Perceptions And Experiences Regarding About Clinical Practice Mentor ship Among Midwifery Students At Kibuli School Of Nursing And Midwifery, Kampala District

Abstract

Introduction: The concept and practice of mentoring midwifery students are viewed as important prerequisites of midwifery education. The role of midwife is in statute: to facilitate student learning, provide clinical supervision and assess clinical competence. However, in Uganda, student midwives receive poor quality mentor ship during their training, so often Ugandan midwives are not fully competent when they qualify Kemp (2015).

Objective: The study sought to explore the perceptions and experiences regarding about clinical practice mentor ship among midwifery students at Kibuli School of Nursing and Midwifery Kampala district.

Methodology: The study employed a cross sectional descriptive study design in which a focus group discussion and in-depth interviews were used to obtain midwifery students' opinions on perception and experiences about their clinical practice.

Results: Qualitative data analysis was done using themes and sub themes. Results suggest that contentions for the majority of student midwives were relating to inadequate mentor support, and this could have an impact on the students‟ learning experiences during clinical placement. These qualitative findings revealed both positive and negative experiences regarding clinical mentor ship.

Conclusion: The study concluded that mentor ship still stands out to be a good method of teaching and assessing students in clinical settings.

Recommendations: Students should always be supported during clinical placement. Lack of support from mentors has an impact on clinical placement experience.