Course Outline

MID707 Introduction to the midwifery practice

Course Coordinator:Elaine Jefford (ejefford@usc.edu.au) School:School of Health - Midwifery

2027Session 1

Online

Online You can do this course without coming onto campus, unless your program has specified a mandatory onsite requirement.

Please go to usc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.

What is this course about?

Description

The aim of this course is to explore maternity care from a feminist perspective and identify historical and contemporary national and international gender-based and social justice issues, that impact upon women, maternity care providers, childbirth and models of care. Legal, regulatory, professional frameworks and ethical issues are examined. You will critically reflect on personal, social, cultural, and professional identity in relation to midwifery practice.

How will this course be delivered?

Activity Hours Beginning Week Frequency
Online
Learning materials – Online asynchronous learning and teaching materials. 3hrs Week 1 6 times
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Tutorials. 2hrs Week 1 6 times
Online – Drop in 1hr Refer to Format 6 times

Course Topics

  • National and global historical and contemporary maternity care provision and models of care.
  • Midwifery as a feminist profession and professional identity.
  • Legal, regulatory, and professional ethical, gender-based and women’s rights and social justice in the maternity context.
  • Providing quality, safe and culturally appropriate midwifery care.
  • Reflection and reflexivity.

Mature Content

Adult themes

What level is this course?

700 Level (Specialised)

Demonstrating a specialised body of knowledge and set of skills for professional practice or further learning. Advanced application of knowledge and skills in unfamiliar contexts.

What is the unit value of this course?

6 units

How does this course contribute to my learning?

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 Critically evaluate the impact of historical maternity care provision on contemporary midwifery care and models of care. Creative and critical thinker
1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.5, 2.6, 4.1
2 Critically analyse from a feminist perspective and reflect upon your own social/cultural identity, personal and professional beliefs, and their impact on your midwifery care provision. Creative and critical thinker
1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 2.2, 3.4, 5.4, 7.1, 7.3
3 Critically examine national and international legal, regulatory, professional, and ethical concepts and contextualise gender-based and women’s rights (social justice) as they relate to childbearing across the continuum. Ethical
1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 2.2, 3.4, 5.4, 7.1, 7.3
4 Apply principles and practice of academic writing, referencing and research. Knowledgeable
1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 3.3, 7.3

* Competencies by Professional Body

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
1.4 The midwife undertakes ongoing processes of reflection to ensure professional judgements acknowledge how personal culture impacts on practice
1.6 The midwife supports the development, implementation and evaluation of evidenced-based health initiatives and programs
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
2.5 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
3.3 The midwife participates in own continuing professional development to maintain the required knowledge and skill base for safe and effective practice
3.4 The midwife contributes to a culture that supports learning, teaching, knowledge transfer and critical reflection
4.1 The midwife works in partnership to determine factors that affect, or potentially affect, the health and wellbeing of women, communities and populations
5.4 The midwife documents, evaluates and modifies plans to facilitate the anticipated outcomes
7.1 The midwife evaluates and monitors progress towards planned goals and anticipated outcomes
7.3 The midwife uses evaluation and reflection to inform future practice and professional development

Am I eligible to enrol in this course?

Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.

Pre-requisites

Enrolled in GD007

Co-requisites

MID706

Anti-requisites

Not applicable

Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)

Not applicable

How am I going to be assessed?

Grading Scale

Standard Grading (GRD)

High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL).

Details of early feedback on progress

The placing of the first assessment task in week 2 will provide the opportunity for students to receive early feedback

Assessment tasks

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 Artefact - Creative, and Oral Individual 50%
8-10 minutes
Week 2 Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check
All 2 Written Piece Individual 50%
1500 words
Week 5 Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check
All - Assessment Task 1:Artefact - Creative and Oral (script)
Goal:
This assignment gives you an opportunity to demonstrate critical analysis, and principles of reflection using a feminist lens.
Product: Artefact - Creative, and Oral
Format:
Further details provided on Canvas.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1
Critical analysis on the provision of midwifery care from a feminist perspective linked to legal, regulatory and professional frameworks.
2
2
Critical analysis of your social/cultural identity, professional and personal beliefs, and their impact on the provision of midwifery care and midwifery philosophy.
2
3
Video, oral and written summary clearly reflect and connect to the concept map and marking criteria 1 and 2.
2
4
Use of relevant scholarly literature and ethical use of intellectual property. APA 7 is applied.
4
5
Demonstrates application of principles and practices of written and oral expression.
4
Generic Skills:
Communication, Problem solving, Information literacy
All - Assessment Task 2:Midwifery care and models of care
Goal:
This assignments provides the opportunity to explore how historical events impact woman-centred care, contemporary midwifery care and models of care.
Product: Written Piece
Format:
Further details provided on Canvas.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1
Critical evaluation regarding why your chosen historical event(s) happened and how gender-based and women's rights and social justice were impacted within maternity in the corresponding time frame.
1
2
Critically discuss the impact of these historical events on contemporary midwifery practice.
1 3
3
Critically examine how contemporary national and international legal, regulatory, professional documents promote ethical concepts and contextualise gender-based and women’s rights as they relate to childbearing across the continuum today.
3
4
Use of relevant scholarly literature and ethical use of intellectual property. APA 7 is applied.
4
5
Demonstrates application of principles and practices of written expression.
4
Generic Skills:
Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Information literacy

Assessment to competency mapping

Programme Delivery Mode Assessment Type Title Competency Teaching Methods
Midwife standards for practice - 1 October 2018
All delivery modes Artefact - Creative, and Oral Artefact - Creative and Oral (script) 1.1 Taught, Assessed
1.2 Taught, Assessed
1.3 Taught, Assessed
1.4 Taught, Assessed
1.6 Taught, Assessed
2.1 Taught, Assessed
3.3 Taught, Assessed
3.4 Taught, Assessed
5.4 Taught, Assessed
7.1 Taught, Assessed
7.3 Taught, Assessed
Written Piece Midwifery care and models of care 1.2 Taught, Assessed
1.3 Taught, Assessed
1.4 Taught, Assessed
1.6 Taught, Assessed
2.1 Taught, Assessed
2.2 Taught, Assessed
2.5 Taught, Assessed
2.6 Taught, Assessed
3.3 Taught, Assessed
3.4 Taught, Assessed
4.1 Taught, Assessed
5.4 Taught, Assessed
7.1 Taught, Assessed
7.3 Taught, Assessed

Directed study hours

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.

What resources do I need to undertake this course?

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.

Prescribed text(s) or course reader

Please note that you need to have regular access to the resource(s) listed below. Resources may be required or recommended.

Required? Author Year Title Edition Publisher
Required Sally Pairman,Sally K. Tracy,Hannah Dahlen,Lesley Dixon,Priscilla Peart,Bernadette Pulis 2026 Midwifery Preparation for Practice 6 Elsevier
Required Elaine Jefford,Julie Jomeen 2019 Empowering Decision-Making in Midwifery 1 Routledge

Specific requirements

Not applicable

How are risks managed in this course?

Health and safety risks for this course have been assessed as low. It is your responsibility to review course material, search online, discuss with lecturers and peers and understand the health and safety risks associated with your specific course of study and to familiarise yourself with the University’s general health and safety principles by reviewing the online induction training for students, and following the instructions of the University staff.

What administrative information is relevant to this course?

Assessment: Academic Integrity

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.

Assessment: Additional Requirements

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

Assessment: Submission penalties

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

SafeUniSC

UniSC is committed to a culture of respect and providing a safe and supportive environment for all members of our community. For immediate assistance on campus contact SafeUniSC by phone: 07 5430 1168 or using the SafeZone app. For general enquires contact the SafeUniSC team by phone 07 5456 3864 or email safe@usc.edu.au.

The SafeUniSC Specialist Service is a Student Wellbeing service that provides free and confidential support to students who may have experienced or observed behaviour that could cause fear, offence or trauma. To contact the service call 07 5430 1226 or email studentwellbeing@usc.edu.au.

Study help

For help with course-specific advice, for example what information to include in your assessment, you should first contact your tutor, then your course coordinator, if needed.

If you require additional assistance, the Learning Advisers are trained professionals who are ready to help you develop a wide range of academic skills. Visit the Learning Advisers web page for more information, or contact Student Central for further assistance: +61 7 5430 2890 or studentcentral@usc.edu.au.

Wellbeing Services

Student Wellbeing provide free and confidential counselling on a wide range of personal, academic, social and psychological matters, to foster positive mental health and wellbeing for your academic success.

To book a confidential appointment go to Student Hub, email studentwellbeing@usc.edu.au or call 07 5430 1226.

AccessAbility Services

Ability Advisers ensure equal access to all aspects of university life. If your studies are affected by a disability, learning disorder mental health issue, injury or illness, or you are a primary carer for someone with a disability or who is considered frail and aged, AccessAbility Services can provide access to appropriate reasonable adjustments and practical advice about the support and facilities available to you throughout the University.

To book a confidential appointment go to Student Hub, email AccessAbility@usc.edu.au or call 07 5430 2890.

Links to relevant University policy and procedures

For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:

  • Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs
  • Review of Assessment and Final Grades
  • Supplementary Assessment
  • Central Examinations
  • Deferred Examinations
  • Student Conduct
  • Students with a Disability

For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching

Student Charter

UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.

General Enquiries

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