Midwifery Student's Experiences of their First Attendance in the Delivery Room

Clinical education is a multidimensional and complex process with cognitive, emotional, and functional aspects. The first experience of clinical environment is the most important point of decision-making regarding the field of study as a future career path. Because of the enormous impact that the first experience of attendance in the delivery room might have on the students’ views regarding their future career and performance, the aim of this study was to describe the first experience of midwifery students in the delivery room.
This qualitative study was performed using a descriptive phenomenological approach in Iran. The subjects of the study consisted of 20 undergraduate midwifery students in their third or fourth semester. They were selected through purposive sampling method. Data were collected via individual tape-recorded interviews and focus group. Data were simultaneously analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step analysis method.
Through data analysis, 216 codes were extracted which were classified under 7 semantic codes. Then, the 2 main themes of transformation of previous beliefs and stress caused by delivery training were extracted from the experiences of the participants.
The results of this study showed that the previous beliefs of the students underwent transformation on their first experience of attending the delivery room. Various factors influenced their first experience. According to the results of this study and other similar studies, and due to the stressful nature of this field of study, attempts to prepare students before entering the delivery room to reduce the stress experienced in their first attendance and promote clinical education are necessary.