The Transmission of Values Specific to Midwifery and their Integration by Student Midwives

Marty Laforest, PhD Diane Vincent, PhD

ABSTRACT
Québec midwives adhere to a set of values viewed as essential. These values set midwives apart from other obstetrics professionals and play an important role in the formation of their professional identity. This article explores whether these values are transmitted to student midwives. To achieve our research objectives, we presented 21 student midwives with scenarios where a client's behaviour corresponds only more or less to midwifery values (as defined by the regroupement Les sages-femmes du Québec). Student responses were analyzed according to their level of correspondence with these values. The results show that regardless of the scenario, first-year students are most likely to form negative attitudes about the behaviour submitted to their attention and, contrary to their more advanced sisters, they base interventions with a client less on the need to refrain from judgment. Starting with the second year, the students' evaluations of behaviour tend to be neutral. The difference observed between the first-year cohort and the others leads us to believe that the start of the mentoring stage is the pivotal moment of training.

KEYWORDS
Attitude of health personnel; social values; social identification; professional identity; training.

This article has been peer reviewed.