For many years, story sharing has been integral to how student midwives learn at Bournemouth University. It is used to encourage creativity in the way they reflect in order to develop new ways of thinking about the cultural, social and political context of midwifery care.
In year one and year two of their programme students share stories in small groups about an experience they have encountered in clinical practice. This is usually done verbally but students sometimes create poems, pictures or even use needle craft to share their experience.
In year three, the assessment for their Health Leadership and Innovation module is to create a digital story, which encourages students to foster problem solving, creativity and analytical thinking in a new way. This supports current health leadership policy in the UK, which wants a workforce that is driving forward creativity and innovation as key skills to underpin change.
For many students the assessment appears beyond their capabilities but they show extraordinary resilience in their perseverance and produce some stunning pieces of work.
Below are the links to a selection of digital stories that the students have created: