Working with Student Midwives

As a newly qualified midwife I am often astounded by the amount of students we have in the wards. As a student I just 'got on' with my placements - working hard to achieve good grades and enhancing my skills and never much paying attention to the number of other students the midwife may have mentored.
Since I only qualified 4 months ago, I don't yet meet the criteria to be a sign off mentor for students however with the increasing number of student midwives it sometimes means I will have a student shadow or work alongside me for a shift and honestly it is fantastic.

As a student I valued the different input from the variety of mentors I had and really enjoyed working with some colleagues and adapted my practice to fall inline with how they worked - a pick and mix of skills and behaviour to shape who I am now as a midwife. Knowing that another student is learning from how I practice and I am influencing their experiences is overwhelming and often extremely satisfying.

I've worked with all three year group students over the past few months and it has made me realise that it is not only our job as midwives to care and advocate for the women and families in our care (family centred care is a BIG priority for me) but I'm also able to provide student centred care where I can support, supervise and allow the new generation of midwives to grow and learn within our working environment.

My main tips for students entering a placement with a new mentors are:
1. Be profession - listen to your mentor and ask questions, do not assume because sometimes that can lead to confusion and ultimately bad care decisions.
2. Speak up if you don't know - there are no silly questions and if you are feeling put of your depth, tell us! We don't want you to have a bad placement.
3. Reflect, daily if need be. On decisions made, the outcomes and most importantly on your feelings.
4. Use other students as learning tools too - active discussion can make you understand more sometimes than the black and white of a textbook.

I'll be applying for my mentorship as soon as I am able and until then I will be asking (sorry!) the students I work with about their experiences and how best I can support them while they are working alongside me, whether it be for one shift or three.

Have many other newly qualified midwives worked with students yet?
What is your opinion?

How do you think the new NMC #FutureMidwife pre-registration guidelines will change to support mentors and students in the future?

Ruth x

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