Introduction: Mentoring in the clinical setting is linked to the development of individuality, criticality and self-awareness. A mentor is a person who teaches, advises, guides, educates, is well-meaning, helps to build on knowledge, guides inexperienced individuals/novices and is a learning partner. Midwifery students increasingly talk about their relationships with their mentors becoming more difficult. Purpose: The aim of the thesis is to find out how mentoring in a clinical setting is experienced by first year midwifery students at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Ljubljana. Methods: In the first part of the thesis, a descriptive method was used to review the professional and scientific literature found in the databases COBISS, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Schoolar, BioMed Central. In the second part of the thesis, a qualitative method of data collection was used, where semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten first year midwifery students at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Ljubljana. The results were then transcribed and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results: In the qualitative work, we identified six codes, which we grouped into the following 3 categories: (1) the approach of the clinical mentor and the team, (2) the characteristics of the mentor, and (3) the expectations of the clinical mentor. Students had different experiences of mentoring throughout their placement. In this case, positive experiences predominate. However, the results vary according to the field of practice they have undertaken. Discussion and conclusion: During clinical practice, the mentor plays a major role in guiding and teaching students. It is important that this person is trained to do this, is happy to do the work and takes the students under his wing. First year students find that the work of the clinical mentor is most effective when the work process is truly one-to-one. This way of working is experienced as positive by the students, as they are able to get to know the mentor better, build a trusting relationship and learn about the way of working.
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