23 Building Belonging Through Peer Mentorship: Reframing Hierarchy in Midwifery Education

, Speaker:- Sarah Swanson

Facilitator:- Shahnaz Shahid Ali

Abstract:- Peer mentorship is widely recognized as valuable in midwifery education (Bradford et al., 2022; Dewar et al., 2020; McKellar & Kempster, 2015; Wissemann et al., 2022), yet it is often informal, inconsistently supported, or shaped by a hierarchical professional culture that can undermine belonging, psychological safety, and relational trust. This presentation describes the design and early refinement of a student-informed peer-to-peer mentorship initiative developed within a midwifery education program, with the goal of intentionally cultivating belonging, professional identity, and well-being among students. Using a qualitative, participatory approach, this initiative centers student voices through ongoing focus groups and reflective feedback gathered from both mentors and mentees. The emphasis is not on evaluating outcomes, but the co-development of the mentorship program itself, exploring what students identify as meaningful support, where mentorship feels challenging, and what structures support or hinder sustainable peer relationships. Insights from the data are actively informing program design decisions, including expectations, boundaries, communication practices, and the balance between flexibility and guidance. The presentation highlights how qualitative input can guide ethical safeguards and practical design decisions, emphasizing the creation of a mentorship framework that promotes reciprocity, emotional safety, and student agency, while remaining feasible within an academic setting. Attendees will be invited to reflect on how student-informed design processes can strengthen peer mentorship initiatives and contribute to more supportive, non-hierarchical educational cultures in midwifery programs across diverse contexts. (References for in-text citation available upon request)