Students of midwifery: 'doing the obs' and other coping strategies

The paper is based on qualitative research on the early experiences of student midwives in one school of midwifery. During their initial encounters the students go through a status passage from experienced nurse to novice midwife. Student diaries and ethnographic data were used to explore how students manage the transition and to document their coping strategies. In particular it is shown how, in response to the uncertainties of their new status, student midwives may revert to routinised nursing activities.