Course Coordinator:Loretta Anderson (landerson4@usc.edu.au) School:School of Health - Midwifery
Online |
Online | You can do this course without coming onto campus, unless your program has specified a mandatory onsite requirement. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
This course will provide the theoretical underpinnings of neonatal and infant health and will address the specific needs of neonates. The course considers the transition of the neonate to the extrauterine environment, neonatal assessment and care of infants with complex needs. Principles of developmentally focussed family-centred care are applied throughout. This course will enable you to critically evaluate and apply current clinical research to the unique care needs of neonates and infants.
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Online | |||
| Online – Online asynchronous learning and teaching materials and options for lecturer and peer to peer collaborations, and lecturer and peer zoom drop ins. | 5hrs | Week 1 | 8 times |
Neonatal Care: an Australian perspective. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander considerations.
Neonatal assessment: Pre-natal environment, growth and development. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander considerations.
Physiologic monitoring and thermoregulation.
Family-centred and developmentally focused care in the neonatal unit.
Neonatal conditions requiring admission and care in the neonatal unit.
Nutritional and metabolic care of the neonate.
Neonatal skin care and pain and pain management.
Legal and ethical issues in the neonatal unit and discharge planning.
200 Level (Developing)
12 units
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Mapping Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | Professional Standard Mapping * Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia | |
| 1 | Discuss factors contributing to normal and altered transition from foetus to neonate which may or may not include common complexities/medical conditions. | Knowledgeable |
1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 3.3, 4.1, 6.2 |
| 2 | Describe the role of the midwife/nurse in fostering a family centred approach to neonatal care and facilitating emotional and physical closeness in the infant-parent dyad including those of different cultures. | Creative and critical thinker |
1.3, 1.5, 1.7, 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 4.1 |
| 3 | Describe nutritional and feeding strategies in accordance with neonatal needs. | Knowledgeable |
1.1, 2.1 |
| 4 | Analyse and apply evidence-based knowledge regarding neonatal and infant care to midwifery/nursing practice. | Creative and critical thinker |
1.1, 1.2, 1.6, 3.2, 3.7, 5.1 |
| 5 | Communicate and collaborate effectively in multidisciplinary teams to facilitate safe and appropriate care for women and their infants. | Engaged |
1.1, 1.5, 1.7, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 3.1, 3.2, 3.5, 3.7, 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 5.2, 5.3, 6.2, 6.3 |
| 6 | Application of the principles and practices of academic writing and referencing. | Ethical |
1.2, 1.6 |
| CODE | COMPETENCY |
| Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia | |
| 1.1 | The midwife identifies what is important to women as the foundation for using evidence to promote informed decision-making, participation in care, and self-determination |
| 1.2 | The midwife accesses, analyses, and uses the best available evidence, that includes research findings, for safe, quality midwifery practice |
| 1.3 | The midwife uses health assessment and health education to support birth and reproductive health, and minimise the potential for complications |
| 1.5 | The midwife supports access to maternity care for the woman |
| 1.6 | The midwife supports the development, implementation and evaluation of evidenced-based health initiatives and programs |
| 1.7 | The midwife identifies and promotes the role of midwifery practice and the midwifery profession in influencing better health outcomes for women |
| 2.1 | The midwife supports the choices of the woman, with respect for families and communities in relation to maternity care |
| 2.2 | The midwife partners with women to strengthen women’s capabilities and confidence to care for themselves and their families |
| 2.3 | The midwife practises ethically, with respect for dignity, privacy, confidentiality, equity and justice |
| 2.4 | The midwife practises without the discrimination that may be associated with race, age, disability, sexuality, gender identity, relationship status, power relations and/or social disadvantage |
| 2.5 | The midwife practises cultural safety that is holistic, free of bias and exposes racism |
| 2.6 | The midwife practises in a way that respects that family and community underpin the health of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples |
| 2.7 | The midwife develops, maintains and concludes professional relationships in a way that differentiates the boundaries between professional and personal relationships |
| 2.8 | The midwife participates in and/or leads collaborative practice |
| 3.1 | The midwife understands their scope of practice |
| 3.2 | The midwife practises within relevant legal parameters and professional standards, codes and guidelines |
| 3.3 | The midwife participates in own continuing professional development to maintain the required knowledge and skill base for safe and effective practice |
| 3.5 | The midwife engages in timely consultation, referral and documentation |
| 3.7 | The midwife recognises and responds appropriately where safe and quality practice may be compromised |
| 4.1 | The midwife works in partnership to determine factors that affect, or potentially affect, the health and wellbeing of women, communities and populations |
| 4.3 | The midwife analyses information and data and communicates assessments and anticipated outcomes as the basis for midwifery practice |
| 4.4 | The midwife assesses the resources that are available to inform planning |
| 5.1 | The midwife interprets assessment data and best available evidence to develop a plan for practice |
| 5.2 | The midwife collaboratively develops plans until options, priorities, goals, actions, anticipated outcomes and timeframes are agreed with the woman, and/or relevant others |
| 5.3 | The midwife co-ordinates resources effectively and efficiently for planned actions |
| 6.2 | The midwife practises to achieve the agreed goals and anticipated outcomes that meet the needs of the woman |
| 6.3 | The midwife is responsible for consultation and referral and/ or escalation in situations that are outside the individual’s scope of practice |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
NUR117 or HLT132 and enrolled in Program SC391, SC393
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
In the learning materials there are quizzes that are embedded in the content that allow you to understand your comprehension of key concepts. As you engage with them you will receive feedback that will prepare you for each assessment.
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Case Study | Individual | 50% | 2000 words |
Week 4 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 2 | Oral and Written Piece | Individual | 50% | 15 minutes |
Week 7 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Case Study | |||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | Explain the pathophysiology of a complex neonatal condition from a scenario provided. Consider collaboration within the multidisciplinary team and the midwifes/nurses role in advocating for the infant parent dyad. |
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| Product: | Case Study | ||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | Individual 2000 words. You will use the current APA referencing style. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Collaboration, Problem solving, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 2:Discharge Information Session | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal of this assessment is to provide discharge information for a family following hospital admission. |
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| Product: | Oral and Written Piece | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | Individual recorded Power Point presentation (see Canvas for additional information) |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Collaboration, Problem solving, Information literacy |
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A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
You need regular access to the resource(s) below. Many texts are available as ebooks through the Library at no additional cost.
| Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
| Required | Victoria Kain,Trudi Mannix | 2022 | Neonatal Care for Nurses and Midwives | 2 | Elsevier |
| Required | Roslyn Donnellan - Fernandez,Maryam Bazargan,Clare Davison,Michelle Gray,Kirsten Small | 2024 | Pharmacology in Midwifery | n/a | Elsevier |
Not applicable
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.
The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
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