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New Zealand's midwifery profession: Embracing graduate midwives' transition to practice

Abstract:

Background: The first year following registration is considered a stressful time for new health professionals as they transition from student to health practitioner, acclimatise to a new job and work environment, and become confident in their clinical skills. The Midwifery First Year of Practice (MFYP) programme was designed to provide support to graduate midwives during this transition. Aim: This research explored the midwifery graduate’s perspective of the MFYP programme to identify which elements were important and supported them in their transition to confident practitioner. Method: Survey methodology was used to explore the views of the MFYP programme participants for the years 2007 to 2010. This paper provides the qualitative analysis of the open text responses in the survey and explores the support needs of graduate midwives during their first year of practice. Findings: A total of 180 midwives responded to the survey, with the majority also providing text responses to enable more in-depth understanding of their views. Graduate midwife participants were supported to consolidate practice skills and decision making, and to develop networks within the midwifery and wider health communities. An unexpected finding was that this support was provided by the whole midwifery community for all graduates, whether they were employed or self-employed. The mentoring relationship was also considered an important source of support. Conclusion: Graduate midwives are gaining wrap-around support from the whole midwifery community. This research, unlike any previous international or national research, demonstrates that midwives in New Zealand have taken on collective responsibility for supporting graduates. This suggests that this national programme has successfully fostered a culture of nurturing midwife graduates into their professional role.

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collective responsibility, Graduate midwife, mentor, nurture, support, transition