What are the benefits and challenges of mentoring in midwifery? An integrative review

AIM: The aim of this review was to synthesize best available evidence on mentoring programmes for midwives who have worked within the clinical setting for more than 1 year. BACKGROUND: Lack of job satisfaction, stress, burnout and limited managerial support contributes to midwifery workforce attrition and the ongoing global shortage of midwives. Mentoring may be one way to improve staff retention, leading to positive clinical and organizational outcomes. DESIGN: A five-step integrative review approach, based on a series of articles published by the Joanna Briggs Institute for conducting systematic reviews, was used to develop a search strategy, selection criteria, method for quality appraisal and the extraction and synthesis of data. METHODS: Relevant articles were sought from the following databases: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, MEDLINE, PubMed, MIDIRS and Scopus. The search and screening process was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analysis 2009 checklist. Narrative analysis was used to develop four main categories derived from the results from the included studies. RESULTS: Eight studies were included in this review from which four themes were developed that are relevant to mentoring in midwifery; the impact on midwives’ direct environment, their immediate relationships with peers and management, and the overarching influence of the organization directly impact the accessibility and support midwives receive in mentoring programmes. CONCLUSION: To enhance staff retention in the workforce, midwives require support from the wider organization in which they work. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Understanding midwives’ perspectives of mentoring programmes will directly influence the development of midwifery-specific mentoring programmes, which may lead to improved staff retention in the midwifery workforce.