[Preparedness for professional practice and field preferences of student midwives in Germany]

Student midwives are trained to provide care for women and their families. With academisation in 2019, theoretical education was transferred from vocational schools to institutions of higher education in order to meet the increasing demands of the profession. The aim of this study is to examine the preparedness for professional practice and interprofessional collaboration as well as preferences in fields of practice of student midwives.The cross-sectional study "Healthy MidStudents" examining the health and working conditions of student midwives (n=342, response rate 61.3%) was conducted in Northern Germany at nine institutions of higher education between 17 October 2022 and 31 January 2023. The data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.The majority of primary-qualifying students (n=249) rated that they were on average moderately prepared for both the professional practice (47.0%) and interprofessional collaboration (47.4%). Students (n=342) most preferred working in out-of-hospital birth care (24.3%), followed by clinical birth care (21.6%) and out-of-hospital postnatal care (14.6%).The findings implicate measures, e.g. mentoring programmes, to promote preparedness for professional practice and interprofessional collaboration. The study results indicate a broad interest in various fields of practice, particularly in out-of-hospital fields.