Assessment One - Portfolio/Ongoing Reflective Journal

40% Weighting

Word Count: N/A

Referencing Style: APA 6th

Due Date: 2/06/2020 (Week 12)

Objectives: This assessment item relates to learning outcomes

One (1) Apply the concepts and principles underpinning the frameworks of midwifery to beginning midwifery practice.

Two (2) Demonstrate beginning midwifery practice skills related to the assessment of women and the neonate across the continuum of normal childbearing using the Australian College of Midwives National Midwifery Guidelines for Consultation or Referral.

Three (3) Reflect on clinical learning related to your continuity of care experiences to enhance practice.

Four (4) Demonstrate midwifery competence based upon the Nursing and Midwifery Board Australia (NMBA) requirements.

Reflective practice is a key element that contributes to the NMBA Midwife Standards for Practice. It is through reflective processes that both students and registered midwives can identify and explore diverse values, beliefs, learning needs and sociocultural structures.

Task

To facilitate your reflective skill development you are required to complete a reflective piece of writing for each of the three (3) recruited 'continuity of care experience' women you are working with. The journals must be uploaded to the appropriate section of the Bachelor of Midwifery Meta page.

Overview of Reflective Journal Writing

A reflective journal is a way of thinking in a critical and analytical way about your clinical experience. It involves looking at a situation, assessing what you have learnt from it, what you could have done differently, realising new approaches to your care and ultimately, how you felt about the whole experience. As a student midwife it shows how different aspects of your work interconnect and can be very useful for identifying gaps in knowledge and ethical dilemmas or situations that need further thought.

Understanding your feelings is a vital skill for reflective writing, and studying midwifery involves being exposed to many new situations - doing your first antenatal booking; helping a woman with breastfeeding support; witnessing a birth - which can bring new reactions to the surface. It's important to comprehend what you feel, why you feel that way and to then learn from it, as failing to reflect can lead to poor insight and therefore poor performance in practice (Hays & Gay, 2011).

*Reflective writing is more personal than other kinds of academic writing and is an exploration of events not just a description of them.

Reflective Journal Requirements

(Refer to the provided Reflective Journal Template and the Two Reflective Journal examples)

How to structure reflective writing

It can be useful to use a reflective model, or series of questions, which will help you look at the whole event from many different angles (Macdonald, 2011; Driscoll, 1994; Benner, 1984). The Driscoll model has a very simple 'what', 'so what' and 'now what' model, which is easy to remember and write up. There are three common reflective writing models that you may choose to follow when writing reflectively: Van Manen, Gibbs and Durgahee (Giminez, 2011). The models all involve thinking systematically about the phases of an activity, using headings including: description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan. These theoretical frameworks provide a starting point for the critical skills that all student midwives should develop by the end of their educational program.

Example:

1. Description: (don't make this too long - refer to the provided template).

What is it? What happened? Why am I talking about it?

2. Interpretation: What is important and relevant? Look through your description and try to find words or phrases that require further exploration. Include the rationale for what was done or why it was done. Where there is controversy about what was done or found, provide the rationale and sources of evidence for both sides of the argument. How can it be explored and explained using contemporary theories?

3. Outcome: What have I learned from this? How will it influence my future work?

Above all, enjoy writing the journal - it is about you and your reflection and your development as a clinical midwife!

Weighting 60%

Task Description

2500 words (+ or - 10%) on the topic of:

“Health Promotion: Tailoring antenatal education to the individual woman”

Background:

The NMBA (2018) Midwife Standards for Practice states:

The midwife is responsible and accountable for midwifery practice that includes:

• providing women’s health support, care and advice before conception, during pregnancy, labour, birth and the postnatal period

• promoting normal physiological childbirth and identifying complications for the woman and her baby

• consultation with and referral to medical care or other appropriate assistance. (NMBA, 2018, p.7)

Using the principles of midwifery continuity of care and primary health care the midwife provides antenatal counselling and education.

During antenatal care the midwife has an opportunity to educate and assess the woman’s needs and identify risk factors. An initial “booking in” maternity assessment risk score is determined from her history and status, which assists in highlighting risks and tailoring appropriate care.

The Australian College of Midwives provides a document, The National Guidelines for Consultation & Referral. This document is designed for use by midwives to integrate clinical evidence with experience to determine a midwifery assessment score: A, B or C. Timely identification of the score provides an indication of which model of care may be most appropriate and when to consult and refer to medical care. The maternity assessment score is initially determined at the booking in antenatal visit but may be revised and changed throughout the pregnancy.

Overview:

You are required to reflect on your clinical experiences related to your 'Continuity of Care' (CoC) women. You are to select a health promotion educational activity, that you could provide to your CoC woman from one of the following options:

• Lifestyle changes in pregnancy (exercise and nutrition in pregnancy and/or Alcohol, Tobacco or other Drugs).

• Social and Mental health risk screening (Safe Start and/or Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale)

Task:

You are required to correctly determine your chosen CoC woman’s midwifery assessment score using The Australian College of Midwives ‘National Guidelines for Consultation and Referral. You are required to access the National Midwifery Guidelines for Consultation and Referral via the Australian College of Midwives app available here:https://www.midwives.org.au/resources/national-midwifery-guidelines-consultation-and-referral-3rd-edition-issue-2-2014 You will discuss why the woman has been allocated the score and what is the appropriate action to take: consult or refer according to The National Guidelines for Consultation & Referral.

Part A: - Using a midwifery perspective you are required to:

Research your chosen health promotion educational activity that is in alignment with your role as a midwife and primary healthcare provider.

Evaluation: Explore current research to provide a critical evaluation of the evidence/research regarding your chosen topic.

Analyze and apply: Provide recommendations for pregnant women on your chosen health promotion educational activity.

Discuss: How these recommendations can assist the woman during her pregnancy and include in your discussion the woman’s maternity risk score and the correct actions to take according to the Australian College of Midwives ‘National Guidelines for Consultation and Referral and discuss why.

Part A - Word limit - 2000 words.

Part B: - Design and produce a comprehensive pamphlet which summarises the research and recommendations from Part A related to your chosen educational activity or health promotion strategy. This would be a pamphlet that you would be able to offer to women as a resource when providing education. In designing your pamphlet please ensure you consider the following:

• Before you start - make sure that you have thought of the purpose, the message, the target audience and finally the content you wish to include. Gather ideas and examples of other pamphlets when starting your design.

• Write an outline - Keep your language simple by avoiding long words and jargon. The best pamphlets are short and simple. Remember the information that you will utilise for the pamphlet will need to be based on your 2000 word overview (Part A).

• Do not make the layout too dense with lots of small typing or multiple images. Leave some space in between the writing either as empty white space or as space or pictures. This makes it easier for people to read.

• Readability is very important in designing a pamphlet. Check which are easiest to read and use them as an example to guide you. You can also vary the typing by using bold and italics as well as different size letters for headings, captions and so on. Arrange your topics in a logical sequence, fitting to a general layout. Play around with the design until you decide on the best layout. You can use both sides of the pamphlet, that is front and back.

• Be creative. It may help you to fold up a piece of paper in the way your pamphlet will be folded and sketch it out. Use bold headlines to catch people's attention and to make it interesting.

• Tip: Word contains a template that is able to design pamphlets.

• Word Count:500

You will need to submit both Part A and Part B for marking as per the normal submission process for written assessments.

Please Note:

• A title page is required for this assignment - including your name, student number, due date, word count and unit coordinator's name.

• An introduction, conclusion and reference list are also required this assessment: Part A.

• A 10% leeway on either side of the word limit will be accepted. The word count will be measured from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion and includes in-text references and citations. Not included is the cover page, contents page, or reference list.

• It is an expectation that the references used will be recent journal articles, five years or less since publication and reference books are to be no older than ten year, unless seminal works. Correct referencing is to be utilised throughout the body of work.

• Referencing: American Psychological Association referencing style is a requirement. Poor referencing is unacceptable at this level of study.

• For more information on the APA referencing style please visit: CQUniversity Library site - click on students and then referencing.

• Plagiarism detection software - Turnitin will be utilised to evaluate assignments. Please refer to the course profile for further information regarding Turnitin.

Specific expectations:

• Before commencing the assessment, you are required to read the marking criteria sheet for this assessment (see below)

• For assessment extension requests - please go to the Assignment Extension Request tool bar on the MDWF12003 Moodle page.

• Submission of the assessment is via Moodle, if you experience problems with submission, please contact the CQU TASAC helpdesk on 07 4930 9090.

Support and Contact Details: Unit Coordinator – Bridget Ferguson b.ferguson@cqu.edu.au

Assessment 3 - Placement

MDWF12006 - Midwifery Practice 1 - Clinical Placement

Due date: 19/06/2020 (Week 14)

Weighting: 0% - Pass/Fail

Learning Objectives:

One (1) Apply the concepts and principles underpinning the frameworks of midwifery to beginning midwifery practice.

Two (2) Demonstrate beginning midwifery practice skills related to assessment of women and the neonate across the continuum of normal childbearing using the Australian College of Midwives 'National Midwifery Guidelines for Consultation and Referral'.

Three (3) Reflect on clinical learning related to your continuity of care experiences to enhance practice.

Four (4) Demonstrate midwifery competence based upon the Nursing and Midwifery Board Australia (NMBA) requirements.

Minimal clinical practice experience of 224 hours is required by completion of this course. This clinical experience will allow you to consolidate knowledge and skills acquired throughout the term and enable you to draw distinction in your scope of practice between normal and complex midwifery care. You are required to meet the clinical requirements listed below and these requirements need to be documented within your Student Clinical Experience Record Book.

You are expected to work towards minimal clinical requirements and they include:

1. Recruit three (3) 'Continuity of Care' (CoC) experience women, and commence your reflective journals. Templates can be found on the Bachelor of Midwifery Meta page.

2. Complete the recruitment or a minimum of 1 antenatal visit for three (3) CoC women in term1 who will birth in term 2.

3. Competency Performance Assessment

4. Complete 224 hours of clinical practice experience plus continuity of care hours (10-20 in total per woman recruited)

The required clinical experience will be reviewed by the midwifery educator/manager in conjunction with the course coordinator.

Weighting 0% - Pass/Fail

This is a pass/fail assessment and therefore no marking rubric applies to this assessment.