Higher Diploma in Midwifery
The current programme, which started on 20th March 2012, is delivered over an 18 month period until September 2013 by the School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Dublin Trinity College and its two linked maternity hospitals - the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital, Dublin and The Rotunda Hospital, Dublin. Midwifery students who successfully complete the programme will be awarded a Higher Diploma in Midwifery from The University of Dublin Trinity College Dublin with eligibility to register on the Midwives Division of the Nurses Register maintained by An Bord Altranais.
The changes to the Midwife Registration Education Programme (Post-RGN) are as a result of major changes to all midwife registration education programmes. From September 2007, the Higher Diploma in Midwifery, Midwife Registration Education Programme (Post-RGN), was reduced to 18-months in duration from 2 years.
Entry Requirements
Students applying for this programme must be on the General Nurse Division of the register maintained by An Bord Altranais. Thereafter, selection and recruitment is on the basis of performance at interview.
The Rotunda Hospital and the Coombe Women and Infants Hospital advertise separately for midwifery students.
The programme runs back to back, therefore the next intake will be in September 2013.
Please contact the hospitals directly:
- Rotunda
Mags Campion, Secretary, Telephone +353 1 873 0700 Extension 1495.
- The Coombe Women and Infants Hospital
Secretary to Patricia Hughes, Director of Midwifery and Nursing
(01) 4085490.
The Status of the Midwifery Student
The status of the midwifery student is unique in that the student is both an employee of their respective hospital and a student of The University of Dublin Trinity College. Contractual, procedural and student obligations are detailed in the terms and conditions of employment signed by the student at the beginning of the programme.
Fees
The Department of Health and Children pay The University of Dublin Trinity College the prescribed fee (€17,308 as at March 2012) for midwifery students undertaking the Higher Diploma in Midwifery. Applicants are liable for the application fee to the Health Service Provider. Midwifery students will be liable for the prescribed fee (€17,308) already paid if they leave the programme voluntarily or if they choose not to remain in midwifery practice in their parent hospital or the public health sector for two (2) years following registration. This will be detailed in the terms and conditions of employment signed by the student at the beginning of the programme.
Fee costs have not yet been announced for the September 2013 intake.
Aims of the programme
This programme aims to:
- Prepare midwifery students to practise safely, competently and effectively;
- Educate diplomates to uphold recognised standards of midwifery practice;
- Foster tolerance and respect for individualism and diversity;
- Educate diplomates who are flexible and adaptable in their approach to working with women and their families during the childbirth experience;
- Engender in diplomates a desire for the discovery of new knowledge;
- Engender a philosophy of life long learning.
Outcomes
Following successful completion of the totality of the programme, the midwifery student will be able to:
- Provide competent, safe midwifery care autonomously for women and their families;
- Recognise the individuality of each woman and foster the development of shared decision making throughout the childbirth experience;
- Promote and support lifestyle choices that enhance the health and well-being of women, their families and the wider community;
- Demonstrate informed decision making skills and the ability to make informed differential diagnoses;
- Recognise the scope of midwifery practice, initiate appropriate referrals to other healthcare providers, and provide emergency care when required;
- Recognise the need for pursuing scientific and social research in order to enhance midwifery practice;
- Provide evidence that they meet the EU Directives 2005/36/EC and An Bord Altranais Requirements and Standards for the Midwife Registration Education Programme(2005, Addendum 2007) for entry to the Midwives Division in the Nurses Register in Ireland;
- Take responsibility for maintaining a level of knowledge and skills that is based on the best available evidence.
Programme Structure
The programme is an eighteen month Higher Diploma programme and is of 78 weeks duration. The programme will consist of the following distribution of classroom and practice learning over the eighteen months: insert link to planner
- Theory: 26 weeks - 24 weeks Classroom Block and 10 individual study days
- Practice: 52 weeks - including 9 weeks Holidays and Public Holidays)
Total: 78 weeks
Classroom learning will consist of hours of direct contact, directed learning and independent learning. There are 24 block weeks of classroom learning. The remaining 2 weeks are allocated as individual study days to midwifery students and will be allocated during midwifery practice to facilitate the achievement of learning outcomes of certain modules.
Midwifery students will have a 2 week orientation period in each core midwifery practice area i.e. antenatal, intranatal and postnatal. This will be followed with 2 further placements in each core area, each a minimum of 4 weeks duration. One placement will occur in the early part of the programme and the other in the latter part of the programme. Placements will also take place in theatre, gynaecology, community midwifery and the neonatal unit.
Attendance
Midwifery students are required to attend all timetabled sessions, both theory and practice. Attendance at classroom sessions is compulsory and will be monitored by a number of methods. In practice placements, attendance is compulsory and the midwifery student is required to have an attendance record signed daily when in practice. This record will be reviewed as part of the assessment of midwifery competency and will be submitted to School of Nursing and Midwifery Trinity College Dublin at the end of each placement. All interruptions must be made up before the practice placement is deemed complete and satisfactory attendance is a requirement for the successful completion of the programme
First nine months
The first nine months of the programme are foundational and provide a broad context for midwifery practice and the later development of specific midwifery knowledge and practice skills. Prior learning and experience is recognised and built upon. Philosophically the first nine months focuses on the woman, her family and the relationship of partnership between the woman and the midwife. It explores the context of Irish maternity services and the options and choices available to women. Midwifery students gain midwifery experience in the three core midwifery placements i.e. antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal.
The modules studied are:
- Foundation Skills for Midwifery Practice
- Sharing the Woman's Experience - Social Theory and Birth
- Core Midwifery Practice
- Adaption in Pregnancy
- Midwifery Practice: Pathophysiology
- Midwifery Research - Evidence for Midwifery Practice
- Lactation and Infant Feeding
- Being a Midwife - Personal and Professional Development
- 'Bring it all together'
- Midwifery Practice 1(orientation), 2, 3 and 4.
Second nine months
The second nine months provides opportunity for the integration and consolidation of learning. The unwell mother and infant are introduced and explored. Modules studied facilitate a deepening of knowledge and the development of decision making and diagnostic skills. Midwifery students work more independently with indirect supervision in the application of knowledge, skills and attitude in practice settings. They consolidate their learning and demonstrate their competence in the Five Domains of Competency as outlined by An Bord Altranais (2005). Midwifery students gain further midwifery experience in the three core midwifery placements.
The modules studied are:
- Sharing the Woman's Experience - Social Theory and Birth
- Midwifery Practice: Pathophysiology
- Midwifery Research - Evidence for Midwifery Practice
- Lactation and Infant Feeding
- Midwifery Practice: Unexpected Outcomes of Pregnancy and Childbirth
- Being a Midwife - Personal and Professional Development
- 'Bring it all together'
- Midwifery Practice 5, 6 and 7.
Assessment and progression
Progression through the programme will require the midwifery student to achieve the required standards for attendance, professional conduct and the assessment of theory and practice. The assessment process is purposely devised to affect learning, deepen knowledge and enable learning outcomes to be effectively assessed in such a way as to meet statutory, professional and academic requirements and to provide assurance of professional competence.
Assessment methods are varied and wide ranging, they include:
- Examinations;
- Written and oral assignments;
- Case presentations;
- Independent and group work;
- Skills assessment;
- OSCE(Objective Structured Clinical Examination)
- Video
Assessment of midwifery competence in practice
An Bord Altranais, in its publication 'Requirements and Standards for the Midwife Registration Programme' (2005), details the Five Domains of Competence that each midwifery student must reach on completion of the programme for entry to the Midwives Division of the Register maintained by An Bord Altranais. In partnership with the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital and The Rotunda Hospital, the process and documentation for assessing the midwifery student's competence has been developed (TCD Assessment of Midwifery Competence).
The assessment of midwifery practice document (TCD Assessment of Midwifery Practice) details critical elements for the performance criteria in each of the five domains at the level required for entry to the Register. For each nine months of the programme, the level of performance that the student must reach is made explicit. Performance cues are detailed to guide the student and preceptor/midwife in the assessment process and these are explicit for each nine months of the programme. These must be achieved for progression to take place.
Requirements to Pass the Programme
In order to pass the programme, the midwifery student must achieve the following:
- Satisfactory level of attendance at both the theoretical and practice components of the programme;
- Have demonstrated an acceptable level of professional conduct;
- Achieved a mark of 50% in the required number of assessments;
- Achieved a pass in the required number of assessments of midwifery competence;
- Have achieved the required clinical practice experience;
- No outstanding issue of fitness to practice;
- No outstanding disciplinary issues.