Download This PaperThe Experience of a Mentorship Training Program Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Views of Midwifery Practitioners
20 Pages Posted: 2 Nov 2022
Abstract
Introduction: In South Africa, the healthcare challenges over the past decade have negatively affected the clinical support of midwifery students. Clinical support responsibilities were undoubtedly side-tracked during the coronavirus pandemic, compounding the concern and thus increasing the urgency for mentorship training. This article explores the experiences of midwifery practitioners who participated in a mentorship training program during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Method: Cycle 3 of the study adopted a qualitative approach and a descriptive research design. To determine the outcomes of a mentorship training program, a convenient and purposive sampling technique recruited 15 midwifery practitioners to participate in two focus group sessions and five semi-structured interviews. Data collection commenced from March until June 2022, and data were analyzed using content analysis.
Findings: Three themes emerged from the focus group discussion, Mentorship training using an online platform is new and challenging, empowers mentorship abilities, and is an investment in midwifery leadership. Four themes from the interviews revealed that the mentorship training program is new, well-structured, and valuable; a refresher course; improves mentorship roles and responsibilities, and has recommendations for midwifery education and practice.
Discussion: Mentorship training is valuable to midwifery practitioners in South Africa, and investing in mentorship training programs empowers them in their mentorship roles and responsibilities.
Conclusions: This study encourages collaborative partnerships between midwifery educators and practitioners to promote the shared responsibility of clinical support through mentorship. Mentorship training is an effective mechanism to strengthen the clinical support of midwifery students during clinical placement.
Keywords: midwifery, mentorship, COVID-19, online training, South Africa
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