title: The Virtual Maternity Clinic: a teaching and learning innovation for midwifery education.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are challenges for midwifery students in developing skill and competency due to limited placements in antenatal clinics. The Virtual Maternity Clinic, an online resource, was developed to support student learning in professional midwifery practice.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Identifying students' perceptions of the Virtual Maternity Clinic; learning about the impact of the Virtual Maternity Clinic on the students' experience of its use and access; and learning about the level of student satisfaction of the Virtual Maternity Clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two interventions were used including pre and post evaluations of the online learning resource with data obtained from questionnaires using open ended and dichotomous responses and rating scales. The pre-Virtual Maternity Clinic intervention used a qualitative design and the post-Virtual Maternity Clinic intervention applied both qualitative and quantitative approaches.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three campuses of Deakin University, located in Victoria, Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Midwifery students enrolled in the Bachelor of Nursing/Bachelor of Midwifery and Graduate Diploma of Midwifery were recruited across three campuses of Deakin University (n=140).
  
  
  METHODS
  Thematic analysis of the pre-Virtual Maternity Clinic intervention (return rate n=119) related to students' expectations of this resource. The data for the post-Virtual Maternity Clinic intervention (return rate n=42) including open-ended responses were thematically analysed; dichotomous data examined in the form of frequencies and percentages of agreement and disagreement; and 5-rating scales were analysed using Pearson's correlations (α=.05, two-tailed).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results showed from the pre-Virtual Maternity Clinic intervention that students previously had placements in antenatal clinics were optimistic about the online learning resource. The post-Virtual Maternity Clinic intervention results indicated that students were satisfied with the Virtual Maternity Clinic as a learning resource despite some technological issues.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Virtual Maternity Clinic provides benefits for students in repeated observation of the practice of the midwife to support their professional learning and practice development.
authors: Deakin University, Faculty of Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood Victoria 3125, Australia. Electronic address: diane.phillips@deakin.edu.au.
authors: Diane
authors: D
authors: Phillips
authors: Maxine
authors: M
authors: Duke
authors: Cate
authors: C
authors: Nagle
authors: Susie
authors: S
authors: Macfarlane
authors: Gery
authors: G
authors: Karantzas
authors: Denise
authors: D
authors: Patterson
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016389:Maternal-Child Nursing / Q000193:education*; D008880:Midwifery / Q000193:education*; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D011247:Pregnancy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D014739:Victoria