Newcomers’ learning of midwifery practice in a labour ward: a socio-cultural perspective

This article presents a qualitative case study of midwifery students’ learning processes in a Norwegian maternity ward. Midwifery students in their first year of midwifery education were interviewed with regard to their experiences of learning in this context. Both students and their preceptors were observed in different settings on the ward. Taking this community of practice as the privileged locus for learning practical knowledge, the study set out to understand students’ learning processes in this context, and how skilled midwifery was being learned. Three overarching themes emerged: acceptance into the community of practice; engagement in supportive dialogue with a preceptor; and being in different places at the right time. The study provides midwifery educators with some insight into midwifery students’ learning through participation in real-life situations and performing midwifery actions within formal and informal learning relationships on the ward.