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Empowered Midwifery Practice - HEA00020H

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  • Department: Health Sciences
  • Credit value: 10 credits
  • Credit level: H
  • Academic year of delivery: 2025-26
    • See module specification for other years: 2023-24

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Autumn Term 2025-26

Module aims

  • Develop the knowledge and skills for competent midwifery practice to enable students to assess, plan and evaluate care in a way that takes account of political, professional and organisational issues.
  • Introduce concepts of leadership and management styles that inform contemporary midwifery care.
  • To build on and foster the principles of reflection and lifelong learning to develop midwives who can provide holistic midwifery care for women with diverse needs in a range of settings.

Module learning outcomes

This module will enable the student to:

  1. Critically analyse and evaluate the provision of woman centred midwifery care taking account of political, professional and organisational issues.
  2. Critically analyse processes that exist to improve and maintain high quality maternity care.
  3. Critically reflect upon their own developmental needs in relation to the provision of high quality midwifery care.
  4. Develop a critical understanding of theories of leadership, decision making and management in relation to maternity care.
  5. Debate the challenges of implementing and evaluating change in clinical practice.

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100.0

Special assessment rules

Non-compensatable

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100.0

Module feedback

Written feedback for summative assessment is provided on the standard proforma, within the timescale specified in the programme handbook.

Indicative reading

  • Chambers, R. (2007). Clinical effectiveness and clinical governance made easy. Abingdon: Radcliffe.
  • Cameron, E. and Green, M. (2012). Making sense of change management: a complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. London: Kogan Page.
  • Downe, S. (2011). Essential midwifery practice: leadership, expertise and collaborative working. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Finkelman, A.W. (2011). Leadership and management for nurses: core competencies for quality care. Boston: Pearson.
  • Hayes, J. (2014). The theory and practice of change management. 4th edn. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Hughes, M. (2010). Managing Change: A critical perspective. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
  • NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement (2010 ¿ online). The Handbook of Quality and Service Improvement Tools. Coventry
  • RCM (online). Innovation and Improvement in Maternity Services
  • Symon, A. (2006). Risk and choice in maternity care. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
  • Thompson, C. (2009). Essential decision making and clinical judgement for nurses. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.