Midwifery mentorship in Australian curricula

This chapter presents an overview of midwifery mentorship in Australian curricula. The support of midwifery students on practice placement is primarily undertaken by clinical midwives who provide mentorship for students. Midwives are often awarded the responsibility of mentoring a student because of clinical experience, receiving no formal education to undertake the role. Midwifery curricula in Australia are designed to meet the standards and guidelines from the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and the Nurses and Midwives Board of Australia (NMBA). The ICM clearly articulate the role of the clinical midwife in supporting student development. However, the midwife standards for practice (NMBA) provide minimal guidance for the role of the clinical midwife in supporting student development. The lack of preparation of midwives to effectively support students on practice placement has been nationally recognised and pre-registration curricula are being designed to incorporate content relating to mentorship to provide future midwives with the knowledge and skills to be effective mentors. The implementation of mentorship in one Australian curriculum is provided as an example of how mentorship is being addressed.