INCIDENCE AND SOURCE OF ANXIETY OF MIDWIFERY STUDENTS IN CONDUCT THEIR FIRST VAGINAL EXAMINATION

The professional education can be a very stressful experience. Vaginal
examinations are especially sensitive, both for the inexperienced midwifery student and for the
pregnant woman being examined. This study aimed to determine anxiety of midwifery students when
they conduct their first vaginal examination.
Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study included 47 sophomore midwifery students of
Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences. The students were asked to complete two questionnaires.
Spielberger's State Anxiety Inventory was to measures anxiety, and another questionnaire consisted of
demographic characteristics and anxiety and confidence feelings before and after conducting their first
vaginal examination. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Fisher exact test, and paired t
–test.
Result: Out of 47 distributed questionnaires, 43 were returned. The results showed that for the study
population, the mean anxiety score on Spielberger anxiety test before and after was 79.86±17.3 and
38.91±11.05, respectively. Students' anxiety was significantly elevated immediately before and fell to
below baseline levels after the examination (p<0.001). Feeling embarrassed to harm patients was the
most dominant cause of student anxiety in learning vaginal exam (p<0.0001). The use of the
mannequin-based simulation curriculum was effective in decreasing (p<0.045) student anxiety in
learning vaginal exam.
Conclusion: Midwifery educators should focus on students' anxiety when they conduct their first
vaginal examination which increases sensitivity. Recognizing and discussing sources of anxiety before
preclinical education is vital to decrease students’ anxiety level.