56 | Chapter 3 such as a secured contract, was also experienced as a resource. NQMs mentioned it was a job resource to be able to work with a set schedule, compared to the long on-duty hours in primary midwifery care during their internships. A roster provides NQMs with secured time off and thus time to relax and meet family and friends. It gives me much more comfort in secondary midwifery care knowing that at the end of your shift, you hand over the phone and not take it to bed with you. (P3) Possibilities for continuous education and resources for additional master or training programs were also perceived as resources. Personal resources Openness for new experiences, sociability, calmness and accuracy were experienced by our participants as personal resources which helped NQMs to perform well at the workplace (figure 2). Openness for new and unknown situations helped them in their initial period in practice. Being extraverted and able to act socially helped NQMs’ interaction with their team members and women and their families. ‘I think it is very important to feel what someone needs or how they feel about themselves at such a moment. I usually try to find out how things went beforehand. For example if someone has contractions, just a chat about how it started. Or if they have children to ask about it. To break the ice. (P2) Calmness helped participants in stressful situations so they were able to think clearly and keep an overview of what was happening to the different women. Working accurately and carefully were also mentioned as personal resources, both in the case of medical tasks as well as in administrative tasks. Being self-reliant as a person helped NQMs with autonomous decision-making and helped them dealing with feedback from colleagues and women. ‘I also dared to make decisions and I dared to pick up [tasks] independently and it is really not that I needed help with anything and everything. I think that I can generally work independently.’ (P13) Personal demands NQMs mentioned personal demands, hindering them while working in a hospital setting (figure 2). Participants named characteristics like perfectionism, self-criticism and fear of failure.
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