The Future Midwife: A PRISMA Scoping Review of Education, Transition, and Work Readiness Among Midwifery Students

Preparing midwifery graduates to be confident, competent, and resilient is essential for workforce sustainability, yet students report a disconnect between academic preparation and clinical realities. Increasing care complexity, workforce shortages, and variable clinical learning environments globally highlight the need to examine how educational strategies support effective transition to practice.

To map and synthesise the evidence regarding educational approaches, learning experiences, and transition-to-practice factors that influence preparedness for professional practice among midwifery students, and to identify gaps in the existing literature to inform a coherent and future-ready educational framework.

A PRISMA-ScR-guided scoping review was conducted across seven databases. Data were extracted through a standardised template and analysed using narrative synthesis. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method studies were examined for learning approaches, practice conditions, and transition experiences.

Three overarching domains and seven sub-domains were identified. Reflective practice, blended learning, simulation, and collaborative approaches were widely valued but inconsistently implemented. Students frequently experienced transition shock, limited scaffolding of higher-order thinking, variable supervision, with misalignment between curricula, competency frameworks, and clinical expectations, leading to uneven confidence and skill development. Educator capacity constraints particularly in feedback, reflection, and simulation pedagogy were recurrent barriers. Positive clinical environments and structured reflective opportunities consistently strengthened competence, identity formation, and readiness.

Midwifery education is evolving towards contemporary, competency-based pedagogies, yet persistent inconsistencies undermine the reliability of graduate preparation. Strengthening curriculum coherence, standardising key learning experiences, investing in educator capability, and embedding structured reflection and simulation are essential. A unified educational framework that integrates these components is required to enable confident, adaptable, and practice-ready midwives.