Transition to midwifery: Collaborative working between university and maternity services

The first few months’ experiences of a newly qualified midwife's first post have an impact on the individual's confidence and the overall quality of the maternity service offered to the women and their families (Kitson-Reynolds, 2010, unpublished; Kitson-Reynolds et al, 2014). van der Putten (2008) describes it as a critical period when newly graduated midwives undergo significant adjustments to become effective team members in order to be accepted into an already established team (Kitson-Reynolds, 2010, unpublished). When successful, induction packages, integration to a new team and preceptorship programmes have been shown to have a positive effect on the retention of staff (Boon et al, 2005; Levett-Jones and Fitzgerald, 2005) and are a recommendation of the Midwifery 2020 report (Department of Health (DH), 2010a). The DH (2008) concluded that a ‘foundation’ preceptorship period at the start of a career would support the practitioner on the start of their novice-to-expert journey (Benner, 1984). Consequently, the DH published guidance on the development of effective preceptorship programmes for all health professionals. This publication (DH, 2010b) stated that preceptorship programmes re-assert the need for robust systems to be in place as it is recognised that the first few weeks into a new role is a time of vulnerability for the newly qualified midwife, and attrition nationally from the profession within the first 5 years is high (DH, 2010a). The Midwifery 2020 report (DH, 2010a: 8) states that there are many health-care practitioners accessing ‘well-established preceptorship schemes’ currently with benefit to both individuals and service provision.