Bachelor of Midwifery

All on campus teaching sessions are offered on Logan campus with some midwifery laboratory sessions also available at Gold Coast and Toowoomba.

This program starts in early February and requires attendance of up to 46 weeks per year. The study of clinical midwifery requires that students spend considerable time undertaking hands-on experience in on-campus clinical laboratories and within hospitals and other off-campus clinical settings. To ensure students are provided with the opportunity to gain sufficient clinical experience, all courses that include an off-campus clinical practicum will extend beyond the standard teaching trimester. This may include undertaking clinical placement during the mid-trimester and between-trimester vacation periods (i.e. the break during trimesters and between Trimester 1 and Trimester 2).

Students may undertake the Bachelor of Midwifery full-time over three years. Eligible students will also have the option to undertake the program over four years, with Year 1 of the program (the first 80 credit points) completed part-time over two years, and the rest of the program completed full-time over two years. As clinical placement is linked to many of the courses (Midwifery 1-6 identifies the clinical placement courses within the program structure), students can expect to undertake 2-3 days per week of clinical practice for each 10 credit point clinical course undertaken.

Students will be required to travel to hospitals and other off-campus clinical settings to attend the labour and birth which can occur at any time of the day or night. Students will require their own transport in order to meet this requirement.

In total, students will have a minimum of six weeks student vacation over the calendar year.

Generally, courses will be offered off-campus with a one to two-week on-campus intensive component prior to the commencement of trimester. On-campus attendance at tutorials is required five times per trimester.

The locations and dates over which the courses will run will be published trimester-by-trimester and sent to students prior to each trimester. It is expected that if you enrol in these courses you will be available to attend.

If you are an International student on a student visa, you must ensure that you enrol in a way that will allow you to complete your enrolment within the expected program duration as stated on your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE).

Managing Study Interruptions

Taking a leave of absence from this program is permitted, subject to conditions outlined in the Enrolment Procedure and receiving approval from the Program Director or their nominee.

Readmission

A student who has discontinued enrolment in the Bachelor of Midwifery program and who is not on an approved leave of absence is required to seek approval for readmission to the program from the Program Director, Bachelor of Midwifery or nominee. Readmission to the Bachelor of Midwifery program is not guaranteed and subject to the availability of clinical placements.

Work-integrated learning activities (professional placements) integrate theoretical learning with its application in the workplace. The inclusion of work-integrated learning activities in the degree program demonstrates Griffith's commitment to preparing its graduates for success in their working life. For more information, please refer to Placement Requirements

All students will undertake 46 weeks of professional placement each year of the program, totalling 1656 hours.

You may find opportunities as a midwife in public and private healthcare settings including midwifery private practice, maternity and neonatal care settings, academia, teaching, research, rural remote health, and international aid organisations.

The Bachelor of Midwifery program is accredited by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC).

Graduates of this program will be eligible to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia via the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (AHPRA) subject to meeting any additional requirements that may be stipulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. As these requirements may change from time to time, students should contact AHPRA to confirm registration requirements.

There are placements associated with this program and before undertaking professional experience placements, all students in this program are required to have completed the following by the end of their first trimester of study:

• Vaccinations and Health Tests
• Licenses and Certificates
• Online Training
• Health Placement Requirements

Students should refer to the checklist of professional practice requirements for their Health discipline on the Health Placement Support Hub for full details of the requirements regarding professional placement to ensure that they meet eligibility for placement.

Location of professional placements

Extensive professional practice learning includes 2-3 x 8-12 hour shifts per week over 46 weeks each year. You will be allocated to a partner hospital for your whole program and undertake professional practice across the a 24-hour time span that women access care from midwives. In addition, you will follow 20 women throughout their pregnancy until six weeks after birth and be on-call to attend the labour and birth - requiring a high level of commitment and flexibility.

Placements are available at a range of sites including Logan, Redlands, Toowoomba, and Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast University Hospitals. In your third year, you may have an opportunity to complete a rural or international clinical placement.

Students are required to indicate preferences for clinical placement location when they apply for entry to the program and final placements are arranged by the School of Nursing and Midwifery. While every effort is made to place students in proximity to their place of residence, this is not always possible.

On a case-by-case basis, some consideration may be given for students to undertake clinical placements in a location of the student's choosing, for example, in their local region subject to the student negotiating their own clinical placement confirmed in writing by the provider to the Bachelor of Midwifery Clinical Placements Officer and as agreed by the Bachelor of Midwifery Program Director.