The good midwife: commencing students' views.

OBJECTIVE: to explore commencing students' views of the good midwife. This study was set against a background of high course attrition and concerns that discordant students' views of midwifery practice may have been associated with course attrition.

DESIGN: qualitative thematic analysis.

SETTING: Melbourne, Australia.

PARTICIPANTS: all commencing midwifery students, in 2008, were invited to participate (n = 41).

MEASUREMENTS AND FINDINGS: students spoke of a series of key attributes they felt were important to the role of the midwife. Most fell into the affective domain and four themes were identified: personal qualities and attitudes; a belief in women and natural birth; compatible work ethic; and the possession of additional attributes.

KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: commencing students showed a clear understanding of the affective attributes required of a good midwife but a lesser understanding of requirements of knowledge and competence. A small number of students felt that they were already equipped to advise pregnant women, despite their early stage in the course. This is an issue that needs to be addressed.