Lived experiences of undergraduate nursing students in midwifery practice at selected rural hospitals of South Africa

BackgroundMidwifery practice is a requirement in the integrated undergraduate nursing programme which includes general, midwifery, community, and psychiatric nursing disciplines. Students are placed in these clinical areas for learning experiences. Students' experiences in midwifery practice are mostly overwhelming due to the nature of the services rendered. This makes them have mixed feelings of anxiety and excitement. These experiences might hinder or enhance learning.ObjectiveThe study sought to explore student nurses' experiences during placement in midwifery practice.MethodsA phenomenological, qualitative approach was used to obtain the experiences of students in midwifery practice. Nonprobability purposive sampling was used to sample midwifery practice areas and nursing students. Measures to ensure trustworthiness were ensured. Ethical considerations were ensured. Data was collected through focus groups of 6-7 members each and analysed using Tesch's open coding method. Data was collected over a period of nine months. Data was collected until saturation was reached.ResultsTwo main themes that emerged from the findings are: positive and negative experiences which both impacted their clinical learning.ConclusionFindings revealed that students view midwifery training as fascinating as they were the first people to hold babies at birth. However, there are challenges like fear of not meeting learning outcomes and fear of making errors which require the support of professional nurses.