Bachelor of Midwifery
Course details
| NZQF Level | 7 |
|---|
About the course
This programme is for those who want to learn to confidently nurture and care for women through pregnancy, childbirth, and up to the first six weeks following birth. Students will gain a wide range of knowledge and skills to work autonomously, be fully responsible for the wellbeing of women and babies, and support families safely and appropriately.
Students study full-time and are required to complete the programme within five years, as prescribed by the Midwifery Council of New Zealand (MCNZ). On application to MCNZ, a sixth study year may be approved. The first year is mainly theory-based, with the second and third-year split between practical and theory, and the fourth year is predominantly practical.
Offered across the Midland region, students can enrol to a regional hub in their local area. Please note, students can only sign up for regional hubs if they live in the catchment area of the specific hub and local DHB.
On-campus block courses are held in Hamilton throughout the programme. Attendance is compulsory for all students, due to the intensive, theory-heavy content of these classes. Students are responsible for organising their own transport and accommodation. Block courses take place 11 times in Year 1, for a week at a time. Hours of block days are 8am–5pm, Monday to Thursday, and Friday 8am-12pm. Finishing at lunchtime on a Friday will enable hub students from outside Waikato to travel safely in daylight hours back home.
Compulsory clinical placements and several scheduled tutorials, called Hub Education days, are usually held in regional hubs so that students can complete most of their clinical experience close to home. Students will have to undertake one four-week clinical placement outside their area during their study, usually in either year three or year four.
During the programme, students will be able to apply their knowledge in clinical placements at primary units (eg birth centres), secondary and tertiary DHB hospitals, with self-employed community midwives (LMC midwives), and other community services. Students will have the opportunity to follow women through their pregnancy, labour, birth, and postnatal care. On completion of the programme, students will be required to sit the National Midwifery Examination to become a registered midwife.
This unique programme structure has been designed to provide students with a direct pathway to starting a career as a midwife.
About the provider
Based in Hamilton, the Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec), is one of the country’s largest institutes of technology. We deliver high-quality education across vocational (technical) and professional fields of study to approximately 13,000 students, across over 130 different courses.
At Wintec students are educated in a way that builds their confidence and gets them work-ready. We differ from other types of tertiary providers in the way students get the chance to put their theoretical learning into practice from the very start. You will get to work on real-life projects based on relevant topics and themes as if you were in the workplace. You will also get involved in work placements. This means that by the time you graduate, you will be confident in your skills and knowledge, and know-how to apply your learnings. Our academic staff have years of industry experience between them, which means they can guide you on your journey.
Wintec maintains collaborative relationships with local industry and iwi to identify the needs of the region and community. Fostering strong networks that our students and graduates benefit from is a high priority for us. Understanding the needs of local industry, what type of graduates they need now, and what they will need in the future is critical to assisting industry and our graduates.