Midwives’ perceptions of the performance- and transition into practice of newly qualified midwives. A focus group study | 135 Formal support programmes for NQMs in experienced midwives’ perceptions, require conditions that are not yet available. Participants experienced a lack of time and finances to support NQMs. … locums are originally there to relieve the workload. But then there is not much space to take the locum by the hand…. (FG 1.1) They had suggestions regarding facilitating support, for example different types of payment, trainee periods or mandatory courses for the quality register. Furthermore, participants emphasised the importance of commitment from the professional bodies and hospital management for supporting NQMs. Mentoring [a NQM] occasionally is nice, but …. you don't constantly give away your expertise for free. Because you also have more to do, then you think yes, I better do something else nice in my days of duty. (FG 3.2) Although midwives perceived a lack of possibilities to support NQMs in practice, they indicated that if they would be facilitated with time and money there would be enough midwives willing to be trained as coaches to offer mentoring and coaching to NQMs. DISCUSSION This study was designed to answer two research questions: (1) How do experienced midwives perceive the performance of NQMs in practice? and (2) What do experienced midwives perceive to be their roles in supporting NQMs’ transition into practice? The exploration of experienced midwives’ perceptions about NQMs in practice revealed a gap between experienced midwives’ expectations and the actual practice. They expected NQMs to be able to work independently and autonomously. In practice, they encountered NQMs who needed to be reassured about their actions and who were overwhelmed by the variety of tasks and responsibilities. Experienced midwives felt that NQMs were not fully aware of the importance of building up a network of work relationships and taking care of the organisation of the practice. Furthermore, experienced midwives felt that some NQMs were less committed to their work than they themselves were and that the NQMs were guarding their leisure time more closely. They acknowledged the importance of a good work-life balance but expected NQMs to take responsibility towards the continuity of care. The second aspect about experienced midwives’ perception of their roles in supporting NQMs revealed two themes: supporting NQMs in orientation and overall support in the workplace. Firstly, in community-based midwifery, support for orientation was lacking or informally organised, in contrast to formal orientation periods for hospital-based NQMs. Secondly, there was a discrepancy
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