"There are guiding hands and there are controlling hands": student midwives experience of mentorship in the UK.

OBJECTIVE

to explore student midwives' experience and views on the role of the mentor in practice, and to survey perceptions of the qualities required for mentorship.

DESIGN

qualitative longitudinal cohort study using focus groups.

SETTING

an academic division of midwifery at a university in the East Midlands region of the UK.

PARTICIPANTS

58 women enrolled in a three-year midwifery education programme at the university.

MEASUREMENTS

the focus groups were conducted with two cohorts of midwifery students at four time points during their three-year education programme.

FINDINGS

the themes that emerged from the data were: qualities of good mentors; relationships; expectations of mentors; role models; and mentorship experience.

CONCLUSIONS

mentors are used as role models by the students in both positive and negative ways. The relationship that the student has with a mentor is fundamental to their confidence in practice, although there is an appreciation that sometimes there are problems with personality clashes. Expectations of the mentor are a major issue for student midwives, and this can be affected by the length of time they have worked with a mentor. There was general consensus about the qualities of a good mentor.