Third-year Midwifery Students Research Articles

Structural empowerment of midwifery students following simulation-based training of management of obstetric emergencies

BackgroundHaving the ability of managing obstetric emergencies is the necessary capability for providing care during labor and delivery.Simulation is considered to be a valuable strategy for empowering midwifery students in managing emergencies. So, this study was conducted to determine the structural empowerment of midwifery students following the simulation-based training of management of midwifery emergencies.MethodsThis semi-experimental research was conducted from August 2017 to June 2019 in the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan, Iran. 42 subjects of the third-year midwifery students were included in the study through convenience sampling method (n = 22 in the intervention group, n = 20 in the control group). Six simulation-based educational sessions were considered for the intervention group. Conditions for Learning Effectiveness Questionnaire, was used at the beginning of the study, one week after it and one year later. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze the data.ResultsIn the intervention group, the significant difference was observed between the mean score of the students’ structural empowerment before and after the intervention (MD=-28.41, SD = 3.25) (p < 0.001), before and one year after the study (MD=-12.45, SD = 3.47) (p = 0.003), and immediately after and one year after the study (MD = 15.95,SD = 3.67) (p < 0.001). In the control group, no significant difference was observed. Before the intervention, there was no significant difference between the mean score of the students’ structural empowerment in the control and intervention groups (MD = 2.89, SD = 3.50) (p = 0.415); but, immediately after the intervention, the mean score of structural empowerment in the students of the intervention group was significantly higher than those of the control group (MD = 25.40, SD = 4.94 ) (p < 0.001). One year after the study, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the mean score of the structural empowerment (MD = 6.89, SD = 3.58 ) (p = 0.061).ConclusionSimulation contributed to the structural empowerment of midwifery students by providing the opportunity for personal and professional growth and strengthening of the formal and informal power in the area of midwifery emergency management but these benefits were not seen at one year.

The Effect of Distance Educationon the Professional Competence and Academic Motivation of Midwifery Students: A Qualitative Study

With the COVID-19 pandemic, the online teaching model has been used for the first time, and this has led to significant changes in departments such as midwifery, where theory and practice are combined. This study aimed to determine the effect of distance education on the professional competence and academic motivation of midwifery students. This study was carried out at a national university in Kastamonu, Türkiye between March and September 2021. The study adopted a qualitative design, and participants (n = 20) were the third-year midwifery students. Data were collected by conducting in-depth semi-structured face-to-face interviews using a pilot-tested interview guide. The interviews were conducted through webinars and the interviews were recorded. The interviews were held in a relaxed and calm environment where both researchers were present. The interviews were conducted with no more than two students in one day and the interview records were transcribed on the same day. Each interview lasted about 40 minutes. The researchers followed a systematic data analysis procedure which is an appropriate method of analysis when aiming to create knowledge based on experiences and meanings from cross-case analysis. The third-year midwifery students closest to graduating from the Faculty of Health Sciences participated in the study. With the individual and in-depth interviews, the responses of the midwifery students were subsumed under the following six themes: (1) ‘a new learning experience, (2) reluctance to learn new information, (3) inadequacy in professional skills, (4) lack of self-confidence, (5) not being able to join a multidisciplinary team, (6) anxiety about future professional life'. It has been determined that distance education in midwifery education in Türkiye has many pleasing and facilitating features as well as obstructive and worrying aspects. In addition, online education negatively affected the psychomotor skill development of students. It is recommended that institutions providing education to midwifery students be aware of the difficulties experienced and follow different methods for psychomotor skills training.

Mentoring in the clinical training of midwifery students - a focus study of the experiences and opinions of midwifery students at the Medical University of Warsaw participating in a mentoring program

BackgroundThe current system of clinical training for midwifery students in Poland is in need of considerable revision to adapt it to the global standards and the expectations of healthcare providers, healthcare users and student midwives themselves. Aim of this study was to report the experiences of midwifery students participating in a mentor-led clinical training program and their opinions of mentoring as a novel training method.MethodsA qualitative descriptive study that used a focus group was undertaken in the period from October 2017 to June 2019. The participants were 12 s- and third-year midwifery students at the Medical University of Warsaw who at various times during the study period had their clinical training in the Department of Obstetrics, Solec Hospital in Warsaw, Poland. All students had previous experience of clinical training other than clinical mentorship. At the end of the study, a focus group interview was conducted with all 12 participants. Five questions were selected to guide the focus group discussion: Did you get any valuable learning experience during your clinical training? How did this clinical training differ from your previous clinical training? What was your experience of one-on-one mentoring? Did the mentoring program meet your expectations? What do you think could be changed to make the proposed mentor-led clinical training more effective?ResultsFour themes were identified. The study demonstrated that mentoring was perceived by the participants as an innovative and effective method of clinical training for midwifery students. All students positively evaluated the quality of the mentor-led clinical training which allowed improving their clinical skills and building new competencies. Students believed they could effectively use their clinical skills and make informed decisions in a safe and supportive clinical learning environment. They felt that their inclusion in the therapeutic team contributed to better patient care.ConclusionsThe use of innovative forms of clinical training at undergraduate level improves its effectiveness and in the future should be reflected in a high-quality maternity care. Mentoring has its advantages for both, mentor and mentee, but the main goal is to develop and improve professional competencies of the junior partner.

Effect of episiotomy training with beef tongue and sponge simulators on the self-confidence building of midwifery students.

This study assesses the efficacy of simulation-based episiotomy training (SBET) with beef tongue and sponge models in terms of the self confidence of midwifery students while performing episiotomy. Third-year midwifery students from Cumhuriyet University in the fall semesters of 2011 and 2012 were enrolled in the sponge and beef tongue model groups (n = 36 and n = 37, respectively). A checklist was prepared on the required skills for performing episiotomy which can be broken into three main parts, namely preparation, cutting and repairing and completion. According to the checklist, a Likert type questionnaire was developed including 5 items for preparation, 11 items for cutting and repairing, and 6 items for completion. After SBET with the sponge and beef tongue models in our laboratories of Midwifery Department, the students performed episiotomy steps in laboring women in Sivas State Hospital and then they filled in the questionnaire to indicate whether they gained self-confidence in performing episiotomy or not. Although, participants of both groups have successfully completed all the steps of episiotomy, overall, beef tongue model was found to be more successful regarding their self-confidence (p < 0.05), including the skills in performing local anesthesia; choosing needle holder, suture material and scissor for cutting; identifying apex, hymen and skin; using needle holder properly while penetrating into the skin, suturing vaginal mucosa until hymen, knotting, and suturing perineal muscles and skin. Our results suggest that while SBET with both models are applicable for episiotomy training of midwifery students in the laboratory setting, SBET with beef tongue model provides an additional increase in their self-confidence in the clinical settings.

Peer to peer mentoring: Outcomes of third-year midwifery students mentoring first-year students.

Undergraduate midwifery students commonly experience anxiety in relation to their first clinical placement. A peer mentoring program for midwifery students was implemented in an urban Australian university. The participants were first-year mentee and third-year mentor students studying a three-year Bachelor degree in midwifery. The program offered peer support to first-year midwifery students who had little or no previous exposure to hospital clinical settings. Mentors received the opportunity to develop mentoring and leadership skills. The aim was to explore the benefits, if any, of a peer mentoring program for midwifery students. The peer mentoring program was implemented in 2012. Sixty-three peer mentors and 170 mentees participated over three academic years. Surveys were distributed at the end of each academic year. Quantitative survey data were analysed descriptively and qualitative survey data were analysed thematically using NVivo 10 software. Over 80% of mentors and mentees felt that the program helped mentees adjust to their midwifery clinical placement. At least 75% of mentors benefited, in developing their communication, mentoring and leadership skills. Three themes emerged from the qualitative data, including 'Receiving start-up advice'; 'Knowing she was there' and 'Wanting more face to face time'. There is a paucity of literature on midwifery student peer mentoring. The findings of this program demonstrate the value of peer support for mentees and adds knowledge about the mentor experience for undergraduate midwifery students. The peer mentor program was of benefit to the majority of midwifery students.

Personal Beliefs and Professional Responsibilities: Ethiopian Midwives' Attitudes toward Providing Abortion Services after Legal Reform.

In 2005, Ethiopia liberalized its abortion law and subsequently authorized midwives to offer abortion services. Using a 2013 survey of 188 midwives and 12 interviews with third-year midwifery students, this cross-sectional research examines midwives' attitudes toward abortion to understand their decisions about service provision. Most midwives were willing to provide abortion services. This willingness was positively and significantly related to clinical experience with abortion, but negatively and significantly related to religiosity, belief that providers have the right to refuse to provide services, and care of patients from periurban as opposed to rural areas. No significant relationship was found with perceptions of abortion stigma, years of work as a midwife, or knowledge of the law. Interview data suggest complex dynamics underlying midwives' willingness to offer services, including conflicts between professional norms and religious beliefs. Findings can inform Ethiopia's efforts to reduce maternal mortality through task-shifting to midwives and can aid other countries that are confronting provider shortages and high levels of maternal mortality and morbidity, particularly due to unsafe abortion.

Teaching midwife students how to break bad news using the cinema: An Italian qualitative study

Delivering bad news is a difficult task that involves all healthcare professionals, including midwives. The hypothesis is that, in order to learn how to disclose and to discuss bad news, students need a phase of personal reflection, of awareness of their own emotional processes. The use of films in healthcare education can foster this process evoking different emotions concerning suffering and disease, in a “safety zone”. This study examines the effects that a course, which uses reflection as a method of learning and the cinema as a teaching tool, produces on a little group of Italian third-year Midwifery students. From the content analysis (supported by Atlas-Ti® software) of the texts produced by the students after the vision of two entire films, it appears that they correctly identified many elements related to good and poor communication of bad news and that they were able to describe the emotions felt while watching the film, but still revealed a certain difficulty to interpret them. The course helped students to recognize the value of reflection on their emotions to better understand others, to empathize with people who suffer, but also to recognize their difficulties and compete with their own limits.

Decision-making in maternity care: How women infuence decisions

This article addresses the theme of decision-making in clinical practice and is based on a teaching and learning session for third-year midwifery students. The focus of this article is on the processes of decision making. Scenarios are presented that can be used as problem-based learning exercises with student midwives and discussion questions are suggested.