Facilitators and barriers of independent decisions by midwives during labor and birth.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that affect labor management decisions of midwives in hospitals and freestanding birth centers.

Methods: A qualitative study was conducted using one-on-one tape recorded interviews of midwives who had experience managing labor and birth in both hospitals and freestanding birth centers. Ten interviews consisting of several open-ended questions were conducted, coded, and analyzed in a stepwise fashion to identify codes, categories, and themes.

Are students' impressions of improved learning through active learning methods reflected by improved test scores?

Purpose: To report the transformation from lecture to more active learning methods in a maternity nursing course and to evaluate whether student perception of improved learning through active-learning methods is supported by improved test scores.

Methods: The process of transforming a course into an active-learning model of teaching is described. A voluntary mid-semester survey for student acceptance of the new teaching method was conducted.