students’ experience with the hidden curriculum in the faculty of nursing and midwifery of isfahan university of medical sciences

background and purpose: the hidden curriculum has great impact on students’ learning. the present study was conducted on nursing and midwifery students to determine their experience with the hidden curriculum. methods: it was a combined survey achieved in two stages on nursing and midwifery students. during the first stage, a free interview was carried out to determine their attitudes towards, experiences with, and references of the hidden curriculum. these interviews were analyzed using streubert technique. during the second stage, a questionnaire was completed and finally analyzed results: all students have experienced the hidden curriculum and usually found it to be more effective than their routine learning program. this learning modality was associated with more stable behaviors among them. meanwhile, most of their learning objectives, including positive and negative or group and individual learning were achieved through the hidden curriculum. they have pointed out that faculty professor, nursing and midwifery staff, other students, patients and mass media were their main source of reference, however, nursing and midwifery staff augmented the training impact. conclusion: students believed that the hidden curriculum is an effective modality for learning.