BACKGROUND:
The context was set amidst declining midwifery staffing levels (NMC 2022), increased attrition in midwifery education (HEE 2019), now at 11% in midwifery and nursing education (UK Government 2025), and issues surrounding standards of practice (Kirkup 2015, Ockenden 2022, Kirkup 2022).

OBJECTIVES:
There is minimal research that seeks to hear the students' voices and why they choose to stay on their midwifery programme, and factors that influence this choice. Hearing students’ voices enabled insight of their experiences of the two workplace cultures they were embedded in, the Academic and Clinical workplace, and how this informed their choices to complete their education.

METHODS:
A constructivist interpretive paradigm, using a multiple-case study approach. A purposive sample of a cross-section of students from all years of the pre-registration midwifery programme, drawn from two UK Higher Education Institutes. Data were collected from unstructured focus groups and interviews over one academic year. Data were transcribed and analysed using a grounded theory approach, together with Harré’s Positioning Theory.

RESULTS:
During their education, professionalism was influenced by practice supervisors, lecturers, peers, and women. Students developed understanding of two workplace cultures, academic and clinical. A sense of belongingness to midwifery was achieved when lecturers and practice supervisors demonstrated supportive characteristics. Adverse effects of not feeling valued or trusted resulted in fear and subliminally led to quiescent and acquiescent silence so as not to be bullied.

CONCLUSIONS:
Fear of senior professionals, bullying, and non-compassionate care are entrenched in the clinical culture of maternity services. Students witness this punitive approach regularly and subliminally these attitudes may become normalised behaviour. There is the potential that this normalised behaviour which is inappropriate and unprofessional could continue once qualified.

KEY MESSAGE:
Education of midwifery students built on trust, kindness, collaboration, evidence and equity across the academic and clinical domains, to ensure sustainable, compassionate and safe maternity services. Poster session 3 (Group B)