Graduating midwifery students’ preferred model of practice and first job decisions: A qualitative study

© 2020 Australian College of Midwives Objectives: To explore and describe the preferred model of practice and first job decisions of final stage midwifery students from three Western Australian universities. Design: Qualitative descriptive. Setting: Three Western Australian (WA) universities...

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Main Authors: Kuliukas, Lesley, Bayes, S., Geraghty, S., Bradfield, Zoe, Davison, C.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/81373
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author Kuliukas, Lesley
Bayes, S.
Geraghty, S.
Bradfield, Zoe
Davison, C.
author_facet Kuliukas, Lesley
Bayes, S.
Geraghty, S.
Bradfield, Zoe
Davison, C.
author_sort Kuliukas, Lesley
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2020 Australian College of Midwives Objectives: To explore and describe the preferred model of practice and first job decisions of final stage midwifery students from three Western Australian universities. Design: Qualitative descriptive. Setting: Three Western Australian (WA) universities offering courses leading to registration as a midwife. Participants: Twenty-seven midwifery students from undergraduate and postgraduate (pre-registration) courses. Methods: Data were collected from recorded interviews and focus groups. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts was used to identify commonalities. Data saturation guided when recruitment ceased and final sample size was achieved. Findings: Participants’ preferred model of maternity care was influenced by learning about and witnessing both autonomous midwifery practice and collaborative care during their studies. The greatest influence was clinical experience, with most preferring a continuity of midwifery model (CoM) but first consolidating their practice in a public hospital. Most students reported that they would not choose a private hospital as their first option. Work/life balance was also considered, with some accepting that family commitments and a need to work close to home may prevent them from choosing a CoM model. Conclusion and implications: Although many Australian midwifery students start their midwifery course with preconceived ideology of their eventual workplace, the influences of their educators, clinical placement environment, preceptors and continuity of care experience relationships with women helped determine their final direction. To provide students with the experiences to become woman-centred autonomous practitioners it is important for universities and all maternity care providers to carefully consider their responsibility in how they influence midwifery students in education and practice.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-813732022-09-05T04:30:09Z Graduating midwifery students’ preferred model of practice and first job decisions: A qualitative study Kuliukas, Lesley Bayes, S. Geraghty, S. Bradfield, Zoe Davison, C. Employment choices Models of midwifery care Student midwife © 2020 Australian College of Midwives Objectives: To explore and describe the preferred model of practice and first job decisions of final stage midwifery students from three Western Australian universities. Design: Qualitative descriptive. Setting: Three Western Australian (WA) universities offering courses leading to registration as a midwife. Participants: Twenty-seven midwifery students from undergraduate and postgraduate (pre-registration) courses. Methods: Data were collected from recorded interviews and focus groups. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts was used to identify commonalities. Data saturation guided when recruitment ceased and final sample size was achieved. Findings: Participants’ preferred model of maternity care was influenced by learning about and witnessing both autonomous midwifery practice and collaborative care during their studies. The greatest influence was clinical experience, with most preferring a continuity of midwifery model (CoM) but first consolidating their practice in a public hospital. Most students reported that they would not choose a private hospital as their first option. Work/life balance was also considered, with some accepting that family commitments and a need to work close to home may prevent them from choosing a CoM model. Conclusion and implications: Although many Australian midwifery students start their midwifery course with preconceived ideology of their eventual workplace, the influences of their educators, clinical placement environment, preceptors and continuity of care experience relationships with women helped determine their final direction. To provide students with the experiences to become woman-centred autonomous practitioners it is important for universities and all maternity care providers to carefully consider their responsibility in how they influence midwifery students in education and practice. 2020 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/81373 10.1016/j.wombi.2020.07.005 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Elsevier fulltext
spellingShingle Employment choices
Models of midwifery care
Student midwife
Kuliukas, Lesley
Bayes, S.
Geraghty, S.
Bradfield, Zoe
Davison, C.
Graduating midwifery students’ preferred model of practice and first job decisions: A qualitative study
title Graduating midwifery students’ preferred model of practice and first job decisions: A qualitative study
title_full Graduating midwifery students’ preferred model of practice and first job decisions: A qualitative study
title_fullStr Graduating midwifery students’ preferred model of practice and first job decisions: A qualitative study
title_full_unstemmed Graduating midwifery students’ preferred model of practice and first job decisions: A qualitative study
title_short Graduating midwifery students’ preferred model of practice and first job decisions: A qualitative study
title_sort graduating midwifery students’ preferred model of practice and first job decisions: a qualitative study
topic Employment choices
Models of midwifery care
Student midwife
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/81373