Succeeding together: A Pasifika perspective of midwifery mentoring in Aotearoa

ABSTRACTIntroductionThe term ‘safe learning space’ is commonly used in health professions education, but its use can be ambiguous and is often misconstrued. Considering historical and societal disparities, safety cannot be a universal experience. This study explored students' personal experiences of ‘safe spaces’ in a South African university to contribute to a contextually grounded understanding that supports meaningful learning.MethodsA descriptive qualitative research design was used, utilising focus groups to generate data. The population studied was undergraduate Occupational Therapy (OT) students. Purposive sampling was used and a total of eight participants, all third‐ and fourth‐year OT students with one or more marginalised identities, were included in two focus groups conducted in 2023. Reflective thematic analysis was used to develop themes.ResultsThree themes were developed: (1) ‘What is the purpose of this space?’, (2) ‘Who are we?’ (with sub‐themes ‘How identity shapes safety’ and ‘How upbringing shapes safety’) and (3) ‘How can we feel safer?’ (with sub‐themes ‘Legitimacy and belonging’ and ‘Non‐judgmental spaces’).ConclusionThe study identified sequential elements to set up, enter and maintain a ‘safe learning space’. This involves using clear, intentional language for naming the space and co‐creating boundaries and intent with students. After entering the space, ‘safety’ should focus on protecting personhood to create freedom for learning. This can be facilitated through valuing diverse identities, acknowledging situated knowledge, supporting legitimacy and fostering belonging. Creating a non‐judgmental space through collective vulnerability supports protecting student identities while promoting critical dialogue and idea challenges.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students face challenges in achieving their educational goals. By understanding concepts surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity, faculty, staff, and students can support LGBT community members and provide a safe educational space. In order to address this we created a condensed training resource that focused on skill building and is easily implemented institution-wide for students, residents, fellows, faculty, and staff. This module serves as an introduction to concepts integral to the LGBT community. It is structured into two sections and takes approximately 30 minutes to complete, including pre-/postevaluations. The first section of the module focuses on presenting basic information about the LGBT world experience and basic terminology. The second section contains two real-world scenarios aimed at demonstrating skills used to create a safe educational learning space. Each scenario contains interactive questions that allow participants to practice applying their new skills. To date, 89 institutional community members at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have completed the module. Survey results demonstrate that the module was well-received and effective at improving attitudes towards creating a safe space. While this module provides a foundation in terminology and phenomena relevant to the LGBT experience, it is just one part of creating a positive institutional climate for LGBT community members. Additional in-person skills-based training should also be considered to complement and enhance this module's contents.

The Impact of Primary Mentors and Career Development Committees on Junior Faculty Productivity in a Pediatric Academic Health Center

Background: In Aotearoa New Zealand, midwifery mentoring aims to develop professional confidence and is formalised in a number of programmes to support sustainable midwifery practice in different settings. Mentoring is shown to be beneficial for mentee midwives, but little is known about the impact on the person who is doing the mentoring. Aim: To explore the key attributes that underpin midwifery mentoring in Aotearoa New Zealand from the mentors’ perspective; how these are applied by mentors within the mentoring relationship; and what impact this has on them professionally. Method: This qualitative research used focus groups with mentor midwives identified from the Find Your Mentor database. A semi-structured topic guide used seven simple open-ended questions to stimulate discussion. Discussions were transcribed and analysed using the 6 steps of Braun and Clarke’s (2006) inductive thematic analysis. Findings: Four main themes were identified. The mentors described Creating an empowered, safe space in which power was balanced with trust and respect, and confidentiality built so that experiences could be shared and reflections supported. The second theme identified the mentors’ role in Building a support infrastructure which focused firstly on the mentees’ development, ensuring professional knowledge and professional responsibilities were met, and secondly on building a network of professional relationships to enable safe practice. The third theme Supporting professional cohesion described how the mentors and the profession benefit from the understanding and acceptance of different ways of practising midwifery and different midwifery roles as seen through the mentees’ lens. The final theme Sustaining midwifery practice described how mentoring keeps mentors up to date and that, by supporting the work-life balance of the mentees, they also reflect on their own work-life balance and holistic wellbeing. The enthusiasm of the mentored midwives affirmed and fed the mentors’ own passion for their roles as both a midwife and a mentor, and reflected positively for the health of the profession. Conclusion: Midwifery mentoring relationships benefit both mentees and mentors, and support cohesion and sustainability within the profession.

Nurturing our new midwives: A qualitative enquiry of mentor’s experiences of supporting new graduate midwives working in continuity of care models

BackgroundThe unprecedented times of the Covid-19 pandemic have presented a plethora of new challenges for both users and providers of healthcare. A now well-recognised effect of the pandemic is the...

An unfamiliar environment, a new set of relationships and the differing expectations of a new role are some of the challenges graduate midwives face as they transition from undergraduate student to confident midwifery practitioner. The graduate midwife needs to adapt to a new role and responsibilities, continue to learn and deepen her understanding of clinical practice and navigate professional networks, referral pathways and environmental culture. These challenges can be mitigated by transition programmes which are focused on providing ongoing education to support learning, strong mentoring support and positive feedback which values the individual. This chapter explores how the midwifery profession in Aotearoa New Zealand provides support for new graduate midwives to support them to develop confidence during their first year of practice.

A conducive and safe digital learning space has become a prominent concern in the present pandemic situation since most teachers and students are engaged in the online mode of instruction. In Nepal, various educational institutions have likewise adopted digital solutions to continue their academic operations. Despite the growing literature on emergency remote education, there seems to be a lacking sense of urgency to examine digital learning spaces. Thus, this chapter explored the issues surrounding safe and conducive digital learning environments using a qualitative approach to identify barriers and opportunities for a successful online education in Nepal. The findings of this chapter realized multifaceted digital transformation challenges (e.g., cyberbullying) coexisting with various positive aspects of learning online (e.g., flexibility). As the temporary shelter for academic services, this chapter argued that all stakeholders must take responsibility for making digital learning safe and conducive.

AimJunior doctors joining EDs are required to rapidly acquire new knowledge and skills, but there is little research describing how this process can be facilitated. We aimed to understand what...

There is widespread and growing support and requirement for researchers and larger organisations to collaborate with communities. This ensures that social, educational, or health programmes are relevant and acceptable and address the needs of groups that experience inequity. There is limited research about the processes and approaches that impact successful collaboration. The aim of this study was to identify the best‐practice processes used to develop and sustain collaborative partnerships between community members and formal organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand. Using a qualitative case study methodology and guidance from our community advisory group, we selected three effective collaborations with groups that experienced inequity in Aotearoa New Zealand. We examined these by reviewing their publicly available documents and conducting focus group discussions and interviews with key stakeholders. We coded and analysed transcriptions thematically to develop case study summaries of findings and then conducted cross‐case analysis to identify themes inherent in the data. Seven themes emerged from the data: (1) work together under Te Tiriti to ensure that collaborations are built on the articles of this founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand; (2) start before the beginning by forming strong relationships with diverse and representative community members; (3) walk the talk by using critically reflexive processes built on shared values and equal power relations; (4) use pencils not pens to implement ensuring an iterative project process; (5) recognise all contributions and especially the value of lived experience and local knowledge; (6) journey at a pace that allows all to participate; and (7) listen twice, talk once to give priority to hearing quieter voices. These seven practices can be utilised by other collaborative initiatives to increase genuine and power‐shared participation. These participatory processes can make sure that collaborative projects respect local knowledge, indigenous culture, and respond iteratively to community needs.

This article discusses the importance of cultural identity for ethnic youth, considering the challenges they face as migrants or from migrant backgrounds. It then develops the idea of using safe cultural spaces as a culturally responsive model of care for these youth. The data used are drawn from a qualitative study with 35 African heritage youth living in Aotearoa–New Zealand as participants. The study was guided by participatory action research (PAR) methodology principles. Data was collected using research workshops (adaption of focus groups) and qualitative survey questionnaires. PAR’s transformative lens, narrative inquiry, and inductive thematic analysis were used to identify and analyse the reported themes. Findings show that ethnic youth value their cultural identities primarily because, in the context of migration, where they constantly navigate multiple levels of social exclusion and marginality, it confers a sense of personhood, uniqueness, and belonging. However, trying to live their multiple cultures authentically presents many challenges. Accordingly, intentional initiatives that are culturally responsive and holistic are critical to support them in navigating this process healthily. Creating safe cultural spaces is proposed as a model of care. The article reports and discusses youth perspectives on what these spaces and the model of care would entail.

Previously documented global trends in autism research funding have been skewed towards biology research, which is at odds with the priorities expressed by autistic and autism community members. We aimed to document the areas of autism research that have previously been funded in Aotearoa New Zealand, and to explore the views of the autistic and autism communities on this funding distribution. We searched for research grants awarded to autism research in Aotearoa New Zealand between 2007 and 2021. We categorised the funding for autism research to enable comparison to that previously documented in other countries. We elicited the views of the autistic and autism communities in relation to the funded autism research, through an online survey and a series of focus groups. The largest proportion of money and number of grants was awarded to biological research. Community members expressed dissatisfaction with this pattern of funding, and noted that it does not address the needs and priorities of the autistic community. Community members suggested that the funding pattern indicated a lack of autistic consultation and engagement in research design and funding allocation. The priorities of the autistic and autism communities need to be considered by researchers and funders alike. We discuss how autistic inclusion in research can be supported through decision-making regarding funding and ethics relating to autism research.Lay We aimed to document the areas of autism research that have previously been funded in Aotearoa New Zealand. We searched for research grants awarded to autism research in Aotearoa New Zealand between 2007 and 2021. We compared the funding distribution in Aotearoa New Zealand to other countries. We asked people from the autistic community and broader autism community whether they were satisfied with this funding pattern, and whether it aligned with what is important to them and to autistic people. We found that the majority of funding for autism research was awarded to biology research (67%). Members of the autistic and autism communities were dissatisfied with the funding distribution, and expressed a lack of alignment with what is important to them. People from the community indicated that the funding distribution did not address the priorities of autistic people, and that it indicated a lack of engagement with autistic people. Autism research funding needs to reflect the priorities of the autistic and autism communities. Autistic people need to be included in autism research and related funding decisions.

The experiences of new graduate midwives working in midwifery continuity of care models in Australia

The mentoring experiences of new graduate midwives working in midwifery continuity of care models in Australia.

A mentoring relationship is one in which an experienced person or mentor supports a less experienced person or mentee. E-mentoring is an alternative to traditional face-to-face mentoring incorporating the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC). Currently, e-mentoring is not commonly practiced by New Zealand midwives; however there is some interest in its potential especially as it may overcome geographical isolation which increases access to mentors. This chapter will describe the experiences of one New Zealand midwife who mentored two new graduate midwives in 2006 using a secure storeand- forward e-mail system. This chapter explores how CMC was utilized to facilitate the elements of the mentor’s role as well as reports on the experiences of the mentor and mentee.