Concerns among first year midwifery students: Towards addressing attrition rates
Mary C Carolan
School of Nursing and Midwifery, St Alban's Campus, Victoria University, Melbourne VIC
Gina B Kruger
School of Nursing and Midwifery, St Alban's Campus, Victoria University, Melbourne VIC
PP: 139 - 147
Abstract
Since 2000, there has been a shift to undergraduate midwifery education in Australia. Midwifery students are generally highly motivated, however attrition rates remain high among first-year students.
This study was undertaken in one Australian University against a background of high course demand and high student attrition. Thirty-two first-year midwifery students completed a demographic questionnaire and wrote a reflection in response to the question: What if anything, would make your experience as a first year student better? Data were subjected to thematic content analysis.
Findings indicated a need for: greater opportunities to prepare; for more time to study; for greater student supports; and outlined difficulties such as financial and childcare. In conclusion, undergraduate midwifery courses and local conditions vary among institutions. Student feedback is a useful way of identifying local concerns that may impact on student completion rates. This is a necessary first step to the provision of meaningful student support.
Keywords
midwifery students; attrition; student concerns; undergraduate; nursing
References
Abushaikha, L. (2006). Midwifery students' enrolment reasons and evaluations of the first Bachelor of Midwifery programme in Jordan. Midwifery, 22(4), 323-329.
Andrew, S., Salamonson, Y., Weaver, R., Smith, A., O'Reilly, R., & Taylor, C. (2008). Hate the course or hate to go: Semester differences in first year nursing attrition. Nurse Education Today, 28(7), 865-872.
Begley, C. (1998). Student midwives' experiences in the first three months of their training 'good days and bad days'. Nursing Review, 16(3), 77-81.
Begley, C. (1999). A study of student midwives' experiences during their two-year education programme. Midwifery, 15(3), 194-202.
Begley, C. (2001). Knowing your place': Student midwives' views of relationships in midwifery in Ireland. Midwifery, 17(3), 222-223.
Begley, C. (2002). 'Great fleas have little fleas': Irish student midwives' views of the hierarchy in midwifery. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 38(3), 310-317.
Burnard, M. P. (1991). A method of analysing interview transcripts in qualitative research. Nurse Education Today, 11(4), 461-466.
Carolan, M. C., & Hodnett, E. D. (2007). 'With woman' philosophy: Examining the evidence, answering the questions. Nursing Inquiry, 14(2), 140-152.
Carolan, M. C., & Kruger, G. Undertaking midwifery studies: Commencing students' views. Midwifery [doi: 10.1016/j.midw.2009.002].
Cuthbertson, P., Lauder, W., Steele, R., Cleary, S., & Bradshaw, J. (2004). A comparative study of the course-related family and financial problems of mature nursing students in Scotland and Australia. Nurse Education Today, 24(5), 373-381.
DEST: Commonwealth Department of Education. (2001). Midwifery Education: Literature Review and Additional Material. Canberra: Commonwealth Department of Education.
Fraser, D., & Hughes, A. (2009). Perceptions of motherhood: The effect of experience and knowledge on midwifery students. Midwifery, 25(3), 307-316.
Glossop, C. (2001). Student nurse attrition from pre-registration courses: Investigating methodological issues. Nurse Education Today, 21(3), 170-180.
Green, S., & Baird, K. (2009). An exploratory, comparative study investigating attrition and retention of student midwives. Midwifery, 25(1), 79-87.
Happell, B., Pinikahana, J., & Roper, C. (2003). Changing attitudes: The role of a consumer academic in the education of postgraduate psychiatric nursing students. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 17(2), 67-76.
Leap, N. (1999). The introduction of 'Direct Entry' midwifery courses in Australian universities: Issues, myths and a need for collaboration. ACMI Journal, 12, 11-16.
Leap, N., & Barclay, L. (2001). National review of nursing education, midwifery education: Literature review and additional material (No. Report No.: 6770.HERC01A). Canberra: Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training.
Leap, N., Barclay, L., & Sheehan, A. (2003). Results of the Australian midwifery action project education survey: Paper 3 workforce issues. Australian Journal of Midwifery, 16(3), 12-17.
McCall, L., Wray, N., & McKenna, L. (2009). Influence of clinical placement on undergraduate midwifery students' career intentions. Midwifery, 25(4), 403-410.
McKenna, L., & Rolls, C. (2007). Bachelor of Midwifery: Reflections on the first 5 years from two Victorian universities. Women and Birth, 20(2), 81-84.
NSW Health Department. (2000). New South Wales Nursing Workforce Research Project. Sydney: Nursing and Health Services Research Consortium.
O'Brien, F., Keogh, B., & Neenan, K. (2009). Mature students' experiences of undergraduate nurse education programmes: The Irish experience. Nurse Education Today, 29(6), 635-640.
O'Donnell, H. (2009). The emotional impact of nursing student attrition rates British Journal of Nursing, 18(12), 745-754.
Playle, J. F. (1996). Quality in nurse education: An exploration of the concept of students as customers. Nurse Education Today, 16(3), 215-220.
Pryjmachuk, S., Easton, K., & Littlewood, A. (2009). Nurse education: Factors associated with attrition. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65(1), 149-160.
Pryjmachuk, S., & Richards, D. (2008). Predicting stress in pre-registration midwifery students attending a university in Northern England. Midwifery, 24, 108-122.
Seibold, C. (2005). The experiences of a first cohort of Bachelor of Midwifery students, Victoria, Australia. Australian Midwifery, 18(3), 9-16.
Steele, R., Lauder, W., Caperchione, C., & Anastasi, J. (2005). An exploratory study of the concerns of mature access to nursing students and the coping strategies used to manage these adverse experiences. Nurse Education Today, 25(7), 573-581.
Stott, A. (2007). Exploring factors affecting attrition of male students from an undergraduate nursing course: A qualitative study. Nurse Education Today, 27(4), 325-332.
eContent Home
