Initiation and maintenance of clinical learning sites in nurse-midwifery.

This article describes in practical terms the approach to selection and maintenance of clinical experience sites for nurse-midwifey educational programs. The responsibilities of clinical instructors, University programs, and student nurse-midwives in clinical settings are examined. Guidelines are offered to assist in providing a sound educational environment for the learning of the role of the nurse-midwife. The preparation of safe beginning practitioners in nurse-midwifery is the basic purpose of every nursemidwifery educational program. One might say that the most important concern of nurse-midwifery educators is to help ensure that the child-bearing families of this nation have available to them the highest quality health care and supervision and that this be provided by specialists in family-centered maternity care-nurse-midwives. The greatest asset in the preparation of a nurse-midwife is inquisitive, creative, and sensitive students! The second greatest asset is the faculty-both academic and clinical. * This article is based on a presentation to the Northeast Regional Council for Education in Nurse-Midwifery, June 8, 1979, Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York. Address correspondence to: Joyce E. Beebe, 184 J Howard Drive, Bergenfield, New Jersey 07621. The third greatest asset is the nurse-midwifery client who is willing to provide the clinical learning environment so essential to the student’s role development as a nursemidwife. It is quite obvious to everyone in education that if nursemidwife clinicians and their clients were to refuse to have students involved with them, there would be no future nurse-midwives. My intent with this article is to bring academic and clinical nursemidwives closer together as we work toward the common goal of preparing good, competent nursemidwives. Neither of us can do it alone-we must work together if we are to succeed. In an effort to increase understanding of the vital link between classroom and clinical learning, I would like to share some thoughts on what an educational program looks for in a clinical learning site. These thoughts are based on many years of Journal of Nurse-Midwifery ??Vol. 25, No. 1, January/February 1980 experience practicing and teaching nurse-midwifery, and although quite familiar, they are worthy of mention. Every educational program needs a clinical learning environment that provides opportunities for 1) the student to learn how to function as a nurse-midwife, 2) positioe channels of communication among professionals, 3) the student to provide nurse-midwifery management of patient care, 4) continuity of patient care, 5) exposure of the student to altematioe care modalities, 6) exposure to experienced nurse-midwifery clinicians (role models), 7) uariety in learning opportunities, such as case conferences, rounds, and 8) an environment of mutual respect and trust. I would hasten to add that each clinical setting is unique in its patient population and opportunities for learning the role of nurse-midwife. A given setting is generally selected for its strengths, although not all aspects above may be present. Educational