Enhancing midwifery students' knowledge and skills in communication, counselling, and therapeutic approaches through an elective pilot course : a mixed-methods study

Skubic, Metka (author), Stanek Zidarič, Tita (author), Jug Došler, Anita (author), Šerjak, Lucija (author)

Background/Objectives: Midwives are crucial in addressing complex women’s health issues, such as infertility, breastfeeding challenges, and neonatal health. An elective pilot course, “Educational, Counseling, and Therapeutic Approaches in Midwifery”, was designed to enhance midwifery students’ knowledge and skills in communication, counseling, and therapeutic skills via e-learning approaches. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining pre- and post-testing to assess students’ skill development. In addition, guided reflective discussions were based on video and audio recordings of pre-prepared role-playing scenarios. Students worked in pairs, alternating roles as midwives and patients, to engage in real-life situations. During the reflective discussions, students critically analyzed their experiences of the consultation process, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, and reflecting on what went well and what could be improved in future interactions. Results: The initial findings revealed that students were overconfident in their skills, but through role-playing and reflective discussions, they recognized gaps in their knowledge and developed a deeper understanding of essential competencies. Conclusions: The elective pilot course proved effective in enhancing students’ knowledge and skills as counselors. These results emphasize the importance of integrating structured e-learning and educational strategies into midwifery training to improve care and health outcomes.

• Language: English
• Keywords: elective pilot course, education, communication, counseling, therapeutic skills, e-learning, midwifery
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: ZF - Faculty of Health Sciences
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 01.05.2025
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 1-12
• Numbering: Vol. 13, iss. 10, art. 1180
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-169428
• UDC: 618.2/.7-083:378.6
• ISSN on article: 2227-9032
• DOI: 10.3390/healthcare13101180
• COBISS.SI-ID: 237368835
• Publication date in RUL: 28.05.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Healthcare
• Shortened title: Healthcare
• Publisher: MDPI AG
• ISSN: 2227-9032
• COBISS.SI-ID: 520110873

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.