Perception of Mobbing During the Study: Results of a National Quantitative Research Among Slovenian Midwifery Students

Abstract

Mobbing, defined as sustained harassment among workers, in particular towards subordinates, merits investigation. This study aims to investigate Slovenian midwifery students' (2^nd and 3^rd year students of midwifery at the Faculty for Health Studies Ljubljana; the single educational institution for midwives in Slovenia) perception of mobbing, since management of acceptable behavioural interrelationships in midwifery profession forms already during the study, through professional socialization. Descriptive and causal non-experimental method with questionnaire was used. Basic descriptive statistics and measures for calculating statistical significance were carried out with SPSS 20.0 software version. All necessary ethical measures were taken into the consideration during the study to protect participants. The results revealed that several participants experienced mobbing during the study (82.3%); 58.8% of them during their practical training and 23.5% from midwifery teachers. Students are often anxious and nervous in face of clinical settings (60.8%) or before faculty commitments (exams, presentations ect.) (41.2%). A lot of them (40.4%) estimate that mobbing affected their health. They did not show effective strategies to solve relationship problems. According to the findings, all involved in midwifery education, but above all students, should be provided with more knowledge and skills on successful management of conflict situations.