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Unit Synopsis
This unit is the first in a series of six Professional Midwifery Practice units offered in the Bachelor of Midwifery program. It introduces you to the midwife’s role in supporting normal physiological processes throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period, and prepares you to undertake Midwifery Professional Experience (MPE) placements in future units. Through both theoretical study and simulated clinical practice, you will develop the essential knowledge and skills required to provide safe, effective care to women and their families. The unit explores key midwifery philosophies, models of maternity care, and the professional scope of practice, with a strong emphasis on delivering evidence-based, high-quality, woman-centred care. Attendance at a five-day in-person residential school is mandatory. Successful completion of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), conducted during the residential school, is required to pass this unit.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 1 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 1 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Co-requisites: Legal, Ethical and Professional Midwifery Practice Introductory Human Anatomy & Physiology 1 Evidence-based Practice in Health Care
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School |
Compulsory Residential School View Unit Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Group Discussion | 20% |
| 2. Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) | 30% |
| 3. Case Study | 50% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site.
No previous feedback available
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Apply foundational concepts and principles from midwifery frameworks to support safe introductory level midwifery practice
- Demonstrate knowledge of the historical and philosophical foundations of the midwifery profession and how they shape the scope of practice and professional responsibilities of a registered midwife
- Demonstrate foundational midwifery practice skills, incorporating digital health tools and emerging technologies to support care for women and neonates across the normal childbearing continuum
- Demonstrate introductory level midwifery competence based upon the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) Midwife Standards for Practice (2018) requirements.
The learning outcomes and the unit content will meet the following:
The ANMAC Midwife Accreditation Standards (2021)
Standard 1: Safety of the public
Standard 3: Program of study
The NMBA Midwife Standards for Practice (2018)
Standard 1: Promotes evidence-based maternal health and wellbeing
Standard 2: Engages in respectful partnerships and professional relationships
Standard 3: Demonstrates the capability and accountability for midwifery practice
Standard 4: Undertakes comprehensive assessments
Standard 5. Develops a plan for midwifery practice
Standard 6: Provides safe and quality midwifery practice
Standard 7. Evaluates outcomes to improve midwifery practice
The NMBA Code of Conduct for Midwives (2018)
Principle 1. Legal compliance
Principle 2. Woman-centred practice
Principle 3. Cultural practice and respectful relationships
Principle 4. Professional behaviour
Principle 7: Health and wellbeing
The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) International Code of Ethics for Midwives (2014)
1. Midwifery relationships
2. Practice of midwifery
3. The Professional responsibilities of midwives
4. Advancement of midwifery knowledge and practice
National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (2021)
Clinical governance standard
Partnering with consumers standard
Preventing and controlling healthcare-associated infection standard
Medication safety standard
Comprehensive care standard
Communicating for safety standard
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Group Discussion | • | • | ||
| 2 - Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) | • | • | ||
| 3 - Case Study | • | • | ||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | • | • |
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | • |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | • |
| 5 - Team Work | • | • | ||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | • | • | |
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | • | • | • | • |
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | • | • | • |
| 9 - Social Innovation | • | • | • | • |
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | • | • | • | • |
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |