Partnering in Maternity Practice (11952.1)
| Available teaching periods | Delivery mode | Location |
|---|---|---|
| View teaching periods | On-campus |
Bruce, Canberra |
| EFTSL | Credit points | Faculty |
| 0.125 | 3 | Faculty Of Health |
| Discipline | Study level | HECS Bands |
| Midwifery | Level 2 - Undergraduate Intermediate Unit | Band 1 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021) Band 1 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021) |
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:1. Apply midwifery cognitive and technical skills within a continuity of care model across the childbearing continuum;
2. Achieve a satisfactory WIL level as evidenced by completion of the practice portfolio; and
3. Collaborate with women and the health care team while maintaining a woman-centred midwifery philosophy and practice.
Graduate attributes
1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - work collaboratively as part of a team, negotiate, and resolve conflict
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology
4. UC graduates are able to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing - communicate and engage with Indigenous Australians in ethical and culturally respectful ways
4. UC graduates are able to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing - apply their knowledge to working with Indigenous Australians in socially just ways
Prerequisites
11951 Working in Maternity PracticeCorequisites
None.Incompatible units
11295 Women In Pregnancy and BeyondEquivalent units
None.Assumed knowledge
None.| Year | Location | Teaching period | Teaching start date | Delivery mode | Unit convener |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Bruce, Canberra | Winter Term | 08 June 2026 | On-campus | Dr Glenys Frank |
| 2027 | Bruce, Canberra | Winter Term | 07 June 2027 | On-campus | Dr Glenys Frank |
Required texts
Additional resources and references
Books
Pairman S., Tracey, S., Dahlen, H. & Dixon, L. (Eds.) (2023). Midwifery: Preparation for Practice (5th edn.). Churchill Livingstone Elsevier.
Guidelines
Australian College of Midwives. (2021). National Midwifery Guidelines for Consultation and Referral (4th edn.). Australian College of Midwives.
Published literature
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.
Websites
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/our-work/transition-quality-use-medicines-programs
Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Guidelines http://ranzcog.edu.au/resources/statements-and-guidelines-directory/
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
| Attendance at classes is compulsory in this course, as per the Bachelor of Midwifery curriculum approved by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Board in 2018. Because we understand that we all have multi-roled and complex lives, and that sometimes being on call will mean students will be attending women in labour during our face-to-face sessions, we provide opportunities for students to make up missed classes. Students may be required to write a 500 word synopsis about their learning on any missed major topics and submit the 500 words within two weeks of their absence (or as negotiated with the Unit Convenor). In this way, students both demonstrate their learning on missed content and still share the learning processes with their co-students. Note well: Please do not make 'FirstVisit' (Booking in/PAC) appointments with women during scheduled classes and please arrive at all practice with appropriate ID and dress. |
Required IT skills
Students are required to have the skills to use and complete the requirements of documenting their practice using our on-line Midwifery Practice Portfolio 'DAISY M'.
In-unit costs
You do not have to purchase texts for this unit but as busy students who are also involved in midwifery practice, you may find it most useful to do so. Texts recommended for the unit will be used throughout the Bachelor of Midwifery course.
Work placement, internships or practicums
| Students are required to undertake midwifery practice in a continuity of care experiences model this semester. While it is difficult to mandate numbers of continuity experiences to have been started or completed in the first semester, it is expected that at least half of the total numbers for the year will be commenced. There are variations of course between women and between experiences, so each ‘continuity experience' will be slightly different. For the purposes of this semester's requirements, it is very important that the student, under direct supervision, shares the lead carer role for each woman, while ever that is appropriate for the woman. In this semester, progress toward achieving the ‘midwifery minimum practice requirements' comes from working in the continuity of care model. Students must follow all guidelines as per the Midwifery Practice Experience and Course Handbook Please select any/all applicable options:
This unit has pre-placement requirements (e.g., Manual Handling and e-learning). You can self-enrol in this module through the UC Learn site here. 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. |
Contact your unit convener if you have any concerns with meeting the requirements of this unit.
Additional information
Announcements made at seminars are deemed to be made to the whole group. Important announcements will be repeated on the unit UCLearn website.
Makeup shifts
All students please be aware that if you are falling behind in your birth catches, there will be plenty of opportunities to do makeup shifts as we are working closely with the ACT Clinical Placement Office. If you are in NSW and need to do make up shifts, please notify Sophie Wrigley (Midwifery Practice Coordinator) if you are falling behind in your catches.
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.
Requests for flexibility
To support students, the midwifery team will attempt to accommodate genuine need for flexibility wherever possible when allocating CoCEs and rostered shifts. Please aim to provide placement preferences to the Midwifery Practice Coordinators two months prior to the beginning of the relevant PEP block. All effort will be made to accommodate student needs, prioritising accommodation of healthcare, childcare and paid work, but this is not guaranteed.
Missing up to two weeks of PEP (e.g. short-term illness)If circumstances require students to miss up to two weeks of practical experiences (including CoCEs, rostered shifts and practical classes), students are expected to make this up prior to the commencement of the following placement unit, or they will be unable to continue in PEP. If students need to make up a CoCE which does not meet criteria, this must be communicated to the Midwifery Practice Coordinator, with the reasons, as soon as possible so that further allocations can be made. A make-up practical class and make-up rostered shifts block will be made available to students at the end of each semester. Please note that flexibility cannot usually be accommodated in make-up shift blocks or make-up CoCE allocations.
Missing more than two weeks of PEP
If more than two weeks of PEP is missed, or students will be unable to meet their CoCE requirements for the unit, a PEP/WIL Absence Form (available on UCLearn) must be submitted and approved, or the student will fail the practical unit. Forms must be submitted five business days prior to the missed practical classes/shifts/CoCEs for predictable events and as soon as possible for unpredictable events. Forms must be accompanied by documentary evidence as per the UC Assessment Procedure for Special Circumstances. Approval is at the discretion of the Unit Convenor in consultation with the Midwifery Practice Coordinator, and contingent on an agreed plan to make up missed PEP prior to the commencement of the student's following PEP year. If a large amount of PEP will be missed, students are encouraged to consider seeking a Reasonable Adjustment Plan or adjusting their enrolment to undertake practical units at a time when their circumstances allow.
The Midwifery Simulation Space is available for students for private study, group work and practising skills/tasks when it is not in use for timetabled classes.
