3565 - Master of Clinical Midwifery

This course, offered by the School of Nursing and Midwifery, has two study streams:

• The pre-registration stream offered at Clayton campus provides registered nurses with the opportunity to obtain a professional qualification to become a midwife at Masters degree level. Students select either a coursework option or coursework with a minor research project.
• The post-registration stream offered at Peninsula campus is designed to provide higher-degree studies to registered midwives. This stream will appeal to midwives seeking career advancement or Nurses Board of Victoria practitioner status for work in low-risk maternity and/or independent or specialist midwifery practice. It will also appeal to those interested in a pathway to undertaking higher research degrees.

On successful completion of the course, the student will be expected to be able to:

• demonstrate competency to practice as a midwife at a beginning level in a variety of maternity settings in accordance with the ANMC National competency standards for the midwife (2006)
• reflect attitudes which are congruent with the philosophy of valuing women, women centred care, and woman-midwife partnership
• work both as a primary carer and in collaboration with other healthcare professionals in providing comprehensive care through women’s reproductive life
• demonstrate personal and professional attributes for the enhancement of self and the midwifery profession
• demonstrate critical and reflective thinking and decision making skills
• incorporate the principles of lifelong learning into midwifery practice
• identify clinical problems and utilise evidence based practice models to research clinical problems
• demonstrate skills in undertaking research including planning, development and implementation of a research project under supervision
• undertake leadership roles in midwifery practice in a range of settings promoting the role of midwifery in collaborative practice within the multidisciplinary team
• demonstrate knowledge, skills and attributes necessary for collaborative practice in regional and referral centres, midwifery led maternity services in a range of setting, and for development of peers and services within maternity units.

This course can be taken as coursework only or a combination of coursework and a project or minor thesis. Students are encouraged to discuss the range of study options with the course coordinator, who will advise on individual programs of study.

Students complete coursework units only, or coursework units and a research project/minor thesis as outlined below to a total of 72 points. All units are 12 credit points.

Pre-registration stream (Clayton)

This stream will provide a professional midwifery qualification for registered nurses and is only available to nursing graduates. This stream can be taken as coursework only, or a combination of coursework and a 24 credit-point research project (encompassing semesters two and three) to a total of 72 credit points.

Students complete the following over three semesters of study:

• Coursework-only option: all units from the list of pre-registration units below
• Coursework and project option: GHS9841 (Research methods and issues), a 24-point research project, plus 36 points selected from the list of pre-registration units below

Pre-registration units

• GHS9841 Research methods and issues
• MID9001 Woman midwife partnerships
• MID9002 Extending midwife partnerships
• MID9003 Midwifery and maternity in context
• MID9005 Advancing midwifery practice
• NUR9214 Advanced therapeutic interaction in nursing

Post-registration stream (Peninsula)

This stream can be taken as coursework units only or a combination of coursework and a 36 credit-point minor thesis to a total of 72 credit points. This stream will appeal to registered midwives seeking career advancement.

Students complete the following over three semesters of study:

• MID9005 Advancing midwifery practice (compulsory core unit)

plus one of the following options:

• Coursework-only option: 60 points selected from the list of post-registration units below
• Coursework and thesis option:24 points selected from the list of post-registration units below and a 36-point minor thesis

Post-registration units

• GHS9841 Research methods and issues*
• MID9003 Midwifery and maternity in context
• MID9004 Becoming a midwife
• NUR9202 Nursing informatics
• NUR9204 Education in nursing and midwifery
• NUR9208 Therapeutic medication management**

*This unit is a prerequisite for undertaking the minor thesis.

** This unit must be completed in order to be eligible for nurse/midwife practitioner status, as outlined by the Nurses Board of Victoria.

Students who complete this course and achieve a distinction (70 per cent) in the minor research thesis or project and the research methods unit (GHS9841) may qualify for admission into higher degrees by research (HDR) including the Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy, among others.

Professional recognition (pre-registration stream)

On completion of the pre-registration stream of the Master of Clinical Midwifery students will be eligible for endorsement as a midwife on the division 1 register with the Nurses Board of Victoria.

Professional recognition (post-registration stream)

In order to be eligible for nurse/midwife practitioner status according to the Nurses Board of Victoria, students in the post-registration stream of the Master of Clinical Midwifery must have completed a pharmacology unit as part of their postgraduate studies, therefore students wishing to register will need to successfully complete NUR9208 (Therapeutic medication management).

Master of Clinical Midwifery