Unit Synopsis
This clinical placement unit is the first of four that provides you with midwifery clinical experience. The focus of this unit is on the role of the midwife in promoting and facilitating normal processes of the childbearing continuum. You will be involved in the provision of care of the woman and her family throughout pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period. The practical application of different models of care will be explored with an emphasis on best practice. The clinical practicum component of this unit will require you to complete a minimum of 224 hours in addition to Continuity of Care Experiences (COCE).
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 2 |
| Credit Points | 12 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 1 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.25 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Co-requisite: MDWF12002 Foundations of Midwifery 1
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
Term 1 - 2026 Profile
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 12-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 25 hours of study per week, making a total of 300 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Poster Sessions | 40% |
| 2. Portfolio | 60% |
| 3. Professional Practice Placement | 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%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site .
Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 21.74% response rate.
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.
Source: SUTE feedback
Balancing assignments with clinical practice requirements, Continuity of Care Experiences, reflective journals, and coordinating with group members for assignments is highly demanding.
Students have been informed that this is a double-credit unit at both residential school and through Moodle content, and that the assessments are designed accordingly. However, this explanation will be made clearer in future residential schools. Teaching sessions, Moodle content and clinical site visits have concentrated on supporting students with clinical practice requirements, but additional video resources will be added. The group poster presentation is assigned in the first week of the term, with students grouped by location when possible to facilitate collaboration. This process will be reviewed to ensure a more student-centred approach.
Regular site visits and phone calls with facilitators were conducted throughout the term to support both students and placement partners. Students were reminded at residential school and within Moodle content that this is a double-credit unit and that assessments are structured accordingly. This explanation was made clearer in subsequent residential schools. Teaching sessions, Moodle content and clinical site visits concentrated on supporting students with clinical practice requirements, and additional video resources were developed to assist learning. The group poster presentation was assigned in the first week of term with students grouped by location when possible, and the process was reviewed to ensure it was delivered in a more student-centred and collaborative way. All industry partners were informed of assessment dates at the beginning of term to ensure these did not conflict with clinical placement requirements.
Source: SUTE feedback
To make it a requirement of the program for students to complete an antenatal clinic placement within midwifery professional practice prior to being assigned to the antenatal ward. This would support the recruitment of Continuity of Care Experiences (COCEs) and enhance learning and development.
All professional placement partners receive a clinical skills guide outlining the skills that the students are expected to focus on each term. The clinical placement unit oversees the rostering of shifts and clinical areas, considering available capacity and staffing resources. Students are required to recruit three Continuity of Care Experiences by the end of Term 1, which provides sufficient time to identify participants throughout the term. They are encouraged to contact their clinical placement supervisor and unit coordinator with any concerns about shift allocation or to discuss these issues during the clinical site visit. This information will be reinforced during residential school and on the Moodle site to ensure students can access shifts that best support their individual learning and development.
All placement partners were provided with a clinical skills guide each term, and the placement unit managed rostering according to site capacity. Students were required to recruit three Continuity of Care Experiences by the end of Term 1 and were encouraged to raise any concerns or difficulties with recruitment early. They were also encouraged to keep in regular contact with the unit coordinator and clinical facilitators so rostering could be adjusted to provide optimal recruitment opportunities. These expectations were reinforced during residential school and through Moodle.
Source: SUTE feedback
Some assessments were due at the same time and a wider spread of submission dates would be beneficial.
Assessment dates are scheduled in coordination with the other unit coordinators to ensure they are distributed evenly throughout the term. However, this scheduling will be reviewed to ensure it is student-centred and achievable.
Assessment scheduling was coordinated with the Head of Course and teaching team to ensure workload was balanced, manageable, and with minimal overlap across units.
Source: SUTE
Trying to organise time off with residential school was hard as the timetable was released weeks before the date. This meant booking accommodation and flights was difficult and last minute.
That discussions with the Head of Course continue to ensure residential school scheduling is coordinated and confirmed early, allowing sufficient consideration for students who live further away.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Too many assessments for subject.
That the unit continue to maintain alignment with national curriculum requirements, with Australian Midwifery Standards Assessment Tools (AMSAT) and reflective pieces on three Continuity of Care women embedded as clinical learning tasks. In addition to these mandated requirements, assessment should remain streamlined, with only one formal task such as a poster presentation scheduled mid-term. This approach supports a manageable workload for students while ensuring national and professional standards are met.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Apply the concepts and principles underpinning the frameworks of midwifery to beginning midwifery practice
- Demonstrate beginning midwifery practice skills, including the use of digital health and emerging technologies related to the care of women and the neonate across the normal childbearing continuum.
- Critically reflect on clinical learning related to your continuity of care experiences (COCE) to enhance practice
- Demonstrate introductory level midwifery competence based upon the Nursing and Midwifery Board Australia (NMBA) Midwife Standards of Practice (2018) requirements.
The proposed changes to learning outcomes and the unit will meet the following:
The draft ANMAC Midwifery Education Standards (2020).
Standard 1: Safety of the public.
Standard 3: Program of study.
Standard 4: Student experience.
Standard 5: Student assessment.
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (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 a plan for midwifery practice.
Standard 6: Provides safe and quality midwifery practice.
Standard 7. Evaluates outcomes to improve midwifery practice.
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (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 (2017)
Clinical Governance Standard
Partnering with Consumers Standard
Preventing and Controlling Healthcare-Associated Infection Standard
Medication Safety Standard
Comprehensive Care Standard
Communicating for Safety Standard
The Nursing and Midwifery Digital Health Framework
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Poster Sessions | • | • | ||
| 2 - Portfolio | • | • | ||
| 3 - Professional Practice Placement | • | • | • | |
| 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 | • | • | • | • |
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |
| 1 - Poster Sessions | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||
| 2 - Portfolio | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||
| 3 - Professional Practice Placement | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||