Midwives’ perceptions of the performance- and transition into practice of newly qualified midwives. A focus group study | 137 community. NQMs might be less engaged with the organisation of the practice and with their colleagues due to their temporary working contracts.13 Participants suggested that differences between generations might also be an explanation for differences in working attitudes. Studies on generational differences in the workplace show that differences between generations X, Y and Z might exist.22,23 For instance, the importance placed work-life balance has changed over the different generations, whereby commitment to the organisation has decreased with successive generations.21 This study emphasises that the societal context, which is shifting towards individualisation, is more important than being part of a specific cohort. The authors prefer an intergenerational approach towards working attitudes instead of focusing on differences.23 Our findings show a contrast between experienced midwives’ roles in supporting NQMs and the actual support that they provided for NQMs. Experienced midwives endorsed further learning and professional socialisation in practice for NQMs and valued deliberations with experienced midwives as a tool for continuous professional development. In practice, however, the provision of support for NQMs was lacking or informally organised and depended on the goodwill of individual midwives. The difference between experienced midwives’ attitudes towards support and actual practice might be explained by (1) the midwifery culture and (2) the organisation of midwifery care. Firstly, the culture of midwifery in the Netherlands is historically based on providing care in the community.21 Individual care is mainly provided by one midwife; home births are attended by one midwife, who is assisted by a maternity care assistant. Midwives in the Netherlands are basically trained to become an autonomously working midwife and less focused on teamwork. Secondly, the midwifery profession in the Netherlands does not distinguish between levels of experience, which it does for doctors.24 The equality in midwifery between NQMs and experienced midwives might therefore function as a barrier to supporting NQMs. Similar to the outcomes of previous studies in Dutch NQMs,1,2 our findings on experienced midwives show that working as a locum was perceived as a barrier to support. Midwives hire a locum who can work autonomously as a midwife. Midwives commission locums, they are not their employers. Learning activities and continuous development are the responsibility of the NQM as self-employed professionals. In hospital-based midwifery, experienced midwives felt a responsibility to support NQMs. However experienced midwives did not find sufficient opportunities to adequately support NQMs in the workplace. The importance of positive support from experienced midwives has been shown to be pivotal for a successful transition into practice for
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