The lived experience of being an undergraduate midwifery student in the neonatal unit

The objective of this study is to examine the experience of undergraduate student midwives in the neonatal unit.

Clinical experience is an essential component of education for the development of competent midwives. Literature has highlighted the pivotal effects of precepting and how it contributes to student experience. Although there is a plethora of research examining undergraduate student midwives' experience, to our knowledge this is the first study exploring their experience in the neonatal unit.

Based in phenomenology, eight semi-structured interviews were conducted producing rich data.

Following informed consent and ethical approval, post transcription, the data were coded using Colaizzi's (1978) framework.

Significant themes and sub-themes emerged such as course design, environmental experience, sources of stress and preceptor experience. The student experience very much depends on the preceptor, how busy the environment is and if appropriately staffed.

Based on these findings there are suggested recommendations including adjusting the timing and length of the placement and how to improve the environment based on the preceptor-student relationship. Also, suggestions on how consistency and communication can be improved are proposed.