Overview
This unit will provide an understanding of the legal and ethical parameters framing midwifery practice. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Competencies for the midwife will be examined in conjunction with Australian legislation relating to midwifery practice. You will develop critical thinking in relation to professional accountability. You will explore the various discourses that influence womens' decision making in relation to their care. This unit will enable you to understand the importance of decision frameworks that underpin clinical practice in the provision of safe care for the woman, fetus, newborn and their families.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Pre-req MDWF13001 Cultural and Pyschosocial Diversity in Midwifery
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).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2025
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.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
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.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
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.
Feedback from SUTE Unit Comments
I was not a fan of the group discussion posts. However, I do see the benefit in them in getting students to interact with one another.
To continue to encourage peer-to-peer interaction through blog posts but offer some flexibility on the topic of discussion.
Feedback from SUTE Unit Comments
When I saw we had a Law & Ethics subject, I initially dreaded the thought of having to complete the coursework. However, I loved the way Tanya made the coursework engaging and relevant to future midwives. It was fantastic. I was surprised I actually enjoyed learning, this is because of the way the content was taught and delivered.
To continue to ensure the content is engaging and relevant to contemporary midwifery practice.
- Examine the legal and ethical parameters of midwifery practice.
- Explain professional accountability in relation to responsibilities and obligations of the midwife.
- Explore the different types of professional discourses that influence women's decision making in relation to their care.
- Demonstrate effective decision making within the midwifery framework.
NMBA Midwife Standards for Practice
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.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Group Discussion - 30% | ||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 40% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| 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 - First Nations Knowledges | ||||
| 11 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |
| 1 - Group Discussion - 30% | |||||||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 30% | |||||||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 40% | |||||||||||