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Background: Mentorship is a process in which structured support is provided to new graduates of the profession to facilitate theireffective transitional journey to professional autonomy. Objectives: To explore and describe the mentoring process as experienced by newly qualified midwives and experienced midwivesduring thetransition period. Methods: Aqualitative approach was used. Five hospitals were selected from Limpopo province. The study was conducted in a maternity unit of each selected hospital. Population comprised of all newly qualified midwives as well as all experienced midwives working at institutions under study. Non-probability, purposive sampling method was used to select twenty-five newly qualified and twenty-five experienced midwives working in maternity wards of selected hospitals. In-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted for data collection. Results: Ineffective mentoring processes were reported, where only a few experienced midwives seemed ready to provide informal and unstructured support to graduates. Experienced midwives recognised their mentoring role however, felt they did not have sufficient knowledge and skills regarding mentoring process. Shortage of staff and increased workload were reported as challenges which negatively affected the mentoring process. Conclusion: Mentoring is an effective process for facilitation of graduates’ transition process to become registered autonomous midwifery practitioners. However, they were not effectively mentored; consequently, negatively affecting their development to professional maturity. Keywords: Experienced midwives; mentoring; mentor; newly qualified midwives.

Background:Although there is evidence that education is a social weapon in the fight against HIV/AIDS, there is also evidence that, to date, HIV/AIDS is not fully integrated into all the disciplines in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Therefore, most of the university students in South Africa are not well prepared to be HIV/AIDS-competent graduates who can live and work in a society ravaged by AIDS.Objective:This study sought to analyse the extent of HIV/AIDS integration into the curricula in various departments at a selected university in the Limpopo Province, South Africa.Materials and Methods:The study used quantitative and qualitative approaches to analyse the extent of HIV/AIDS integration into the curricula. The curriculum calendars were retrieved from the university website. An audit tool guided retrieval of HIV/AIDS content and was analysed using SPSS V 25. The qualitative content analysis was used to describe the nature of HIV/AIDS content.Results:Out of eight schools, about 68 modules had HIV/AIDS content. The majority of the modules (53; 78%) were offered at the undergraduate level. Furthermore, the majority of the HIV/AIDS content (62; 91%) was integrated into undergraduate compulsory modules. Most (34; 51%) of the HIV/AIDS content were located in health sciences disciplines. HIV/AIDS content was mostly integrated into existing carrier modules. Time allocation for the teaching of HIV/AIDS was not indicated. Most of the modules did have information about teaching and assessment strategies.Conclusion:It is recommended that discipline-specific HIV/AIDS content be integrated into all disciplines.

Background The estimation of unmet contraceptive needs triggered the National Department of Health in South Africa to introduced the Implant contraceptive method in 2014 to increase the range of contraceptive options for sexually active women. Implant contraceptive uptake remains low in the Vhembe District despite its effectiveness in preventing unintended pregnancy. Very little is known about the factors that affect the usage of this cost-effective device. Aim To explore sexually active women's knowledge, practices and attitudes related to the usage of the Implant contraceptive method in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province. Methods The study was qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual, conducted using a non-probability purposive technique to sample 62 sexually active women aged from 18–45 years. The sample size was determined by data saturation. Five (5) focus group discussions were conducted using semi-structured interviews, which lasted for 45–60 minutes. Tesch's eight steps of open coding were used to analyse data. Results Results revealed that sexually active women experience some challenges related to Implant Contraceptive Method. The majority of women had little knowledge about the device, making it difficult for them to use the method. The majority of sexually active women indicated that they are interested in the method and would like to enjoy the benefits. Conclusion Sexually active women's intentions to utilise the Implant contraceptive method was very low as the majority of them had a negative attitude towards the method, due to insufficient knowledge. Professional nurses should inform women and public members about newly introduced Implant contraceptive method at Primary Health Care facilities to enhance usage.