Midwifery students' perceptions and learning experiences during clinical practice: a qualitative systematic review

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Midwifery Studies
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Clinical practice is crucial for midwifery students to develop essential competencies.
• Understanding student perceptions of clinical learning is key to improving education.
• Existing qualitative studies offer valuable insights into these experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and synthesize qualitative evidence on midwifery students' perceptions and learning experiences during clinical practice.
• To inform the development of more effective clinical education programs for midwifery students.

Main Methods:

• Included qualitative studies exploring midwifery students' clinical practice experiences.
• Conducted a comprehensive 3-stage literature search across multiple databases.
• Synthesized data using a meta-aggregative approach to generate key findings.

Main Results:

• Synthesized 32 qualitative studies into 3 key findings: adaptation to the clinical environment, clinical teaching/mentorship, and student learning/development.
• Identified 21 categories from 212 extracted findings.
• Assessed overall study quality as moderate, with high credibility.

Conclusions:

• Midwifery students require support to optimize their practical learning experiences.
• Recommendations include fostering positive clinical environments, addressing specific learning needs, and implementing effective mentorship.
• These strategies aim to enhance the development of essential professional capabilities.