Knowing Antenatal Practices (11946.1)

Required texts

de-Vitry Smith, S., & Bayes, S. (2022). Skills for Midwifery Practice Australian & New Zealand Edition 2E (2nd ed.). Elsevier.

Additional resources and references

Pairman, S., Tracey, S., Dahlen, H., & Dixon, L. (Eds.). (2023). Midwifery Preparation for Practice (5th ed.). Elsevier.

Department of Health. (2020). Clinical Practice Guidelines: Pregnancy Care. Australian Government Department of Health. https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2021/11/pregnancy-care-guidelines-pregnancy-care-guidelines.pdf

Bass, J., Fenwick, J., & Sidebotham, M. (2017). Development of a model of holistic reflection to facilitate transformative learning in student midwives. Women and Birth, 30(3), 227–235.

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

Student responsibility in regard to assessment If there is any doubt about the requirements of a particular assessment or assessment procedure, please see the Unit Convenor who is here to help you. The onus for clarifying assessment issues rests with the student. All assessments must be submitted to pass the unit. Back up your assignment as you go. You must keep a copy of your assignments.

General guidelines for a written paper

Presentation: Journals should be submitted in a word document, with 1.5 line spacing and a normal (2.5 cm) margin on all sides. Pages should be numbered. Font size should be 10 -12 and the Font style used must be clear and easily read. A title page should be included with your unit name and number, student ID (not name), date due/submitted, any extensions, word limit and actual word count Structure: Academic writing style must be maintained throughout the assessments. There are many texts available about organising and presenting papers in the library and online.

Clarity and Expression: Concepts should be discussed clearly and concisely. Assessments must demonstrate correct grammatical expression and spelling. Poor grammar obscures meaning. It is very useful to ask someone else to proof read your submission to eliminate errors.

Referencing requirements: Students must use the APA 7th method of referencing throughout their assessments. The following useful resource on referencing is available at: https://canberra.libguides.com/c.php?g=599301&p=4148716. The library chat (widget on library home page) and the Ask Advisors in the library are great resources for referencing help.

Returning Assessments and Feedback to students: Assessments will be returned electronically via the unit's UCLearn site with feedback attached.

Extensions

Students can also apply for an extension to the submission due date for their journal, or an agreed plan with completion date for pre-placement and WIL associated assessment items due to extenuating, evidenced circumstances (specific details are found in the Assessment Procedures). An extension must be applied for, or alternative plan negotiated before the due date. Documentary evidence (e.g. medical certificate) will be expected for an extension to be granted, however this will not guarantee that the application will be successful. The Unit Convener or relevant Program Director/Course Convener will decide whether to grant an extension and the length of the extension. 

An extension must be applied for before the due date.

Additional information

Students are not permitted to use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in assessments for this unit.

GenAI may only be used in authorised ways when completing assessments at UC. This means that GenAI can only be used for an assessment when:

1. the Unit Convener has authorised GenAI use for that assessment
2. the student uses GenAI in the way that the assessment instructions allow
3. the student fully acknowledges their use of GenAI, with proper citations, references and a GenAI Acknowledgement Statement in line with the assessment instructions.

Where the assessment instructions do not specifically state that GenAI may be used and how, then its use is not permitted for that assessment. Students must still provide the required GenAI Acknowledgement Statement to indicate whether GenAI has or has not been used in the preparation of the assessment. If unsure, students should seek advice from the Unit Convener.

The GenAI for Students Library Guide provides further information, including how to reference GenAI.

Professional boundaries

Midwifery students need debriefing about many experiences that occur during the Bachelor of Midwifery course, particularly in the clinical areas. Midwifery students are able to ring the university lecturers, staff, and the practising support midwives to receive this debriefing. As a midwifery student, unless it is an urgent phone call that is needed, students should refrain from approaching the above staff out of hours, which includes texting. We understand that as a midwifery student, you may also approach the clinical midwife that you are working with, but also be cognisant about doing this within working hours for these midwives as well. We provide our mobile phone numbers for a very good reason, for those circumstances that need addressing immediately. For those matters that could be addressed during the work hours, please be respectful of the staff’s availability at that time.

When following your COC women on the pregnancy journey, ensure that you do not have a conflict of interest with this woman. An example of a conflict of interest is that you are her friend, or a family member. This ensures that you have a professional relationship with the woman and reduces the chance of you working outside your scope of practice as a midwifery student.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Participation requirements

Expected engagement for this unit includes:

• Pre-placement activities
• Work Integrated Learning/PEP and its associated documentation
• Assigned weekly pre-class activities which may include reading, watching pre-recorded lectures or online activities
• Attendance at 2 hours of class each week (in-person)
• Reflective journalling

Participation is monitored via class attendance, engagement in online activities, and monitoring use of the UCLearn site and watching pre-recorded lectures. A high-level of engagement (at least 80%) is expected and keeping up with the content each week is considered essential for success in this unit. Nevertheless, students have multi-roled lives with a variety of commitments, including continuity practice requirements. If less than two weeks class are missed, communicate with your lecturer to ensure the content can be covered in the catch up week. If more than two weeks of class will be missed, see PEP absence information above.

If you are struggling with the content, workload or any other aspect of the unit, you are strongly encouraged to discuss this with the unit convenor or another member of the Midwifery Discipline. Most problems can be resolved with good communication and the team is here to support you.

Required IT skills

Students will need to access a computer with the internet to successfully complete this unit. Computers and internet are available for students to use on campus, or students may use their own.

The Client Services Division provides campus IT networks for the University, including computers and networked information resources for student use. For students needing help with basic IT skills, training courses are offered by the Client Services Division and some Faculty Resource Centres to help students start using the University online services. For more information please contact the Helpdesk on 6201 5500 or email helpdesk@cts.canberra.edu.au. The Library is also an excellent resource for IT skills related to information searching.

In-unit costs

You do not have to purchase the textbook for this unit but as busy students who are also involved in midwifery practice, you may find it most useful to do so. The textbook is available through the UC Library in person. The text is used heavily in further midwifery subjects, so you will get good use out of the book if you choose to purchase it.

You will also need to consider purchasing (if you don't already own) the following materials to succeed in Work Integrated Learning:

• Means of communicating with pregnant women and midwives (mobile phone)
• Means of transportation to and from hospital visits and births
• Comfortable, close-toed, non-slip shoes (black or navy blue)
• Professional, high-waisted work pants (not jeans or leggings)
• A UC Bachelor of Midwifery Polo Shirt (required for mid-year rostered practice)
• A watch with second hand or nurse's fob

Work placement, internships or practicums

This unit involves work integrated learning: Placement or Internship and Simulation. Students must adhere to University policy during WIL activities, including the Student Conduct Rules 2018, the WIL Policy and WIL Procedure, and the Assessment Policy and Assessment Procedure.

This unit has pre-placement requirements.

Students are required to undergo a number of requirements to undertake practice placement for this course. These include medical assessments, vaccinations, police check and a Working with Vulnerable People (WWVP) background check. Students are responsible for arranging and paying for their own checks through the Australian Federal Police and the ACT Office of Regulatory Services.

You are also required to complete details in InPlace, refer to inplace.canberra.edu.au. If you have any queries related to InPlace please contact placement@canberra.edu.au.

Additional information

Discussion of practice experiences on Social Media Networks

Please remember when discussing your experiences in practice you are discussing women's lives. Therefore, these experiences must not be discussed on social media networks such as Facebook or Twitter. Doing so breaks the confidentiality agreement by which students are governed when in practice. The appropriate place for discussion related to practice is the classroom setting, with your mentors or in your journal. Further information can be obtained from http://www.ahpra.gov.au/ and search for social media document.

Registration as a Student Midwife

As a student enrolled in an approved midwifery program of study the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia will register you for the duration of study and associated practice. Student registration is a National Law requirement, the role of which is to protect the public. You do not need to apply for registration; the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority will work directly with the University of Canberra to register all students who need to be registered. There are no fees for student registration. Further information can be found at http://www.ahpra.gov.au/Registration/Student-Registrations.aspx

Announcements:

Announcements made at seminars are deemed to be made to the whole group. Important announcements will be repeated on the unit website. Please check the ‘Knowing Antenatal Practice' website at: http://learnonline.canberra.edu.au/ and your e-mail for messages at least weekly.

The Midwifery Practice Room (10A02) is available for students for private study, group work and practising skills/tasks when it is not in use for timetabled classes. There is also a student space on level 1 (ground floor) of Building 10. 

• Semester 1, 2025, On-campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (224829)
• Semester 1, 2024, On-campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (216225)