The importance of clinical supervision and teaching methods for midwifery students’ confidence in intrapartum care. A mixed method study

Abstract

Objective

Midwifery students’ need to be confident, and it is important to identify factors that might affect students’ confidence. Achieving registration as a midwife requires academic, clinical and professional competence. In the 1,5-year post-nursing program in Sweden 50% is allocated to clinical practice, and students must assist a minimum of 50 births. There is a lack of knowledge regarding the significance of supervision and to consider both theoretical and practical aspects of midwifery education. This study intends to identify relationships between midwifery students’ confidence in intrapartum care and associated factors. An additional aim was to provide a member check of the validity of the findings.

Methods

All midwifery programs in Sweden participated in this cross-sectional study, where 238 (78%) midwifery students completed a questionnaire based on the competency descriptions by the International Confederation of Midwives. Confirmatory interviews were conducted for checking the results relevance.

Result

The organization of midwifery education, satisfaction with supervision and theoretical teaching significantly impacted students’ confidence. Few background variables were associated with confidence.

Conclusion

Clinical supervision was important. Students preferred lectures and practical demonstrations instead of self-studies. The structure and quality of both practical and theoretical training are crucial for building confidence. Newly graduated midwives qualitatively confirmed the results of the analysis. They also experienced a stressful environment, only focusing on to assist at the required 50 births.