Midwifery - Pre-registration

This module will introduce you to the role of the midwife in relation to public health and health promotion. You will explore current public health issues, and associated policy documents, alongside prevention, behaviour change, and health living. You’ll investigate and evaluate best practice in relation to particular public health issues, helping you to provide optimal care for women’s physical and mental health during pregnancy and beyond.

This module will include support in developing your academic writing skills for university in collaboration with our colleagues from the Centre for Academic Development.

During this module, you will focus on developing the core midwifery skills, and the theoretical knowledge underpinning these, which midwives use when providing care for a childbearing woman and her family across the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal periods. Half of the learning in this module will take place in practice where you will work alongside your Practice Supervisor to provide direct care to women and their families in a range of settings.

During this module, which follows on from Midwifery Practice 1, you will broaden your focus to consider different approaches to midwifery care implementation. This will include exploring different models of midwifery care globally, as well as nationally and locally. You’ll further develop your midwifery skills and underpinning knowledge, considering topics such as the transition to parenthood and the impact of policy on care provision. You’ll also explore effective and compassionate communication. You will undertake a detailed reflection of your practice learning thus far, including considering barriers to effective midwifery care provision. As with the other practice modules, half of your learning on this module will take place in placement working with your Practice Supervisors to provide care to women and their families.

Fundamental to effective midwifery care is knowing how to access, read, understand and appraise appropriate evidence - and then communicate this with those in our care. This module will enable you to build your enquiring mind and develop crucial skills in finding, and then understanding, the underpinning evidence base for care provision. The module will provide you with the foundational knowledge you need in order to develop into an effective scholar and future leader of midwifery.

This module will equip you with the required knowledge and understanding of anatomy and physiology (A and P) in childbearing. Reproduction, fetal development, maternal responses to the growing fetus, labour, birth and postnatal physiology are perhaps some of the most awe inspiring and magical elements of A and P - and you will learn all about these on this module. You will explore how this knowledge can then be used to support effective midwifery care.

Importantly, the learning from this module will lay a sound foundation of knowledge which you will take with you into future years of the programme, and into your future role as a qualified midwife.

This is your opportunity to undertake a self-directed piece of work and explore an issue or theme in depth. You will develop your research ideas during semester two. Your academic advisor will play the role of advisor, supporter and questioner. Your submission can be written, or you can submit an ‘unconventional dissertation’. This can include a submission that uses media that is not based on a written narrative, such as animation, performance art, etc. Recent submissions have included a manuscript for a play, a website, theatre performance and short films.

The purpose of this dissertation is to:

• develop research and analytical competencies
• promote independent thinking and working
• look at both sides of an argument
• follow through a topic/area of personal interest to some depth
• begin to define an area of focus that may assist you in your career
• relate research and analysis to practical development/humanitarian issues
• explore new tools and approaches.

This double module will enable you to investigate the most common, as well as some of the less common, complications affecting the mother, fetus or newborn. You’ll build upon your existing knowledge of anatomy and physiology to analyse chronic and acute conditions affecting the mother, fetus or newborn. This new knowledge will give you the foundation to provide holistic care throughout the antenatal, intrapartum, postpartum and neonatal periods.

In this module you will deepen your knowledge and skills related to Public Health. In particular, you will explore how to provide effective care to those with additional complexity due to public health issues. This complexity may be due to physical, psychological, social, cultural or spiritual circumstances, and may be one or a number of these. You will learn to apply your knowledge to care for women across the continuum of pregnancy, labour, post-natal care and neonatal care.

Via use of specific case studies, and working together in small groups, you will explore the optimal care required to support your specific case - including multidisciplinary and multiagency working. By the end of this module, you will have the opportunity to propose an intervention embracing the principles of health promotion suited to the demographic group.

This double practice module will prepare you to care for women and their families when experiencing acute or life-threatening complications during childbirth.

You will exercise your critical thinking and problem-solving techniques when faced with childbirth emergencies, developing your own contribution as a member of the multidisciplinary team. You will participate in several rehearsed acute emergency situations which will equip you with the confidence needed to deal with emergency childbirth situations in whatever setting they may occur. This will ensure that maternal and neonatal wellbeing are at the centre of the care you provide.

As with the other practice modules, half of your learning on this module will take place in placement working with your Practice Supervisors to provide care to women and their families.

In this module, you will consider the role of the midwife as a clinical decision-maker in care. You’ll explore effective communication with the woman and the wider multidisciplinary team in more complex situations, learning how we work together to provide safe, compassionate and effective care.

You will use your developing knowledge and skills to determine best practice approaches to individualised, evidence-based care plans - including when women decline elements of their care. In addition, you will explore pharmacology and medications management, and how to safely and currently prepare and administer these in the clinical context. By the end of this module, you'll feel well prepared to care for women and childbirth in a clinical setting as part of the multidisciplinary team.

As with the other practice modules, half of your learning on this module will take place in placement working with your Practice Supervisors to provide care to women and their families.

In this module, you will further develop your research-based knowledge and skills which you were introduced to in Year 1. You will learn how to identify a research gap, and will then develop your own proposal to address this gap in knowledge. You’ll explore the relevant skills and techniques needed to do this, including developing new knowledge in methodology, theory, and research skills.

You will have a unique opportunity to provide, in small groups, continuity of carer for a small group of women under appropriate supervision. The focus will be on providing safe, effective and compassionate care. You'll work in teams of around 3 or 4 students, providing care to 6 to 8 women during the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal period. You'll explore the theoretical basis both for continuity of carer models of care, and effective teamwork, and reflect critically on these. You'll create a portfolio of your experiences for submission, including peer, Practice Supervisor and service user feedback, carefully considering the NMC Code of Conduct and how to anonymise the care you provided within this appropriately.

Half of your learning on this module will take place in placement working with your Practice Supervisors to provide care to women and their families. During your final year, you may begin to work under indirect supervision as is appropriate for your stage of learning.

In this final practice module, you will consolidate all of your learning on the course thus far, and prepare for life as a newly qualified midwife. You’ll consider the skills of accountability and autonomy, preparing you to be the lead professional caring for women and newborn infants throughout the whole continuum of care. You’ll be encouraged to increasingly work under indirect supervision, identifying your learning needs towards the achievement of your goals.

By the end of this module, you will have completed all of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) requirements for entry onto the NMC register. Alongside this, you’ll also have met other core requirements such as completion of theoretical and practical based learning of Newborn and Infant Physical Examination (NIPE), and evidence of UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative infant feeding support.

You will also complete all practice requirements across the national practice assessment document (MORA) and the Brookes Practice Portfolio.

In this module, you will explore your own personal philosophy for midwifery practice. As you head into the final year of the course, you will look towards the future, and what sort of midwife you would like to be. To support you with this, the module will provide you with learning opportunities to explore the wide range of midwifery practice - locally, nationally and internationally. Your study will encompass leadership, and risk and quality, including patient safety concerns. You will consider change management via group work, and individually will reflect critically on your journey to this point, as well as your future vision for your practice as a midwife.