Stress, stressors and related factors in clinical learning of midwifery students in Iran: a cross sectional study

Abstract

Background: Midwifery is an emotionally challenging profession, and academic education of midwifery especially clinical learning has its own specific challenges. Midwifery students face with stressful experiences, especially related to instructor and characteristics of clinical environment, which can affect their theoretical and practical abilities. There is insufficient evidence in this field. This study aimed to explore (1) the perceived stress and stressors of midwifery students and (2) the relationships between students' stress and related factors in clinical learning environment. Methods: A cross sectional, survey design was conducted at one university in Iran. A sample of 108 students was selected using Krejcie and Morgan table in 2016. Data was collected using Persian version of Cohen's perceived stress scale, Persian questionnaire of sources of stress and demographic form. Data was analyzed using independent t, ANOVA and correlation coefficient test (α < 0.05). Results: Participants returned 70 surveys (response rate, 64.8%). Approximately 56% of the students perceived a high level of stress. The most common dimensions of stressors were "unpleasant emotions" and "humiliating experiences". The highest stressors were included "feeling suffering due to seeing for patients with critical situation", "instructor's admonition in the presence of clinical staff" and "communication with instructor". The "interest in the field of study" had a negative impact on perception of stressors in dimensions of "clinical practices" and "interpersonal communication". Conclusions:The midwifery students reported their stress in severe level, especially in dimensions of "unpleasant emotions" and "humiliating experiences". The factors associated with the instructors have caused more stress in students. These findings will highlight need for supportive strategies by the clinical instructors. In this regard, the use of experienced instructors, the development of communication skills of the instructors, increasing coping skills of the students and the creation of a supportive environment may be helpful.

Stress management strategies and quality of life in undergraduate nursing and midwifery students in Poland: A pilot study

“…Previous studies showed that students of nursing and midwifery are frequently exposed to significantly high levels of stress during clinical practice (Blomberg et al, 2014;Labrague et al, 2017;Pryjmachuk & Richards, 2008;Shaban et al, 2012). The students' sources of stress connected with clinical practice include: taking care of patients, professional training, professional communication and time management (Soares de Souza et al, 2016), dying patients and patients with terminal illnesses (Zhao et al, 2015), fear of unknown situations, dealing with unfamiliar situations, making errors with patients, learning to apply clinical procedures and managing technical instruments (Pulido-Martos et al, 2012), noise, moving location, social interaction (Ahmed & Mohammed, 2019), unpleasant emotions, humiliating experiences, feeling suffering due to seeing for patients with critical situation (Rezaei et al, 2020), difficult relationships with clinical colleagues and clinical educators (Wolf et al, 2015). In Brazilian studies, nursing students complained about problems related to the lack of time for: leisure activities, spending time with family members and for completion of extracurricular activities (Soares de Souza et al, 2016).…”

Stress Level during Thesis Writing in Pandemic Covid-19 among Midwife Students, Universitas Airlangga Surabaya

“…This research is in line with the results of research conducted by Rosyad (2019) where most (59.3%) the stress level of students who are writing their thesis is in the normal category, 18.5% mild stress, 11.1% moderate stress, 7.4% severe stress, and 3.7% very severe stress. The other study by Rezaei, Falahati and Beheshtizadeh (2020) with 70 participants shows that approximately 56% of the midwifery students perceived a high level of stress. In addition, a study by Aulia and Panjaitan (2019) on students of the Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Indonesia who are currently completing their thesis, showed that 77 respondents (71.3%) experienced moderate stress, 15 respondents (13.9%) experienced mild stress, and 16 respondents (14.8%) experienced severe stress.…”

Prevalence of stress among nursing students: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

“…27 studies [16–42] were included, including 7116 patients. The results of meta-analysis showed that the prevalence rate of low-level stress was 0.24% [95% CI (0.24% to 0.25%)], the prevalence rate of medium level stress was 0.35% [95% CI (0.35% to 0.35%)], and the prevalence rate of high-level stress was 0.10% [95% CI (0.10% to 0.10%)], as shown in Figures 3–5.…”

“…There were 17 high stress level studies. [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]28,30,32,34,36,41,42] respectively. Chi square test showed that the differences between the subgroups were statistically significant (P < 0.00001).…”