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Aim
Clinical placement is a vital component of the undergraduate midwifery degree, giving
the student the opportunity to develop clinical skills. Workforce shortages have led
to an increased number of graduates employed, resulting in an imbalanced skill mix,
which sees novices frequently acting as preceptors to undergraduate students on clinical
placement. The impact of this on the student learning experience has not been examined.
To address the midwifery workforce shortage, it is vital that student midwives are
adequately supported to complete their studies, join, and remain in the profession.
This research aims to illuminate the beneficial attributes of novice and experienced
preceptors, along with any challenges students may face with each cohort; provide
the current and future midwifery workforce an opportunity to examine the provision
of a suitable learning environment for midwifery students, and provide stakeholders
with key recommendations on preparation of precepting midwives to optimise the student
experience.
Methods
A qualitative descriptive design will be utilised; third-and-fourth-year Bachelor
of Nursing/Bachelor of Midwifery (Hons) students have been invited to participate
in focus group discussions and/or semi-structured one-on-one interviews. Data will
be thematically analysed.
Preliminary Findings
Student midwives report benefits with each cohort, which may not be evident with the
other. These include the expert’s ability to give meaningful feedback and verbal guidance,
whilst greater relatability, increased awareness of requirements, and making students
feel welcome is reported with novice midwives.
Results
The final results of the research will be available in July 2022.
Conclusion
The hypothesis is that student participants will identify advantages and disadvantages
with both novice and expert preceptors. Results can be used to improve future training
of preceptors to optimise student clinical learning experiences.
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Copyright
© 2022 Published by Elsevier Inc.
