Programme Eligibility

Graduate Midwife Eligibility

To be eligible for the Programme, graduate midwives must meet the following criteria:

• be a New Zealand citizen or Permanent Resident
• hold a midwifery degree from a pre-registration midwifery education programme accredited by the Council, awarded no longer than 18 months prior to commencement on the Programme
• hold registration with the Midwifery Council and have a current Annual Practising Certificate
• have practised as a registered midwife for four months or less or have deferred commencing practice for no more than 18 months from the date of entry to the Register of Midwives before commencing the Programme
• be working as a self employed LMC or publicly (District Health Board) or privately employed midwife. Employed midwives must be working a minimum of 32 hours per week (0.8 FTE). Note that graduate midwives who are working 0.6 – 0.8 FTE, will be considered on a case by case basis. Self employed graduate midwives must have a minimum caseload of one on Programme commencement and the total recommended caseload of approximately 30 across the Programme duration

Graduate midwives are required to attend a one day graduate workshop and a one day support meeting.

Mentor Midwife Eligibility

To be eligible for the Programme, mentor midwives must have been named by a graduate midwife as her MFYP mentor midwife and meet the following criteria:

• be registered with the Midwifery Council ‘in good standing’ and with no restrictions on that registration that would negatively impact on her ability to be a mentor
• have a current annual practising certificate in the Midwifery Scope of Practice
• have significant midwifery experience across the midwifery scope of practice i.e. have practised as a midwife for at least three years and preferably at (or equivalent of) the level of a Quality Leadership Programme-Professional Development Recognition Programme (QLP-PDRP) leadership midwife
• have met all requirements of the Midwifery Council Recertification programme over the previous three years as set out by the Midwifery Council (including completion of the MSR process). However, if the midwife has not been practising in New Zealand (for example, if previously working overseas or having had a break from practicing) in the three years prior to joining the Programme then she must be working towards meeting all the requirements of the Midwifery Council Recertification programme.
• have well established and collegial working relationships with midwifery and other health professional colleagues within the region / DHB area
• be able to promote equity of outcomes for Maori and practise in a culturally safe manner with all consumer groups
• be willing and committed to supporting and encouraging a graduate midwife through her role as a mentor and to receiving feedback on her performance as a mentor
• be in a position to make the required time commitment and reduce her own caseload or employment FTE as necessary.

These midwives are then required to attend a MFYP 2-day mentor development workshop (or one day update workshop for returning mentors) and one support meeting scheduled across the Programme year. This workshop covers the Programme components and the mentor role in relation to those, the templates that the graduate and mentors have to complete, mentorship in practice, negotiating relationships, how communication and learning styles influence and impact on reflective practice and critical thinking, and opportunities to give and receive feedback.

Mentor Midwife Pre-requisite Workshop 'The Practicalities of Being a Mentor'

One of the MFYP mentor eligibility criteria required by the Clinical Training Agency (the CTA, the business unit within the Ministry of Health funding the Programme), is that mentor midwives must have completed the New Zealand College of Midwives preliminary mentoring workshop called 'The Practicalities of Being a Mentor'. 

This one day workshop has been designed to provide midwives with the opportunity to share and discuss their own experiences of being mentored or mentoring, and to explore the principles and practicalities of being a mentor.  It also helps clarify the differences between mentoring, preceptoring and clinical supervision.  This workshop is not funded by the MFYP Programme.

For information and dates for this workshop in 2010 click here.