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Midwifery Students and Obstetrical Residents Learning, Understanding and Application of Shared Decision Making

Introduction:

Childbirth is an important time in a client and patient’s life. The pregnant client seeks to obtain as much control over their circumstance as possible. The more perceived control in childbirth by the client, the better the outcomes are for the client-newborn dyad. One way that clients obtain control during childbirth is by participating in clinical decision making with their healthcare providers. This research intended to study the ways in which OB residents and midwifery students engaged in the understanding, learning and application of shared decision making with clients and patients.

Methodology:

This study utilised a constructivist grounded theory approach to obtain data and formulate a theory using semi-structured interviews with five senior obstetrical residents and five senior midwifery students from Ontario.

Results:

Qualitative data revealed four themes and eight sub-themes. Our theory describes the way residents and students absorb, mirror, and perform shared decision making through an informal process of observation and experience throughout their training. Our theory further describes how support for students and residents creates the foundation for learning shared decision making. Support includes how the mentor minimizes the impacts of the hierarchy of power in medical and midwifery education, as well as increasing psychological safety for the learner.

Conclusion:

The study results support the exploration of future methods for the teaching of shared decision making to obstetrical residents and midwifery students. Participants of this study agreed that more training is needed for shared decision making, as well as training for the mentor to ensure learners are optimizing their experience. More training needs to be available for mentors to help reduce the negative impacts of the hierarchy of power, and to increase psychological safety for the learner. / Thesis / Master of Health Sciences (MSc) / This thesis examines the ways in which obstetrical residents and senior midwifery students learn, understand and apply shared decision making in their training. Shared decision making is a way in which health care providers can work collaboratively with their patients or clients to make decisions that are best for their health. Both obstetrical residents and midwifery students were asked about how they understood shared decision making, and the process by which they learn and perform shared decision making. Childbirth is full of uncertainty and fear. Shared decision making may be one way that the pregnant patient or client navigates through the fear by having some control over their decision making. Our study intends to help understand how obstetrical residents and midwifery students gather the skills they need to do shared decision making and how best to support learners with this skill set in the future.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/26057
Date January 2020
CreatorsFurnivall, Meagan
ContributorsDarling, Liz, Health Science Education
Source SetsMcMaster University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis

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