Program handbook

Description

Midwives are responsible for the care of women, babies and their families prior to pregnancy, during pregnancy, labour, birth and the early infancy period. The University of Newcastle has a holistic approach to midwifery, with an emphasis on health promotion, mental health and clinical practice.

The Bachelor of Midwifery at Newcastle has been developed in partnership with Hunter New England Area Local Health District, Mid North Coast Local Health District, Central Coast Local Health District, Gosford Private Hospital and Newcastle Private Hospital. Our midwifery students are guided and supported by clinicians who are a part of the workforce.

With a mix of face to face and online learning, and plenty of hand on experience, graduates will be ready to commence their career as a midwife at the end of the three year degree.

Graduates are eligible to apply for registration to practice as a midwife with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) and are eligible to apply for registration with the Australia Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).


Program learning outcomes

On successful completion of the program students will have:

  • Sound knowledge of and the ability to practice within legislation and common law in accordance with the endorsed code of ethics and professional standards.
  • The ability and skills to analyse and reflect in, on and about practice.
  • The ability to practice within a woman-centred, primary healthcare framework and a commitment to seeing midwifery as a public health strategy.
  • The ability to provide safe and effective midwifery care within any practice context.

Details

Information correct as atMar 29, 2024 5:03 pm
Program code12200
AQF level

Level 7 Bachelor Degree

Mode of delivery
  • Face to Face
Duration
  • Australian students - 3 years full-time or part-time equivalent.
Selection Rank

Find out more about Selection Ranks

Term typeSemesters
Fees
Relevant University rules and policies

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Credit transfer

If you wish to apply for credit for studies completed at another institution, or if you are changing programs within the University and wish to transfer your credit to the new program, visit the University's credit website for more information on applying for credit.

The Recognition of Prior Learning practice for the Bachelor of Midwifery will be in line with Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.


Compulsory program requirements

Over the course of the Bachelor of Midwifery program, you will complete 1468 hours in a range of diverse clinical contexts. You will spend between 928 and 1268 hours (over the three year period) in an allocated maternity service in one of the following health facilities: Taree, Scone, Muswellbrook, Singleton, Maitland, John Hunter and Belmont, Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Newcastle Private, Gosford Public or Gosford Private where you will have hands-on experience with women during:

  • the antenatal period;
  • labour and birthing;
  • the postnatal period.

During your midwifery degree, you will also participate in a number of (10-26 depending on the health facility and models of care available) relationship-based, continuity of care experiences with childbearing women. Each relationship equates to approximately 20 hours of interactions. You will have a real-world experience, as an on-call clinician for these women. The hours for this component of clinical experience ranges from 200 - 540 hours over the three years.

Post-admission requirements

  • NSW Health Verification Requirements

    NSW Health Verification Requirements

  • Senior First Aid Certificate

    Senior First Aid Certificate

Compulsory program requirements - Review of progress

In addition to meeting the University's overall requirements for academic progression, students must satisfactorily complete the following courses to progress in their program.

MIDI2105 - Midwifery Professional Experience 3

MIDI1101 - Midwifery Professional Experience 1

MIDI1204 - Midwifery Practice and the Well Woman

MIDI2204 - Midwifery Professional Experience 4

MIDI3202 - Midwifery Professional Experience 6

MIDI3105 - Midwifery Professional Experience 5

NURS1101 - Foundations of Professional Practice 1A


Professional recognition

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (under AHPRA)

Graduates of this program are eligible to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme administered by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).


Academic requirements for program completion

Total units required

240 units

Program duration

3 years full-time or part-time equivalent up to 6 years maximum.

Program requirements

This is a 240 unit undergraduate program with online and face to face components. Students are required to undertake 220 units of Core Courses, 10 units from the course list and 10 units of Electives.

The Bachelor of Midwifery degree offered by The University of Newcastle requires completion of 240 units of approved courses with a minimum requirement of:

  • 160 units of core midwifery courses;
  • 30 units of core nursing courses;
  • 10 units of core foundational Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander courses;
  • 20 units of core human bioscience courses;
  • 10 units of directed courses; and
  • 10 units of electives;

Program planner

Current students program planner

Current students can plan their program using Program Planner.

Program Planner

Prospective student degree planner

If you're a prospective student considering studying this degree take a look at My Degree Planner to see what your study journey will look like.

Additional documents


Transition arrangements

From 2024 - MIDI3104 Contemporary Maternity Care Issues is no longer offered. Students who have not yet successfully completed MIDI3104 should enrol and complete MIDI3207 Midwifery Futures.

Transition arrangements for Pre-2016 students: Individual assessment will be made to determine the most appropriate course/s in the current structure for students who fall into the following categories:

  • students who study on a part time basis;
  • students who have been on leave;
  • students who have failed one or more courses; or
  • students who are not able to complete courses within the proposed schedule for other reasons.

This will allow students to complete the Bachelor of Midwifery program and be eligible to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. Students must contact the Program Convenor for further information and/or assistance.

Transition arrangements for Pre-2021 students: INDH2510 Foundations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Midwifery Care replaces ABOR2510 Foundations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Midwifery Care. If you have successfully completed ABOR2510 prior to 2021 you are not required to complete INDH2510.

To ensure you enrol correctly, please refer to your program planner for the year you commenced your degree.


Program structure

Students can plan their program using Program Planner. It is recommended students review the program handbook in conjunction with using Program Planner.

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Core

Complete the following core courses to fulfil the requirements of this program.

CodeTitleTerm / Location Units
HUBS1406Human Bioscience for Nursing and Midwifery
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (Callaghan)
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (GOSFORD)
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (Manning Base Hospital)
10 units
HUBS1416Advanced Human Bioscience
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Callaghan)
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (GOSFORD)
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Manning Base Hospital)
10 units
MIDI1101Midwifery Professional Experience 1
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (Callaghan)
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (GOSFORD)
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (Manning Base Hospital)
10 units
MIDI1203Women and their babies in the postnatal time
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Callaghan)
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (GOSFORD)
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Manning Base Hospital)
10 units
MIDI1204Midwifery Practice and the Well WomanNot currently offered20 units
NURS1101Foundations of Professional Practice 1ANot currently offered20 units
INDH2510Foundations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Midwifery Care
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Callaghan)
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Online)
10 units
MIDI2105Midwifery Professional Experience 3
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (Callaghan)
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (GOSFORD)
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (Manning Base Hospital)
20 units
MIDI2106Women with complex pregnancies
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (Callaghan)
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (GOSFORD)
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (Manning Base Hospital)
10 units
MIDI2107Women with postnatal complexities and, or, unwell babies in the postnatal time
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Online)
10 units
MIDI2203Women with complex labours and/or births
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (Callaghan)
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (GOSFORD)
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (Manning Base Hospital)
10 units
MIDI2204Midwifery Professional Experience 4
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Callaghan)
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (GOSFORD)
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Manning Base Hospital)
20 units
MIDI3105Midwifery Professional Experience 5
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (Callaghan)
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (GOSFORD)
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (Manning Base Hospital)
20 units
MIDI3202Midwifery Professional Experience 6
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Callaghan)
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (GOSFORD)
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Manning Base Hospital)
20 units
MIDI3207Midwifery Futures
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (Callaghan)
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (GOSFORD)
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (Manning Base Hospital)
10 units
NURS3106Leading, Teaching, Mentoring and Clinical Supervision for Health Professionals
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Callaghan)
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (GOSFORD)
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Manning Base Hospital)
10 units

Course List

Complete 10 units of the following courses to fulfil the requirements of this program

CodeTitleTerm / Location Units
HLSC1200Nutrition4Me
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Online)
10 units
INDH2000Foundations of Nursing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (Online)
10 units
NURS2103Essentials of Mental Health Nursing
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Callaghan)
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (GOSFORD)
10 units
ABOR3380Human Rights and the World's Indigenous Communities
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Online)
10 units
HUBS3511Human Reproduction and Pregnancy
  • Semester 1 - 2024 (Online)
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Online)
10 units
HUSE3005Working with Groups and Communities
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Callaghan)
10 units
NURS3105Supervised Project
  • Summer 2 - 2024 (Online)
  • Winter - 2024 (Online)
10 units
SOCA3178Health, 'Wellness' and Power: The Social Contexts of Expert Knowledge
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Callaghan)
  • Semester 2 - 2024 (Online)
10 units
NURS6027Evidence-Based Complementary and Integrated Health
  • Trimester 2 - 2024 (Online)
10 units
NURS6028Health and Substance Misuse
  • Trimester 2 - 2024 (Online)
10 units

Electives

Electives 10 unit requirement

Complete 10 units of electives to fulfil the requirements of the program. Electives can be used to extend and complement your core studies with more courses in the same field of study, or from areas that might be of interest to you. Electives can be chosen from all courses available at the University that do not have any other conditions (such as a course requisite) applied to them.

10 units

Honours

Bachelor of Midwifery (Hons) is available as an additional one-year full-time program or equivalent part-time. Candidates for Honours are selected on the basis of academic achievement.


Additional information

Through the Pathways and Academic Learning Support Centre, students can access a free suite of NUPrep preparation courses as well as Academic Learning Support.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students can draw on the assistance and support provided by the Indigenous Student Support and Development service through the Wollotuka Institute.

During clinical placement students may be required to wear properly fitted respirators. Fit testing is the process to ensure the respirator fits the wearers face snugly, creating a seal to minimise airbourne particles travelling through gaps between the wearer's skin and the respirator. Students will need to arrange and pay for their own fit testing before attending their first placement and every subsequent 12 months.  


Additional support

AccessAbility provides advice and reasonable adjustments to Students with a medical or health condition or disability. If you require adjustments to undertake your program, contact the Student Support Advisors - AccessAbility before semester or early in the semester. They will work with the College or School to ensure that this happens in a timely manner.

Please note: All students must fulfil the inherent requirements of the programs and courses they are undertaking. While reasonable adjustments can be made, these adjustments cannot compromise academic integrity. It is the student's responsibility to check all the requirements of courses, and consider the effects of any medical condition or disability on their ability to complete course requirements. More information is available online.

Students who have impaired function in their hands or arms, or a audio/visual impairment will have difficulty pursuing this program. It is highly advisable for any prospective student with such a disability to contact the Faculty to discuss the issue.