O73 - Us, together- Co-creating a Mentoring in Midwifery Program in NSW

Abstract

This presentation outlines the approach taken by NSW Health, Nursing and Midwifery Office to lead the co-creation and design of a new mentoring program for midwives. The NSW Health Mentoring in Midwifery Program (MiM) aims to develop a reciprocal learning relationship that expands opportunities for connection, learning, growth and support for midwifery students and midwives working in NSW Health. This presentation will outline how a co-creative process was used to collaborate with a range of midwifery leaders, midwives, and academics to envisage the MiM Program. The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Mentoring Guidelines and Principles of Appreciative Inquiry informed our approach. This presentation will describe the Senses Framework as the underpinning ingredient to promote learning in the workplace, and how this was enhanced using Appreciative Inquirer, Belinda Dewar’s Caring Conversations. The tools used to promote generative conversations about midwifery practice between the mentor and the mentee will be described. The NSW Health Midwifery Strategy aims to support midwifery leaders to respond to the needs of the profession now and into the future. MiM builds on previous work sponsored by the Nursing and Midwifery Office that revealed successful relationships between students and midwives was key to a sense of belonging and positive learning environments. Midwives valued the opportunity to provide a learning environment to students and recognised the importance of supporting our future workforce. A structured mentoring program was identified by midwives as an opportunity to strengthen the midwifery profession together. The intention of this work is to develop and implement an innovative and sustainable mentoring program that is transferable across all midwifery training and clinical facilities to become a normal part of midwifery culture in NSW. This program will support the midwifery profession, develop leadership at all levels and help in the retention of a strong, confident, and skilled midwifery workforce.