Exploring midwifery students’ experiences & perceptions of preceptorship project

Background and Purpose: Special attention has been paid to instructor and preceptor in nursing and midwifery education. This study aims to explore the experiences and Perceptions of midwifery students about implementing Preceptorship Program in delivery setting. Methods: The current study is a qualitative research. The focus groups and in-depth interviews were used as data collection tools. Targetful sampling was employed to choose 10 midwifery students from Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in order for them to participate in two discussion groups and in-depth interviews. The content analysis method was used for data analysis. Results: 10 categories, 5 themes and 238 codes were conducted. The themes were: the characteristics of a good preceptor, relationship, motivation and self-esteem, the expectations of a preceptor, and preceptorship experience. Conclusion: The study showed that solving communication problems in educational environment, improving student-preceptor interaction, boosting motivation level and self-esteem among midwifery students, and coordinating procedures conduction are among the important principles of teaching and learning in clinical setting. The present study results can convey the essential knowledge to midwifery education planers on this aspect of educational process and benefit from the advantage of peer preceptors via the instructor’s supervision.