Midwifery Students’ Career Choice and Attitudes Toward Professional Role Models: A Grounded Theory Study

Abstract Background Midwifery education programs worldwide are facing a major challenge to educate future leaders in midwifery, who will be dedicated experts capable of embracing change. However, the reasons why midwifery students choose to study midwifery have yet to be explored in midwifery practice, relate to the recent availability of undergraduate midwifery education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and there is a dearth of research on this topic. To explore the motivations of midwifery students to choose midwifery as a career, with the goal of attracting more students to the profession. Methods A qualitative study was conducted using grounded theory. Data were collected between July 1, 2024, and September 1, 2024, at a governmental university. Twenty midwifery students participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method, incorporating three types of coding: open, selective, and theoretical. Results The core category emerging from the data was “Nurturing the Next Generation of Midwives,” which encompassed six key contributing categories explaining why midwifery students choose this field: Internal Influences, External Influences, Supporting and Helping Women and Newborns, Serving the Community, Raising the Midwifery Profession, and the Influence of Midwifery Education. Conclusions This study presents a model for understanding the motivations behind students’ decision to pursue midwifery, aiding efforts to attract more students to the profession. To enhance midwifery program visibility and improve student recruitment efforts which will improve the women’s health.