First birth stories of student midwives: Keys to professional affective socialization

The purpose of this article was to examine the professional affective socialization of midwifery students. Students from the Community-Based Nurse-Midwifery Education Program (CNEP) tell about their first births in their Lost Mil Hat stories posted on the electronic bulletin board of the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing. Qualitative analysis of 38 of these stories showed internalization of the values and beliefs of the midwifery model of care by students. Themes of the Lost My Hat stories were congruent with some of the aspects of the Model of Exemplary Midwifery Practice developed by Kennedy. Major themes included the circle of safety provided by the preceptor and a woman-centered approach to care. These findings can help midwifery educators promote socialization of students in the profession. (C) 2004 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.