gms | German Medical Science

Background: In Germany the first mentorship programme with a focus on midwifery education was implemented at the Hochschule für Gesundheit (hsg Bochum) in 2011. Since then, six programmes of mentorship have already been held at the hsg Bochum. In the proposal of the Hebammenreformgesetz (HebRefG) (as of 23.08.2019) it is required that at least 25% of the practical study phases take place accompanied by a mentor [1]. As a consequence it is possible to support the clinical and non-clinical lessons of the students and furthermore an evalution can be done by a continously practical guidance of the learning process which is integrated in the daily routine [2]. The aim of the programme is to empower midwives and other participating health professionals to create a constructive learning atmosphere, become aware of being a role model for students and build up their own identity as a mentor for students. The mentorship programme contains 110 hours of presence and 200 hours for tutorials referring to relevant topics as communication, role and identity, methods and didactics. Thereby practicing midwives get access to evidence-based education.

Aim: The aim is to evaluate whether the practical implementation of the learned contents in the further training can be transferred into practice and whether the knowledge and skills of the mentors have been extended. In addition, the mentors are surveyed with regard to the training offered and their personal view of the practical instructions.

Method: Survey in terms of a cross-sectional study. An online questionnaire is used to survey mentors (N=150). The evaluation is carried out using SPSS^® (Version 24); descriptive and inferential statistics methods are used.

Expected Results: It is expected that the implementation of the mentorship programme will bring added value to mentors and promote lifelong learning. In addition, it is assumed that in some institutions there is a lack of fixed concepts for the implementation of the practical guidance with corresponding responsibilities.

Relevance: The offer of further training by the mentorship programme is intended to ensure quality in the practical training of midwifery students. By offering further training for mentors at academic level, hsg Bochum has created a unique selling point in North Rhine-Westphalia. With the help of the evaluation, the existing educational offer will be enhanced.

Conclusion: Identifying the needs of the mentors can lead to finding factors which also cause a optimal support of the midifery students. A further development of the programme is intended, so the midwifery students can be supported optimally during the practical study phases.

Ethics and conflicts of interest: No vote on ethics was obtained. The research was financed by own resources. There are no conflicts of interest.