Does preceptorship support newly qualified midwives to become confident practitioners?

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this literature review is to analyse the literature in order to answer the research question of ‘does preceptorship for newly qualified midwives support them to become competent and confident practitioners?’ Methods: Using a systematic review process, literature was searched for and using an inclusion/exclusion criteria either eliminated or deemed appropriate to use. There were six pieces of relevant literature that met the inclusion criteria. Themes were derived from the chosen pieces of literature via thematic analysis and analysed. Results: The themes derived from the literature consisted of two main themes; a named lead for the preceptorship programme was beneficial and the time that midwives had to complete the programme was insufficient. Three sub-themes were also identified as important consisting of; feedback and reflection, supernumerary time and ability of the preceptor. Conclusion: There is an evident lack of primary research into newly qualified midwives, preceptorship and gaining competence and confidence. More primary research is needed to assess this notion. In addition, preceptors also need to be trained to ensure they have the right attributes to adequately support, teach and assess junior midwives.