What will I learn on this module?
This module will build on the clinical knowledge and skills gained in year one and develop these as you explore the role of the midwife working with women with complex care needs in a variety of practice settings, in accordance with the framework for Quality Maternal and Newborn Care, QMNC), (Renfrew et al, 2014). You will develop your knowledge and skills in relation to basic life support and newborn life support, medicines management, patient safety, and referral and decision-making to provide care in complex maternity situations. There will be an introduction to peri-operative care and consideration for surgical birth to include the essential skills required to support intervention, such as cannulation, episiotomy and suturing, and urgent neonatal care. In addition, you will explore loss and bereavement, and interprofessional working; with consideration for referral to a multidisciplinary team, human factors, teamwork, professionalism, civility and risk. These areas of practice require that you are able to understand and work across professional boundaries, recognising the impact of the context of care provision on the personal and professional leadership skills you need to demonstrate in practice.
Teaching strategies will include case-based scenarios, enquiry-based learning and reflection on practice to ensure an authentic learning experience. The principles of continuity of care will be introduced and explored in preparation for learning in year three and to reflect the holistic nature of midwifery practice. There will be greater understanding of complexities in infant feeding for both the mother and neonate in accordance with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (2025) UK Breastfeeding Friendly Initiative.
How will I learn on this module?
This second year long practice module provides you with the theoretical knowledge to enable learning from a diverse range of clinical contexts where midwives are demonstrating proficient midwifery practice. This is the second practice module in your programme and as such requires demonstration that you can contribute to women’s care with decreasing supervision and direction. In the clinical learning context this means that the interrelationship between the supervising midwife and the student midwife adapts as appropriate to the learning opportunities as the students’ skills from year one develop and progress. This enables more participation and less observation where appropriate.
Creative approaches to teaching and learning will be implemented to support individual learning styles, such approaches will include interactive lectures, seminars, simulation, and workshops, alongside guided and independent learning. There will be an examination of your competence at performing clinical skills (OSCA) in relation to an aspect of midwifery care in this module (newborn life support) and formative clinical skills workshops will support the development of these skills toward assessment. The lectures will cover theory that will enable you to complete guided work, which will then be discussed in seminar and practical sessions. Reflection on practice experiences will allow you to apply current evidence and ensure you are appropriately supported to provide safe and effective care as a midwife. You will have exposure to a simulated clinical environment to authentically prepare you for the realities of practice.
Attendance in practice is required to be 100%. Your placement hours for Year Two: 787.5
How will I be supported academically on this module?
Support will include feedback from tutors during interactive lectures and seminars, which will allow for knowledge checking and questions to be answered promptly. The seminars will also provide an opportunity for you to receive feedback on how your academic abilities are developing. Resources will be available on the electronic learning platform BlackBoard Ultra and tutors can be contacted via a module discussion board. A group tutorial will provide academic support focussed on the assessment task. In class and online formative assessments of learning will be used throughout the module, to facilitate progression. Directed learning will be set to guide your learning external to the classroom environment and self-directed study is encouraged to meet specific student learning needs.
Fifty percent of programme time is in clinical practice, where you will be supported by experienced Midwives, Midwifery Link Tutors (MLT), an Academic Assessor (AA), a Practice Learning Tutor (PLT) and Practice Placement Facilitators (PPF). Achievement of Year Two proficiencies are assessed and progression in clinical practice is recorded using the eMORA. The e-learning for Health (eLfH) platform to facilitate the completion of mandatory training. You can read more about supervision in practice on the NMC website:
https://www.nmc.org.uk/standards-for-education-and-training/standards-for-student-supervision-and-assessment/
The University Libraries at both Coach Lane Campus and City Campus offer an extensive collection of material, both hard copy and electronic, access to international databases and training in information retrieval. The module will be supported by University library staff and resources, including study skills support packages. You can access the interactive training via the library webpages or the following link: http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/learning-skills
Ask4Help Online provides a comprehensive range of answers to frequently asked questions and is of benefit to students as a central point of reference for information about many different topics. Ask4Help face to face service points include those located in both university libraries.
What will I be expected to read on this module?
All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)
What will I be expected to achieve?
Knowledge & Understanding:
1. Interpret the relevant theory that underpins care practices through which midwives may meet the needs of women and infants who require complex care.
Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
2. Perform a variety of specified clinical skills safely, consistently and effectively.
3. Critique the role of the midwife in leading care and maintaining a safe environment for women and infants experiencing more complex care pathways.
Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
4. Reflect and evaluate your ability to communicate with women, families and members of the multidisciplinary team during difficult or stressful situations.
5. Question the principles of ethical and professional midwifery practice and demonstrate the ability to adhere to professional ethical midwifery practice according to the NMC Code.
How will I be assessed?
The module will prepare you to be a confident, competent and compassionate midwifery practitioner, who can critically apply expert knowledge, critically reflect on their own work and that of others, and contribute to the creation of new knowledge and /or applications to practice within their discipline. The module will assess your capacity to problem solve, promote and lead care as capable clinical midwives.
Formative:
Formative assessment will include online learning materials and resources, alongside staff and peer review relating to complex care and newborn life support, pathophysiology and high dependency care which will enable you to self-assess your learning needs.
Workshops to practice clinical skills in preparation for the OSCA will be a feature of the formative provision.
Summative:
eMORA – Summative review with your PA will identify that your eMORA has been completed for Domain 6 proficiencies relevant to this stage in the programme (includes pass for drug calculations/ medicines management examination submitted as evidence of proficiency in eMORA).
Feedback from Practice Assessor as part of summative holistic assessment review.
MLO 1-5; Pass/Fail
AND
Case-based Observed Structured Clinical Assessment for Newborn Life Support Emergency (30 minutes)
MLO 1, 2, 3, 5; 100%
Marking rubric and qualitative feedback in BBU.
Module abstract
Building on the skills and knowledge developed in year one of the programme, you will apply your theoretical and practice learning from this and other modules in which to demonstrate and discuss the care required to monitor the wellbeing of a woman and her fetus/ neonate, when challenges, emergencies or additional care needs present. As midwives are pivotal in organising and referring women and infants to the appropriate health professionals, learning in this module will enable you to identify deviations from the normal, institute emergency measures and/or refer to other professionals, while working collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team to ensure the safety and wellbeing of women and their babies. The electronic Midwifery Ongoing Record of Achievement (eMORA) will support your learning in practice and provide evidence of your progression and assessment in practice. There will also be a clinical assessment of your skills in relation to Newborn Life Support (NLS).
