BackgroundLittle emphasis has been given to the standardised measurement of midwifery students' perceptions of their clinical learning experiences.
AimTo develop a tool that evaluates students' perceptions of their clinical learning experiences according to environment and impact of preceptors on professional development.
MethodsA cross-sectional design was used. Tool development had three phases: item generation; expert review to assess clarity, apparent internal consistency and content validity; and psychometric testing.All Bachelor of Midwifery students at one university in Australia were invited to complete the online survey. Psychometric testing included dimensionality, internal consistency and test-retest reliability.
ResultsA 74% (n = 279) response rate was achieved. Factor analysis revealed the Clinical Learning Environment Scale and Impact of the Preceptor Scale accounting for 53.6% and 71.5% of variance respectively. Both scales were reliable (Cronbach's alpha = .92 and .94) and valid. Overall, students positively rated the clinical learning environment and preceptors' abilities to foster their sense of identity as a midwife. Students were less satisfied with preceptors' understanding of the academic program.
Discussion
2The new tool consists of two scales that reliably measure midwifery students' perceptions of how the clinical learning environment develops their skills and reflects a midwifery philosophy.Preceptors had a positive influence on students' skills and professional development.
ConclusionsThe Midwifery Student Evaluation of Practice tool is the first valid and reliable measure of students' perceptions of their clinical learning experiences. Students' feedback provides valuable information to educators and preceptors on how best to optimise clinical learning.
The Rural Private Midwifery Education Program (RPMEP), a 2013 strategic response to midwifery workforce issues by the Queensland Government was unique in the Australian context. Midwifery students were embedded within a private midwifery caseload practice or rural publicly funded midwifery group practice (MGP). Continuity of midwifery care was at the core of the students' learning experience. This paper describes a study designed to explore the expectations and experiences of this group of newly qualified midwives as they transitioned to practice. Using a qualitative descriptive methodology, eight newly qualified midwives were interviewed. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data set. Six themes were identified; 'Midwifery-an unexpected career path', 'The 'gifts' of being embedded in caseload as a midwifery student', 'No jobsno real choice', The hospital system-A whole different world', 'Resetting (or Adapting) expectations-Drawing on what I know to be true' and 'What the future holds'. Transitioning to practice after being embedded in caseload midwifery as a student provided challenges for the newly qualified midwives. At the same time it 'gifted' them a strong commitment to woman centred care, continuity and a social model of maternity which they draw on to support their transition.
The Core Competencies and Educational Framework are based on an interprofessional approach to learning and primary maternity service practice. They have sought to value professional expertise and stimulate awareness and respect for the roles of all primary maternity service providers. The competencies and framework described in this paper are now a critical component of Australian maternity services as they are included in actions in the newly released National Maternity Services Plan and thus have relevance for all providers of Australian maternity services.
Midwives and visiting medical officers have a unique relationship within private hospital maternity settings. The effective exchange of accurate information between them is a fundamental element of patient safety and is vital to the success of the clinical handover process.
The SHARED (situation, history, assessment, risk, expectation, documentation) project developed, implemented and evaluated a framework and support tools for improving clinical handover in two private maternity hospitals.
The project included a pre‐ and post‐study design using clinician surveys, chart audits, patient satisfaction surveys and a review of clinical incident data.
A standardised approach to handover, using the SHARED framework with a standardised minimum dataset, improves the accuracy and appropriateness of information.
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