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The Midwifery First Year of Practice programme: Supporting New Zealand midwifery graduates in their transition to practice

Abstract:

Background: The Midwifery First Year of Practice programme (MFYP) is a fully government- funded programme aimed at supporting newly qualified midwives in their first year of practice. This formalised programme provides mentor support, professional continuing education and quality assessment and reflection. Aim: This research was designed to assess and explore the MFYP programme and identify which components New Zealand midwifery graduates considered important and supported them to develop confidence as a midwifery practitioner in their first year of practice. Method: A survey of graduate midwives who participated in the MFYP programme from 2007 to 2010 was undertaken. A survey tool was developed which was designed to explore each element of the programme. Likert scales were provided for the majority of questions with comment boxes also provided so that answers could be contextualised. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS 21 with descriptive statistics provided to demonstrate responses. Findings: Between the years 2007 and 2010, there were 415 new graduate midwives who participated in the MFYP programme, of which 180 responded to the survey (43.4% response rate). The demographics of the respondents were reflective of the total cohort of MFYP programme participants. In their first year of practice, respondents were almost evenly split between self-employed midwives in case loading practice (47.5%) and midwives employed by a maternity facility (45.5%). Support from the mentor and the financial support for education were considered important contributors to developing professional confidence for these new graduates. The majority of respondents reported feeling supported when attending women during labour and birth (92.2%), and at other times during clinical practice (93.9%). Main sources of support were midwives employed within the facility, midwifery practice partners, and midwife mentors from the MFYP programme. Conclusion: Each element of the programme was considered important by new graduates and this was regardless of their practice setting. The MFYP programme is flexible, meets the needs of New Zealand graduates and helps them to increase confidence in their first year of practice as a registered midwife.

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graduate midwives, mentor support, Midwifery, professional education, reflective practice, transition programmes