Q: I’m precepting a student nurse-midwife who doesn’t seem especially
engaged or excited about what she is learning. Any advice?
A: When I sense that my student isn’t engaged, we have a conversation
which involves the following: “I sense you are not engaged currently.
How are you feeling about this clinical? Do you have expectations
for it that you’d like to share with me? Why did you go into this
profession?” Sometimes the students are juggling multiple issues—kids,
homework, financial stress—so asking them the “why” behind the lack
of engagement can illuminate much. Also, setting clear expectations
can assist them in knowing what’s important. As midwives, we use
intuition a lot—this should be no exception. Good luck!
A: My experience suggests 2 possibilities: 1) Midwifery is “just a job”
to her/him; and 2) S/he is trying very hard to absorb every clinical
pearl and perform each one perfectly, and is forgetting about developing
interpersonal skills. Possibility #2 is much more common, and can be addressed directly by making it clear that perfection is not the standard and s/he is not expected to be a skilled midwife while still a student. She is expected to be excited about every client’s birth and communicate that excitement to the client.
Modeling the caring attitude of a good midwife towards the client and
her family is as much the preceptor’s responsibility as is teaching the
student how to manage the clinical aspects of a pregnancy and birth.
However, if possibility #1 is the problem, I’ve found that such students
do not practice for long, if at all. Midwifery is a tough way to earn a
living, and these students usually find an easier path.
A: The following tips have been amazingly helpful in my experience:
1) Inquire what their knowledge base is around a clinical topic at
hand. Offer insight based on experience. If both the preceptor and
student could use a theoretical refresher or research-based knowledge,
look it up together on UpToDate 2) Engage them in conversation
about random relevant topics 3) Show your passion around the
topic by educating both the student and the client/patient about
what is happening 4) Have fun together! If the preceptor shows
their interest and passion, this will rub off. Good energy is infectious!
