Continuity Midwifery A (7948.2)

Required texts

Lists of suggested texts

Fahy, K, Foureur, M and Hastie, C. (2008). Birth territory and midwifery guardianship. Edinbrough Scotland: Books for Midwives.
Pairman, S., Tracy, S., Dahlen, H. & Dixon, L. (2019). Midwifery Preparation for practice. 4th ed. Sydney, Australia: Elsevier.  Books 1 and 2
Jordan, S. (2010). Pharmacology for midwives: The evidence for safe practice. Bassingstoke, England: Palgrave.

Leap, N., & Hunter, B. (2016). Supporting women for labour and birth: a thoughtful guide.UK: Routledge

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

If there is any doubt about the requirements of a particular assessment or assessment procedure, please see the Unit Convener who is here to help you. The onus for clarifying assessment issues rests with the student. The midwifery staff are here to help you, of course.  

Special assessment requirements

All assessment items will be submitted online via the unit CANVAS site.  The first page of each assessment submission should include the following information:

Student Name:

Student ID:

Assessment Name:

             Word Count (if applicable)

             If there is any doubt about the requirements of a particular assessment or assessment procedure, please see the Unit Convener 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 and students must achieve an overall mark of 50% to pass the unit. You must keep a copy of your assignments.

             Written assignments should be word processed in 1.5 line spacing with numbered pages. Referencing must be in the APA 6^th edition style.

Late submission of assessments

Requests for extensions must be made in writing to the convenor at least 24 hours prior to the due date.

Late submission penalty policy for the Faculty of Health

All assessments should be submitted by the specified due date and time in the Unit Outline. Any submissions received after the due date and time without an approved formal extension will undergo a mark adjustment. In extenuating circumstances, a late submission may be considered without a mark adjustment on production of supporting documentation and at the discretion of the Unit Convenor (i.e. the Unit Convenor agrees to an extension to the deadline for submission).

The following conditions will apply to late submissions without an approved extension:

Mark adjustment: 10% of the maximum mark available for the assessment task will be deducted for each day late up until five days late. For example an essay awarded 60% (60/100) submitted 2 days late will receive a mark adjustment of 10% per day, therefore, the adjusted maximum mark for that item will be 40% (40/100). Similarly, if the weighting is used then a piece of work worth 50% of the unit which received 30/50 would be reduced by 5 marks per day (i.e. 10% of 50) and would therefore receive a maximum adjusted mark of 20/50 if late by two days. Submissions received more than 5 days after the prescribed date and time will not be accepted for marking, a mark of zero (0) will be awarded for the item. For the purposes of these penalties, all days of the week count, including weekends and public holidays, even when the University may be closed. The minimum possible mark for late submission is zero. For clarification, one (1) minute past the specified due date and time is considered a late submission.

It is students' responsibility to be familiar with the electronic submission process (e.g., the use of DAISY M, CANVAS and URKUND). Students are reminded to ensure they plan well enabling adequate time to submit assessments prior to the deadline, in order to avoid a mark adjustment.

Referencing requirements

Students must use APA 6^th Edition method of referencing throughout their assignments. The following useful resource on referencing is available at:

             http://www.canberra.edu.au/library/research-gateway/research_help/referencing-guides

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

             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 2013.

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 to a shared space on ‘CANVAS' 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.

This semester, this is compulsory unless students make arrangements to ‘catch up' on any practical work missed in class eg undertake perineal suturing workshop or attend a well baby assessment workshop in the practice arena. Students cannot pass this unit unless they have either attended all practical classes, undertaken an alternative workshop or (for some appropriate classes, submitted 500 words per topic missed). Students who do not submit to these attendance requirements in a timely way will not pass the unit.

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 skils 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. Over the course of the year, students need to work in continuity with 15 women, so while the number of women in Semester 1 is difficult to mandate, students will need to have commenced work with at least 10 women and complete their continuity work with at least 5 (and perhaps more). Based on being ‘paired up' with named childbearing women, students for each woman will:

• conduct under supervision her first antenatal visit in chosen model of care (often called the Booking Visit, or Preadmission Clinic - PAC)
• conduct/be involved in at least 4 other antenatal visits
• be on call for (and attend) each woman's labour
• conduct under supervision at least 3 postnatal visits (1 of which can be time spent working with the woman immediately after the ‘4th stage' of labour)

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, whileever that is appropriate for the woman.

We understand that circumstances beyond the student's control sometimes change both women's and students' plans, therefore the minimum for each student having worked with 5 women in ‘completed' continuity experiences this semester is a total of 5 1st visits, 20 other antenatal visits, attendance at 3 of those women's labours and 15 postnatal visits.

In this semester, progress toward achieving the ‘midwifery minimum practice requirements' comes from working in the continuity of care model and so in this semester, there are no particular numbers mandated, apart from those listed above.

Students must follow all guidelines as per the Midwifery Practice Handbook.

Note well, please:

    A continuity relationship must start with a 1st visit in the chosen model of care (booking in or PAC) unless the student has worked with a particular woman in a previous pregnancy. In this case, the student may negotiate to waive the 1st visit requirement with the Midwifery Practice Coordinator or the Unit Convener. 

    This semester to enable the Practice Support Midwives (PSMs) to plan and cater for individual learning needs, students must

·       document on ‘Daisy M' their regular contact with a PSM during their work with women (regular is a  minimum of once a month)

·       provide the PSMs with the times of all booked antenatal and postnatal appointments as soon as they are confirmed with the women and/or midwives.  A 'live' excel spreadsheet will be used to facilitate the antenatal appointments.  Detail and use of this sheet will be described in class in week 1. 

·       inform the appropriate PSM/PSMs prior to attending a woman's labour and birth (Mon-Sun daylight hours)

      Only (booked) antenatal appointments that have been notified via the excel 'live' documentto the PSMs will be eligible for inclusion in your portfolio as ‘countable' practice.

Additional information

As you know, midwifery is a complex course because of both the theory and practice requirements, so please do not remain quiet if you are concerned or worried. The Unit Convener (Bek Bowman), your midwifery mentor, the UC Practice Support Midwives, Midwifery Practice Coordinators (Ros Woolley and Dale Lilley) and the Course Convenor (Sally Ferguson) are all here to help you. At UC, as well as the excellent midwives in the practice areas, you have the added advantage of access to our Practice Support Midwives (Tamara Maher, Jen Patrick, Edwina Lewis and Cathy Spencer) who are available to assist you in your practice with women.  We want you to continue on your journey to becoming useful and connected midwives by learning in a supportive environment, so please let us know if you feel very challenged. Most things can be sorted out quickly and easily if we know. We will also help with more complex issues.

You will need to self-regulate time off from being on call this year.  It is important to turn your phone "off" at times to unwind and have balance in your life.  This will need to be done on an individual basis and will be determined by when you have women due, if you are on task with requirements.  Your unit convenor, practice co-ordinators and PSMs can help you with discussions around this. 

Announcements made at seminars are deemed to be made to the whole group. Important announcements will be repeated on the unit Canvas website.

• Semester 1, 2020, On-campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (193452)
• Semester 1, 2019, On-campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (188585)
• Semester 1, 2018, On-campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (176138)