student midwives of their education as they progressed through their two-year programme in Ireland, with the intention of interpreting and understanding the working and learning world of the participants so that future students might be assisted to improve their educational experiences.Design: phenomenology, using the technique of triangulation in a number of ways.Setting: all seven midwifery schools in Southern Ireland.Participants: all students in the first intake of 1995 in every midwifery school in Ireland (n=125).Data collection: individual and group interviews, diary-keeping and questionnaires.Key conclusions: the findings presented in this paper illustrate the students' views of their relationships with qualified midwives and obstetricians.Implications for practice: an attitude of respect for all students needs to be fostered in hospitals educating midwives if we are to produce caring midwives in the future. The new, extended programme of midwifery education in Ireland should include an emphasis on communication skills and conflict management. A re-organisation of the hierarchical structures evident in midwifery management would lead to an improvement in the experiences of students and childbearing women alike.