Workplace culture and the practice experience of midwifery students: A meta-synthesis.

AIM: To describe midwifery students' practice experience and to explore facilitators and barriers to positive clinical learning experiences.

BACKGROUND: Practice experience is a vital component of every midwifery course. Course dissatisfaction and attrition of midwifery students has been attributed to sub-optimal practice experiences. Events or actions experienced by midwifery students that trigger dissatisfaction and attrition need to be identified.

EVALUATION: A meta-synthesis was based on that developed by Noblit and Hare.

KEY ISSUES: Students perceive workplaces as poorly prepared for their arrival and subsequent support. Students' experience in the practice setting is influenced by the existing workplace culture. Workplace culture influences institutional functioning and individuals within the culture. Enculturation of students into the midwifery culture and subsequent learning is affected by the support received.

CONCLUSIONS: The practice experience of midwifery students was profoundly influenced by workplace culture. Students tended to have polarized accounts of their experience that were predominantly negative.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING (MIDWIFERY) MANAGEMENT: To provide an optimal environment for midwifery students; midwifery managers and individual midwives need to be aware of the facilitators and barriers to midwifery student development in the practice setting.