Abstract

Background: Midwifery education in Australia faces challenges in combining theoretical and practical experiences, with reports of inconsistent support and supervision during Midwifery Practice Experience (MPE), alongside significant financial and personal costs to students. National evaluation and improvement initiatives are essential to ensure that midwifery students receive effective and high-quality clinical learning opportunities. Aim: This study aimed to answer two research questions: 1) How do midwifery students describe their Midwifery Practice Experiences? 2) What are the characteristics of Midwifery Practice Experiences that enhance or diminish midwifery student learning? Methods: National midwifery student survey data, collected through the National Placement Evaluation Centre. Data were inclusive of the 2023 calendar year. Data entered as ‘free text’ responses were analysed thematically. Findings: A total of 795 midwifery students completed the Placement Evaluation Tool (PET-Midwifery) during the data collection period, with 297 (37.4 %) providing a ‘free text’ response. Students were enrolled in 17 Australian Universities and represented every State and Territory except for the Australian Capital Territory. Positive experiences were linked to a sense of belonging and effective supervision, while negative experiences were tied to feeling unwelcomed and inconsistent learning opportunities. The study highlighted the personal impact of attending placements and identified the need for improved student support and preparation. Conclusions: Based upon a national survey of midwifery student perspectives of MPE, placement satisfaction was generally high with effective supervision and a sense of belonging. However negative experiences included reports of unwelcoming environments with a need for culture change and interventional education approaches.

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

3-1-2025

Volume

38

Issue

2

School

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Publisher

Elsevier

Comments

Kearney, L., Bloxsome, D., Hunter, S., Brown, A., Cooper, S., & Bogossian, F. (2025). A qualitative analysis of Australian midwifery students’ perspectives of Midwifery Practice Experience: Characteristics that enhance or diminish clinical education placements. Women and Birth, 38(2), 101887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2025.101887

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.1016/j.wombi.2025.101887