MDWF12009 - Professional Midwifery Practice 4

Showing: 2026 HE Term 1
General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit is the fourth in a structured sequence of six Professional Midwifery Practice units within the Bachelor of Midwifery program. This unit builds on the foundational knowledge gained in Professional Midwifery Practice 1, 2, and 3, and will develop your understanding of the midwife’s role in caring for women experiencing complexities across the childbearing continuum. This unit supports the development of your clinical midwifery skills in the context of complexity, focusing on ethical, safe, and culturally responsive care. You will engage in assessing, planning, providing, and evaluating care for women with complex physiological and psychosocial needs during the antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal periods. Care will be provided collaboratively with intra- and interprofessional teams, guided by the Australian College of Midwives (ACM) National Midwifery Guidelines for Consultation and Referral (2021). Through ongoing critical reflection on your Continuity of Care Experiences (COCE), you will deepen your knowledge and enhance your clinical capabilities. Guided by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia's (NMBA) Midwife Standards for Practice (2018), you will have the opportunity to demonstrate increasing competence in midwifery practice when care becomes complex. This unit includes a compulsory five-day residential school, comprising two days of online learning followed by three days of face-to-face clinical skills development. Successful completion of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), held during the residential school, is required to progress to the Midwifery Professional Experience (MPE) placement. To meet clinical requirements, you must complete a minimum of 160 hours of supervised practicum and maintain documentation of your COCEs, demonstrating developing competence and reflective learning across the childbearing continuum.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 1
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Prerequisites: Professional Midwifery Practice 3

Pharmacology Across the Childbearing Continuum 1

Co-requisites: Complex Childbearing 1

Physiology and Care of the Neonate

 

 

 

 

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).

Assessment Overview

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. Written Assessment 50%
2. Reflective Practice Assignment 50%
3. Portfolio 0%

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%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

Previous Feedback

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.

Unit Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Assess, plan, provide, and evaluate physiological care for women and families experiencing complex factors, using the Australian College of Midwives National Midwifery Guidelines for Consultation and Referral, along with digital health tools and emerging technologies
  2. Assess, plan, provide, and evaluate psychosocial care for women and families experiencing complex factors, guided by the Australian College of Midwives National Midwifery Guidelines for Consultation and Referral and supported by digital health and emerging technologies
  3. Critically reflect on clinical learning related to midwifery professional experience and Continuity of Care Experiences to enhance midwifery practice
  4. Demonstrate continued development and consolidation of midwifery competence through the application of knowledge, skills, and professional behaviours consistent with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Midwife Standards for Practice (2018).

The unit content and learning outcomes will meet the following:

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 plans 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

Partnering with consumers

Preventing and controlling healthcare-associated infection

Medication safety

Comprehensive care

Communicating for safety

Blood management

Recognising and responding to acute deterioration

The Nursing and Midwifery Digital Health Framework (2020)

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Written Assessment • •
2 - Reflective Practice Assignment •
3 - Portfolio • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
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 • • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10