Program Overview
The BMidwifery (Hons) degree apprenticeship prepares students to become NMC-registered midwives. Combining theory and practice, it emphasizes childbirth as a normal process and equips students with the knowledge and skills for managing complex situations and providing compassionate, evidence-based care. The course is highly practical, with an equal focus on classroom teaching and hospital/community-based experience. The program is designed to meet the requirements of the MIDWIFE (2019 NMC STANDARDS) apprenticeship and leads to registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Program Outline
Degree Overview:
This BMidwifery (Hons) degree apprenticeship course approved by the NMC, has been developed to equip you, as part of the next generation of midwives, with the knowledge, skills and values to deliver world-class, evidence-based care for women, babies and their families. As a mark of our professional excellence, we hold the prestigious Gold Award accreditation by UNICEF’s Baby Friendly Initiative. Please select your preferred location below when applying.
Course Structure:
The duration of the course is three years plus one extra month for the End Point Assessment and consists of 50% theory and 50% practice. The theory sessions of the course will need to be attended in person at the UWL campus in West London or Reading. The majority of your practice placement takes place in the trust you are employed. However, during the course, you will need to gain experience of leadership and teamworking with different maternity providers; this is to ensure you meet all of the required NMC standards for pre-registration midwifery programmes. Throughout your studies, there is a strong emphasis on childbirth as a normal physiological process, and you will gain a sound understanding of the role of the midwife and the foundations of midwifery care. As you progress, you will develop and apply your knowledge to a variety of contexts and learn how to:
- Recognise and manage a range of complex and emergency situations.
- Work as a professional, both on your own and as part of the interdisciplinary team.
- Be a kind, caring, and compassionate midwife who can take the lead in providing women with the best care possible in a safe, supportive environment. You will be encouraged to work independently, as well as with peers and colleagues, to develop team-working, negotiation, communication, and organisational skills. You will spend an equal amount of time in blocks of theory and in the hospital, as well as the community, to learn about different aspects of midwifery.
Teaching and Learning:
The theoretical element of the course is delivered through an exciting range of teaching and learning approaches, including:
- Group tutorials
- One-to-one learning opportunities
- Classroom activities
- Practical skills
- Simulation-based learning
- Guided independent study
- Occasional online lectures The University's learning platform, UWLFlex, has been developed to provide you with a personalised and supported learning experience. You will also keep an online portfolio to record and track your progress throughout the course.
Modules:
- Year 1:
- Personal Health and Wellbeing for the Student Midwife
- Fundamentals of Midwifery Care
- Public Health and the Midwife
- Accountability and Professional Midwifery Practice
- Foundations of Evidence for Midwifery Practice
- Midwifery Practice 1
- Year 2:
- Developing Self as a Midwife
- Safe Care for Childbearing Women and Newborn Infants with Complications
- Holistic Care for Women and Families
- Applying Evidence to Midwifery Practice
- Leading and Managing Childbirth Emergencies
- Midwifery Practice 2
- Year 3:
- Midwifery Assessment and Response to Deteriorating Health
- Individualised Care for Women and Newborn Infants with Complex Needs
- From Student to Midwife
- Evaluating Quality in Maternity Care
- Autonomous Midwife
- Midwifery Practice 3
Assessment:
Assessment and feedback are a fundamental part of your learning experience. Our assessment strategy has been designed to support and enhance your learning, capabilities, skills, and confidence. Assessments used may include:
- Reflective essays
- A personal and professional development portfolio
- Presentations
- Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs)
- Essays
- Midwifery Ongoing Record of Achievement (MORA) - assessment in practice
- Unseen examinations (multiple-choice and short answer)
- Case studies
- Literature reviews
- Simulated scenarios
- Peer assessment
- Service innovation projects Simulation is integrated with both the theory and practice components of your apprenticeship. It is led by academic staff and may include practice partners and service users/carers. The use of simulation techniques will help to accelerate the development of your clinical skills and offers you the opportunity to contextualise and apply your learning. The Midwifery Degree Apprenticeship (NMC 2019) is designed to:
- Prepare you for registration with the NMC as a midwife, support you to achieve a degree-level qualification and meet the requirements of the MIDWIFE (2019 NMC STANDARDS) (INTEGRATED DEGREE) apprenticeship.
- Enable you to manage and lead in contemporary health and social care systems and have the decision-making skills required to make high-level judgements and demonstrate the ability to be robust, flexible and innovative in the provision of high-quality care and contribute to health care innovation.
- Help you develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours to be competent and job-ready to meet and sustain the needs of the healthcare economy both locally, nationally and internationally. This will be achieved through different styles of learning both within the University and through work-based learning in practice. You will take responsibility for your own learning through a structured and guided approach to personal and professional development (via CampusPress). The teaching and learning methods employed will include:
- Blended learning (learning in the classroom; learning in practice and learning online)
- Learning in simulation and practice
- Learning from service users and carers
- Interprofessional learning
Careers:
On successful completion of this apprenticeship degree course, you will be eligible to apply to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for registration as a Midwife. Additionally, you may wish to consider higher levels of post-registration study at the postgraduate or doctoral level.
Other:
The NMC requires all students to have a minimum of 2,300 hours of practice experience over the 3 years to be eligible to register as a midwife. At UWL, you will have 21 planned practice placement weeks each year to meet this requirement. You will undertake the majority of your supernumerary practice placements in the maternity unit in which you are employed but also gain experience with a different maternity provider during the course. Whilst on placement, you will be fully supported by link lecturers from the university and clinical placement facilitators at the maternity unit you are placed in. You will follow the shift patterns of the midwives you work with.
End Point Assessment (EPA):
The End Point Assessment (up to 1 month) consists of the UWL Awards Board and following this, UWL putting forward eligible apprentices to the NMC.
Supernumerary Practice Placements:
The NMC requires all students to have a minimum of 2,300 hours of practice experience over the 3 years to be eligible to register as a midwife. At UWL, you will have 21 planned practice placement weeks each year to meet this requirement. You will undertake the majority of your supernumerary practice placements in the maternity unit in which you are employed but also gain experience with a different maternity provider during the course. Whilst on placement, you will be fully supported by link lecturers from the university and clinical placement facilitators at the maternity unit you are placed in. You will follow the shift patterns of the midwives you work with.
