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Unit Synopsis
This unit extends your foundational knowledge to prepare you to provide care to mothers and babies experiencing complexities across the childbearing continuum. You will gain the knowledge and skills required to conduct comprehensive assessments, develop midwifery care plans, provide safe, evidence-based care, and evaluate health outcomes. You will be introduced to a range of physiological, psychosocial, and sociocultural risk factors that affect health and wellbeing, enabling you to provide holistic, woman-centred care tailored to individual needs. Reflective and accountable practice is a core focus, as is the development of advanced skills in teamwork, communication, and continuity of care in complex situations. Throughout the unit, you will demonstrate proficiency in midwifery principles through critical analysis, integration of evidence-based knowledge, and practical application of theoretical frameworks. You will also enhance your leadership, clinical judgment, and reflective skills to navigate multifaceted challenges in maternity care. By engaging with the Australian College of Midwives (ACM) National Midwifery Guidelines for Consultation and Referral (2021), you will learn to apply policy and referral processes in culturally responsive, collaborative contexts. This prepares you to lead confidently within dynamic clinical environments and contribute to continuous improvements in midwifery practice.
Details
| Level | Postgraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 9 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 1 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Prerequisites: The Childbearing Continuum Corequisite: Midwifery Professional Experience 2 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 | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026
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 Postgraduate 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.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Written Assessment | 50% |
| 2. Oral Examination | 50% |
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.
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.
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Analyse contemporary evidence, clinical guidelines, and professional frameworks to develop an advanced understanding of the physiological complexities experienced by women during pregnancy, labour, birth, and the postnatal period
- Interpret advanced knowledge of physiological, psychological, and sociocultural factors contributing to complexity across the childbearing continuum
- Synthesise advanced theoretical, clinical, and ethical knowledge to inform the planning, implementation, and evaluation of care for women experiencing complexities across the childbearing continuum
- Critically interpret and apply the Australian College of Midwives National Midwifery Guidelines for Consultation and Referral (2021) to support timely, evidence-informed collaboration and clinical decision-making, demonstrating advanced judgement, ethical reasoning, and leadership in initiating multidisciplinary engagement to ensure culturally safe, woman-centred care in diverse and complex midwifery contexts.
Content in this unit addresses the following professional requirements:
ANMAC Midwife Accreditation Standards (2021)
Standard 1: Safety of the public
Standard 3: Program of study
The National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (2021)
Clinical governance
Partnering with consumers
Preventing and controlling healthcare-associated infection
Medication safety
Comprehensive care
Communicating for safety
Recognising and responding to acute deterioration
The 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 5: Develops plans for midwifery practice
Standard 6: Provides safe and quality midwifery practice
The 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)
Midwifery relationships
Practice of midwifery
Professional responsibilities of midwives
Advancement of midwifery knowledge and practice
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Oral Examination | • | • | • | • |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Communication | • | • | • | • |
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | • | • | • | • |
| 4 - Research | • | • | • | • |
| 5 - Self-management | • | • | • | |
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | • | • | • | |
| 7 - Leadership | • | • | • | |
| 8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | • | • | • | • |
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | |