Are Turkish Midwifery Students Well-Prepared for the Profession? Assessing Their Self-Confidence Levels and Effective Factors

Objective: To determine the self-confidence levels of midwifery students in line with the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) competencies they are expected to possess before graduation and to explore effective factors. Methods: Descriptive and cross-sectional online survey design was used among quantitative research methods. The online survey link was spread through social media. From March to June 2020, 763 midwifery students completed a survey on demographic characteristics and rated their confidence for essential midwifery skills listed by ICM. Results: Among the subscales, the highest average belonged to postpartum care (3.32 ± 0.66) and the lowest average to intrapartum care (2.94 ± 0.59). The students reported having less self-confidence in obstetrics emergencies, risky delivery, and neonatal care. The difference between descriptive characteristics and the ICM competencies subscales was found to be statistically significant (p