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Women seeking a vaginal birth after a caesarean section (VBAC) frequently want to keep their subsequent labour and birth free from intervention. Water immersion (WI) during labour is potentially an effective tool for women having a VBAC for its natural pain-relieving properties. However, negotiating access to WI can be difficult, especially in the context of VBAC. To explore women's experiences of negotiating WI for labour and birth in the context of VBAC. This Grounded Theory study followed Strauss and Corbin's framework and analytic process. Twenty-five women planning or using WI for their VBAC labour or birth were recruited from two midwifery practices and a social media group across Australia. Participants were interviewed during pregnancy and/or postnatally. 'Taking the reins', the core category explaining the women's experiences of assuming authority over their birth, comprised five categories: 'Robbed of my previous birth experience'; 'My eyes were opened'; 'Water is my tool for a successful VBAC'; 'Actioning my choices and rights for WI', and 'Empowered to take back control'. 'Wanting natural and normal' was the driving force behind women's desire to birth vaginally. Two mediating factors: Having someone in your corner and Rules for birth facilitated or hindered their birth choices, respectively. The women became active participants in their healthcare by seeking information and options to keep their birth experience natural and normal. Support from other women and advocacy in the form of continuity of midwifery care was crucial in successfully negotiating WI for their VBAC when navigating the complex health system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Relatively little is known about the extent of trauma and birth-related fear in midwives and how this might affect practice. Aim (1) Determine prevalence of birth related trauma and fear in midwives and associations with midwives' confidence to advise women during pregnancy of their birth options and to provide care in labour. (2) Describe midwives' experiences of birth related trauma and/or fear. Method A mixed methods design. A convenience sample of midwives (n = 249) completed an anonymous online survey. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the quantitative data. Latent content analysis was used to extrapolate meaning from the 170 midwives who wrote about their experiences of personal and/or professional trauma. Results The majority of midwives (93.6%) reported professional (n = 199, 85.4%) and/or personal (n = 97, 41.6%) traumatic birth experiences. Eight percent (n = 20) reported being highly fearful of birth. Trauma was not associated with practice concerns but fear was. Midwives categorised as having 'high fear' reported more practice concerns (Med 23.5, n = 20) than midwives with 'low fear' (Med 8, n = 212) (U = 1396, z = −3.79, p < 0.001, r = 0.24). Reasons for personal trauma included experiencing assault, intervention and stillbirth. Professional trauma related to both witnessing and experiencing disrespectful care and subsequently feeling complicit in the provision of poor care. Feeling unsupported in the workplace and fearing litigation intensified trauma. Conclusion High fear was associated with lower confidence to support childbearing women. Fear and trauma in midwives warrants further investigation to better understand the impact on professional practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Reporting the outcomes for women and newborns accessing private midwives with visiting rights in Australia is important, especially since this data cannot currently be disaggregated from routinely collected perinatal data. Aim 1) Evaluate the outcomes of women and newborns cared for by midwives with visiting access at one Queensland facility and 2) explore private midwives views about the structures and processes contributing to clinical outcomes. Methods Mixed methods. An audit of the ‘all risk’ 529 women receiving private midwifery care. Data were compared with national core maternity variables using Chi square statistics. Telephone interviews were conducted with six private midwives and data analysed using thematic analysis. Findings Compared to national data, women with a private midwife were significantly more likely to be having a first baby (49.5% vs 43.6% p = 0.007), to commence labour spontaneously (84.7% vs 52.7%, p < 0.001), experience a spontaneous vaginal birth (79% vs 54%, p < 0.001) and not require pharmacological pain relief (52.9% vs 23.1%, p < 0.001). The caesarean section rate was significantly lower than the national rate (13% vs 32.8%, p < 0.001). In addition fewer babies required admission to the Newborn Care Unit (5.1% vs 16%, p < 0.001). Midwives were proud of their achievements. Continuity of care was considered fundamental to achieving quality outcomes. Midwives valued the governance processes embedded around the model. Conclusions Private midwives with access to the public system is safe. Ensuring national data collection accurately captures outcomes relative to model of care in both the public and private sector should be prioritised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Within the context of an ageing health workforce it is important to gain a greater understanding of the motivations of young people (aged less than 21 years) to choose a career in midwifery. Aim To explore the reasons why young students decided to study midwifery and enrol in one Australian Bachelor of Midwifery program. Method A descriptive exploratory qualitative design was used. Eleven midwifery students aged less than 21 years on enrollment participated in a semi-structured tape-recorded interview. The transcribed interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings Direct and indirect exposure to positive constructions of childbirth as well as the midwives role fuelled young student's fascination with midwifery and drove their desire to enrol. While some young students entered midwifery studies as a result of their ‘love of babies’ others took a more pragmatic ‘wait and see’ approach about their career choice. Many young students however clearly distinguished midwifery from nursing demonstrating an intention to be a midwife rather than a nurse. This decision often took place within the context of opposition from within their family, school and social networks where the public discourse continued to reinforce nursing as the preferred pathway to midwifery. Conclusion Creating opportunities for young people to be exposed to positive constructions of childbirth as well as midwifery role models may increase the number of young students entering midwifery. There is also a need for information to be provided to school careers officers to assist them to understand the distinction between midwifery and nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The Australian national midwifery education standards require students to complete a number of continuity of care (COC) experiences. There is increasing evidence outlining the value of this experience to the student, but there is limited research examining women's experiences of having a COC midwifery student. This study aimed to investigates the woman's experiences. Methods A retrospective descriptive cohort design was used. A paper-based survey was posted to all women cared for by a midwifery student in 2013 ( n = 698). Descriptive statistics were used to explore the proportion, mean score, standard deviation and range of the variables. Construct validity of the Satisfaction and Respect Scales was tested using exploratory factor analysis. Free text responses were analysed using latent content analysis. Result One-third of women returned a completed survey ( n = 237/698, 34%). There was a significant positive correlation ( p < 0.05) between the number of AN/PN visits a midwifery student attended and women's levels of satisfaction. Women were very satisfied with having a student midwife provide continuity. The qualitative data provided additional insight demonstrating that most women had a positive relationship with the midwifery student that enhanced their childbearing experience. Conclusion The women in this study valued continuity of midwifery care and were able to form meaningful relationships with their midwifery student. Programs leading to registration as a midwife should privilege continuity of care experiences. Not only does this benefit women but provides the future midwifery workforce with a clear understanding of models that best meet women's individual and the benefits of working in these models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background There is a growing body of evidence to show that the birth environment can influence women's experiences of labour and birth as well as midwifery practice. A common feature of the modern birth space is the bed. Knowledge about how the use of the bed shapes clinicians’ perceptions and attitudes is limited. Aim The aim of this paper is to describe midwives’ perceptions of the birth bed. Method Qualitative descriptive design. Fourteen midwives from one Queensland maternity unit participated in digitally recorded and transcribed interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data set. Findings Four themes were identified. The first, described beliefs that using the bed formed part of women's childbirth expectations. A second theme, captured midwives’ perceptions that the bed was also an object required to safely undertake their work. The third theme described how others commonly worked to ensure the woman stayed off the bed. Lastly, there was evidence that whilst wanting to avoid the use of the bed, some were reluctant, fearing potential reprimand. Conclusion The themes highlight differences in how the midwives conceptualised the use of a bed within a birth space. While some avoided the use of the bed altogether others would only conceive of women moving off the bed if everything was ‘normal’. How the bed was culturally constructed appeared to dictate clinical practice. Reflecting on the meaning of an object, such as the bed, is important if clinicians are to fully understand how the birth environment influences their practice and thus women's experiences of labour and birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The WDEQ-A is the most widely used measure of childbirth fear in pregnant women; however there is increasing discussion in the literature that simpler, more culturally transferrable tools may offer a better solution to identifying fearful women in clinical practice. Aim To compare the two item Fear of Birth Scale (FOBS) with the 33 item WDEQ-A in a large cohort of Australian pregnant women. Method Self-report questionnaires during second trimester including Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire (WDEQ-A) and Fear of Birth Scale (FOBS). Correlation of FOBS and WDEQ-A was tested using Spearman's correlation coefficients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve assessed the sensitivity and specificity of possible cut-points on the FOBS against WDEQ-A cut-point of ≥85. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were determined. Fearful and non-fearful women as classified by both instruments were compared for differences in demographic, psycho-social and obstetric characteristics. Results 1410 women participated. The correlation between the instruments was strong (Spearman's Rho = 0.66, p < 0.001). The area under the ROC was 0.89 indicating high sensitivity with a FOBS cut-point of 54. Sensitivity was 89%, specificity 79% and Youden index 0.68. Positive predictive value was 85% and negative predictive value 79%. Both instruments identified high fear as significantly associated with first time mothers, previous emergency caesarean and women with self-reported anxiety and/or depression. Additionally FOBS identified a significant association between fearful women and preference for caesarean. Conclusion This study supports the use of the FOBS in clinical practice to identify childbirth fear in pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to assess the psychometric properties of the Perceptions of Empowerment in Midwifery Scale (PEMS) on a sample of New Zealand midwives. Design: cross sectional study. Midwives completed an online survey containing the 22 item PEMS, and a number of demographic and work-related questions. Participants: active practising members listed on the New Zealand College of Midwives database were invited to participate. A sample of midwives who were currently employed by an organisation was extracted (n = 600). Findings: exploratory factor analysis on the PEMS identified four subscales (Autonomy/Empowerment, Manager Support, Professional Support, Skills and Resources). This structure differed from that reported by the original scale developers. Each subscale showed adequate internal consistency reliability and was able to distinguish midwives who had considered leaving the profession in the past six months (p = .001). Key conclusions: the psychometric properties of the revised 19-item four-subscale structure of PEMS were supported. Implications for practice: The PEMS-Revised provides a psychometrically sound tool for further quantitative research to supplement the growing number of qualitative investigations of midwives perceptions and experiences of their workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: around 20% of women suffer childbirth fear causing them significant distress and often leading to requests for caesarean section. In Sweden, fearful pregnant women are offered counselling, however in Australia no dedicated service caters for the specific needs of these women. Indeed scant research has been conducted in Australia and little is known about women's concerns and if these align to those reported in the international literature. Aim: to describe the sources, responses and moderators of childbirth fear in a group of pregnant women assessed as having high levels of childbirth fear. Method: comparative analysis was used to identify common concepts and generate themes that represented women's perspectives of childbirth fear. Data consisted of 43 tape recorded telephone conversations with highly fearful pregnant women who were participating in a large randomised controlled trial known as BELIEF (Birth Emotions, Looking to Improve Expectant Fear). Findings: women's fears were conceptualised into three themes: fear stimuli; fear responses; and fear moderators. Lack of confidence to birth, fear of the unknown, internalising other women's negative stories, perineal tearing and labour pain were common concerns for first time mothers. For multiparous women, not having had personal feelings resolved following their previous birth and negative experiences of last birth influenced current expectations for their upcoming birth. Themes common to both groups were: unmet information and support needs, feelings of loss of control and lack of input in to decision-making. Some women however, chose to avoid birth planning in order to cope during pregnancy. Conclusion: Australian women had similar childbirth concerns to those reported in the international literature. However unique to this study was finding two opposing discourses; one of preoccupation with negative events and the other; avoidance of planning for labour and birth. Provision of woman centred maternity models that minimise obstetric intervention, offer personalised conversations following birth, and are sensitive to identifying; listening and assisting women to modify their fears in early pregnancy are required to promote positive anticipation and preparation for birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: developing a student's sense of capability, purpose, resourcefulness, identity and connectedness (five-senses of success) are key factors that may be important in predicting student satisfaction and progression within their university program. Aim: the study aimed to examine the expectations and experiences of second and third year midwifery students enroled in a Bachelor of Midwifery program and identify barriers and enablers to success. Method: a descriptive exploratory qualitative design was used. Fifty-six students enroled in either year 2 or 3 of the Bachelor of Midwifery program in SE Queensland participated in an anonymous survey using open-ended questions. In addition, 16 students participated in two year-level focus groups. Template analysis, using the Five Senses Framework, was used to analyse the data set. Findings: early exposure to 'hands on' clinical midwifery practice as well as continuity of care experiences provided students with an opportunity to link theory to practice and increased their perception of capability as they transitioned through the program. Student's sense of identity, purpose, resourcefulness, and capability was strongly influenced by the programs embedded meta-values, including a 'woman centred' approach. In addition, a student's ability to form strong positive relationships with women, peers, lecturers and supportive clinicians was central to developing connections and ultimately a sense of success. A sense of connection not only fostered an ongoing belief that challenges could be overcome but that students' themselves could initiate or influence change. Conclusions: the five senses framework provided a useful lens through which to analyse the student experience. Key factors to student satisfaction and retention within a Bachelor of Midwifery program include: a clearly articulated midwifery philosophy, strategies to promote student connectedness including the use of social media, and further development of clinician's skills in preceptorship, clinical teaching and facilitation. Program delivery methods and student support systems should be designed to enable maximum flexibility to promote capability and resourcefulness and embed sense of purpose and identity early in the program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to develop greater understanding of how expectant fathers experience their partner's labour and the subsequent birth of their baby. Design: a qualitative meta-synthesis. Data were search for in CINAHL, PubMed, Psych Info and SCOPUS. Setting: eight studies conducted in England, Malawi, Nepal and Sweden were included. Participants: 120 fathers with experiences of their partner having a spontaneous vaginal, assisted or surgical birth. Measurements and findings: 1st order themes were identified and subsequently grouped into seven 2nd order themes. Finally through a process of exploring patterns and connections seven 3rd order themes were developed which produced new insights into the men's experiences of labour and birth. This meta-synthesis revealed that most men wanted to be actively involved in their partner's labour, present at the birth and respected for what they could contribute. Men recognised that birth was a unique event that may be potentially challenging requiring a level of preparation. There were also men who felt pressured to attend. During the actual experience of labour men commonly expressed overwhelming feelings and inadequacy in their ability to support their partner. They particularly struggled with the 'pain' of labour. Midwives were subsequently identified as best placed to make a significant difference to how men perceived their experiences of labour and what they described as the life changing event of birth. Key conclusions: the expectant fathers' birth experiences were multidimensional. Many were committed to being involved during labour and birth but often felt vulnerable. Being prepared and receiving support were essential elements of positive experience as well as contributing to their ability to adequately support the labouring woman. Implications for practice: men's ability to actively prepare for, and be supported through, the labour and birth process influences their perceptions of the childbirth event as well as their sense of connection to their partner. Couples should be given opportunities to explore expectations and how these may influence their own construction of their role during the birth process. While the role of expectant fathers in labour and birth should be facilitated and supported arguably their wish not to participate should be afforded the same respect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: The ‘Next Birth After Caesarean’ (NBAC) clinic is a dedicated service for women who have had a previous caesarean section. The midwifery-led clinic commenced at a tertiary hospital in Western Australia in 2008. As part of this service, access to a midwife via telephone is available. Aim: This paper aims to provide maternity health care providers with an increased understanding of, and insight into, the different information needs of this specific group of maternity care consumers. Methods: A qualitative descriptive approach was used to analyse the content of 170 telephone calls made by women to the NBAC clinic over a period of 16 months (July 2008–November 2009). Results: Six distinct categories of calls were elicited from the analysis process with the majority of calls related to women seeking information and support about the option of vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC). These were labeled: ‘Wanting and seeking a VBAC’; ‘Is VBAC a possiblility?’; ‘Seeking clarification and cross-checking information in the face of opposition’; ‘Existing NBAC clients checking in/checking out’; ‘Feeling distressed and disappointed; wanting to talk’ and ‘Professional inquiry about NBAC service’. Discussion: It is acknowledged that women require access to non-biased information to be able to make informed decisions about birth after caesarean. However there remains limited evidence on the precise informational needs of these women. It appears from our findings that this particular group of maternity service consumers requires opportunities to discuss their particular needs within the context of their individual childbearing experiences. Conclusion: Preliminary evidence is provided that a telephone service led by midwives may be one effective strategy to meet women''s informational needs and address decisional conflict in relation to options for birth after a caesarean section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: to describe Australian midwives' experiences of an external review of obstetric services, involvement in legal proceedings and the impact on midwives' clinical practice and personal wellbeing. BACKGROUND: the external review process (commonly referred to as the 'Douglas Inquiry') was initiated by a state government and was in response to hospital staff and consumer complaints that focused on anomalies in client care and a significantly high rate of adverse outcomes and clinical errors. It took place within the context of a number of legal proceedings against medical practitioners. As a result, some midwives employed by the hospital were called to give evidence at a variety of legal forums. DESIGN: a qualitative study using an explorative descriptive design. Snowball sampling was used to invite 16 Australian midwives to participate in a tape-recorded interview. Thematic analysis and the techniques associated with constant comparison were used to analyse the data. SETTING: Australian maternity tertiary referral centre. FINDINGS: the analysis identified two overarching themes, 'A story of scrutiny' and 'A story of fear', each with a number of subthemes. 'A story of scrutiny' consists of three subthemes. 'A cloak and dagger affair' reflects the midwives' sense of being and feeling 'exposed' and 'vulnerable' whilst simultaneously being 'kept in the dark' and uninformed during the review process. The subtheme 'Being thrown to the wolves' describes the midwives' experiences of being involved, as witnesses, in medico-legal proceedings. The third subtheme, 'The Inquiry followed them home' outlines the effect on midwives' emotional wellbeing and personal relationships. The second major theme, 'A story of fear' again consists of a number of subthemes. 'Feeling unsafe at work: a culture of fear' describes the midwives' experiences of working within an environment they perceive as driven by the fear of litigation. In order to protect themselves and maintain a sense of control, the midwives adopted a number of strategies to 'feel safe' including defensive decision making and moving towards a medical philosophy of care. These concepts are captured within the subtheme 'Covering your back: setting boundaries'. The impact on relationships between midwives, women and medical practitioners is described within the subtheme 'Professional relationship: coloured by fear'. The effect on midwives' confidence and the resultant negative emotions elicited make up the subtheme 'Between a rock and a hard place: the midwives' distressing dilemma'. Finally the subtheme, 'Opting out: the changing nature of professional work practices' describes the specific professional decisions and work strategies that midwives made about their ability to continue working in an environment that they perceived as threatening. CONCLUSION: the findings suggest that the midwife participants in this small study were totally unprepared and ill equipped, both personally and professionally, to deal with the consequences of working within an environment that was the centre of a number of high profile legal proceedings and an extensive external review of obstetric services. The midwives were naïve about legal processes and unprepared for the legal 'game playing' and media attention that often accompanies court proceedings. Despite the fact that no midwife faced litigation, the participants described their work environment as becoming increasingly stressful and permeated by a culture of fear. In turn, this situation has reinforced the need for some midwives to adopt an 'institution' ideology which reinforces birth as an abnormal event that needs to be medically managed. This has led to changes in professional and personal work practices. The findings also have implications for the midwifery workforce and retention. Although the findings are context specific, this study provides valuable insight into the phenomena of fear of litigation and its impact on midwifery practice. Given the similarities concerning obstetric litigation in some other Western nations, the findings have relevance in the international midwifery arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Scientists working on mathematical models want to concentrate on the design of models. They pay little attention to numerical methods such as the finite element method (FEM), their implementation and parallelization. The escript module in python provides an environment in which scientists can define new models using a language of partial differential equation (PDE) and spatial functions which is natural for the formulation of continuous models. This approach defines a high level of abstraction from the underlying data structures and frees modelers from issues of optimized implementation and parallelization. In its current implementation escript evaluates expressions which define PDE coefficients immediately for all nodes or elements of an FEM mesh. In the paper we will demonstrate that for complex rheologies such as the Drucker–Prager plasticity model, the memory requirements for this strategy are the limiting factor for scaling up the mesh size. The python module is backed by an escript C++ library where the processing is performed. We will discuss an new extension to the PDE coefficient handling provided by this C++ library which uses a lazy evaluation technique and will demonstrate the efficiency of this new extension in terms of compute time and memory usage for a practical engineering application, namely the simulation of elastic-plastic, saturated porous media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: to describe midwives' perceptions of the early mothering experiences of 20 Australian illicit-drug-using mothers. DESIGN: a qualitative retrospective study using an explorative descriptive design. Twenty client records, completed by research midwives over 6 months (with follow-up visits at 12 and 18 months), formed the data set. Thematic analysis and the techniques associated with constant comparison were used to analyse the data. SETTING: Perth, Western Australia. PARTICIPANTS: twenty postpartum women with a history of using illicit drugs. FINDINGS: seven major themes were identified that described how childbearing women with drug problems strive to be 'normal mums' although living on the fringe of society. The first three major themes were labelled; Baby as the priority; Hating the body: and Life sucks. Theme four represents the level of family and community support available, which had the potential to facilitate and/or hinder the experience. The analysis suggested that women who had good support, particularly at 4 months postpartum and beyond, were more likely to move towards the fifth theme Hanging in there: striving to be a normal mum. Women with minimal support, living in hostile and often abusive environments, gravitated towards the theme of Beyond caring with the eventual consequence being chaos and a return to heavy drug use, labelled Emotional fibrillation. CONCLUSION: very few women were using drugs early in the postnatal period. These new mothers made every effort to prioritise the needs of their newborns, often within a context of abusive relationships, poor emotional well-being and financial hardship. High levels of physical and psychological morbidity were related to psychosocial factors as opposed to drug use alone. By 4 months postpartum, there was evidence that women were becoming increasingly vulnerable to the challenges of their lives. Family and community support played a role in how this group of women moved through their mothering experience. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: the range of health, social and support services required by new mothers when they are using illicit drugs is substantial. Collaboration and coordination between agencies is crucial for quality outcomes. Fostering positive relationships with drug-using pregnant women and maintaining these links into the extended postnatal period may be one strategy that would improve the integration of services and ensure that women stay engaged with the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Despite decades of research, development and evaluation of educational and promotional strategies to prevent teenage pregnancy, we have only a limited understanding of the strategies that are effective and why. This study sought to explore female teenagers' attitudes, perceptions and experiences of contraceptive use, and describe the influence of this on pregnancy risk. METHODS: A qualitative approach was used to explore the contraceptive behaviour in a purposive sample of sexually active Australian females aged 14-19 years. Teenagers were drawn from three sub-groups: antenatal and postnatal services (pregnant-continuing); termination services (pregnant-terminating); and sexual health clinics (never-pregnant). Sixty-eight individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data and generate a rich, description of contraceptive behaviour. RESULTS: Whilst participants were familiar with contraception, many used it inconsistently. Commitment to pregnancy prevention was firmly located within participants' attitudes toward teenage pregnancy and parenthood, perceptions of pregnancy risk and perceptions of the costs and benefits of using contraception. Further, motivation to use contraception fluctuated in different contexts, such as romantic relationships. CONCLUSIONS: Our research highlights the importance of attitudes toward contraception, pregnancy and parenthood in shaping teenagers' motivation to use contraception. Educational and prevention programs must address the spectrum of attitudes underlying teenagers' contraceptive and reproductive decisions in order to alter pathways to teenage pregnancy and early parenting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One hundred twenty one former interns and 78 cooperators returned a survey to determine the effectiveness of the internship program at Colorado State University. The students considered the practical knowledge gained and an increase in self-assurance and maturity as the most beneficial aspects of the internship. Thirty-five percent indicated they were currently employed by the same firms or similar firms as their internship cooperator. Characteristics found by cooperators to be most lacking by CSU students were: related work experience, business and management skills and communication skills. The value of the internship was considered positive by both the student and cooperator and was ranked as an important criteria for selecting an employee. Educating students in agricultural sciences for careers in today's agriculture demands greater technical skills plus a more holistic perspective of agriculture and its interaction with society. Providing opportunities for technical background development can be accomplished in several ways. However, internships with specific companies and organizations provide the most effective learning method for experiential education (Moser and Flowerday, 1983). Additional hands-on experiences for urban, non-farm students interested in agriculture are needed to acquaint the student with production agriculture. Mayer (1980) and Seals and Armstrong (1983) suggest utilizing university and college faculty and resources to provide hands-on learning activities. An employer assessment of graduates by Broder and Houston (1986) indicated that Colleges of Agriculture should provide greater opportunities for leadership and internship experience in their degree programs. This paper reports the results of a survey to determine the effectiveness of the internship program at Colorado State University as viewed by both the former students and the employer cooperators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]