Clinical teaching in midwifery--an exploration of meanings

This small study was carried out as part of the BEd (Hons) Course in Education, and was conducted in the author's practice placement, a college of health care studies attached to a large maternity unit. The aims of the study were to determine what is meant and understood by the term clinical teaching, to explore student midwives' experiences of clinical teaching, and to ascertain whether the transition from student to midwife influences approaches and attitudes to clinical teaching. A qualitative approach was adopted, using a phenomenological viewpoint; data sources consisted of transcripts from semi-structured interviews with the eight participants, field notes and the author's reflective diary. The main findings of the research suggest that clinical teaching is perceived as a didactic, teacher led activity which occurs in the clinical area but away from women and babies. Other significant learning in the clinical area arises almost by accident as students go about their work. This learning is viewed negatively, and not always capitalised upon. Becoming a qualified midwife, although exciting, is stressful; informants felt unsupported in their role, and considered themselves ill-prepared for the task of mentorship. Midwife teachers are valued in the clinical area, but they were considered to be out of touch and in a hierarchy of work, theirs was considered least important. The study proposes strategies to enhance clinical learning and describes two models which legitimise the role of the teacher in the clinical area.