Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
clinical placement and whom they learn most from. It varies among
the participants and also depends on the clinical area. Traditional
ways of learning Such as trial and error still exist in midwifery
practice and the participants were not satisfied with these methods
of learning.
They identified their student colleagues particularly those six
months ahead of them and the newly qualified staff midwives as
their major source of support in the clinical area. Studies by Begley
(1999a) and Lloyd (2001) generated similar findings
Theory practice integration
The ability to link theory and practice was particularly important for
the participants. However, it was not easy for them as the views
expressed in the classroom by the midwifery tutors were very
different from the reality of the clinical environment. This was
particularly difficult for them in the first year of their training given
that from a theoretical perspective they had covered normal
pregnancy while in the clinical area they were confronted with
complicated pregnancies. This demonstrates that the clinical area
does very little in terms of enhancing the participants’ ability to link
theory and practice. Cavanagh and Snape (1997) examined the
sources of stress in midwifery students. The study demonstrates
that students find the disparity between the lectures and their
placement area as a very stressful experience which had a long
term effect on them and was a major source of frustration.
Conclusions and recommendations
The clinical practice experience is central to the development of
midwifery practice skills and the quality of midwifery care delivery is
dependent, to a certain extent, on the quality of students’ clinical
preparation. Clinical placements help the students translate their
theoretical knowledge and at the same time integrate it into
practice. Since the midwifery students will be the future functioning
midwives, acquisition of clinical skills is fundamental and will
facilitate their smooth and sound transition into the workforce.
Consequently the importance of supporting them to achieve this
crucial goal cannot be overestimated. One of the main suggestions
emerging from this study is further development of the support
roles in the clinical area. However collaboration between the key
stakeholders needs to be seriously considered if this establishment
of support strategies is to be achieved. This will require some
organisational changes to involve both the academic and clinical
setting. While the academic staff needs to update their skills, clinical
staff need to be educated so that they will be well prepared to
undertake this role.
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