Advancing Midwifery Leadership - HEA00173M

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Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 2 2025-26 to Summer Semester 2025-26

Module aims

Note: This document uses the word 'women’ throughout. This should be taken to include people who do not
identify as women but are pregnant or who have given birth.
¿ To critically and analytically explore barriers, enablers and opportunities within contemporary
midwifery leadership, within wider contexts of:
¿ maternity and health care policy and implementation
¿ national and global perspectives
¿ historical antecedents and contemporary trends
¿ theoretical perspectives (e.g. sociological, professional and political)
¿ To critically debate typically complex leadership needs within contemporary midwifery, generating
informed, realistic, creative and innovative solutions to challenges and capitalising on opportunities.
¿ To challenge and hone students’ professional and reflective skills to support leadership and career
advancement within and beyond midwifery and maternity care, to advance care for women and
families.
Note: After an initial three weeks of theory, students will undertake a five week period, comprised of three
weeks in practice on a negotiated elective placement (local/regional or national) where they will focus on
observing/gaining advanced leadership skills in an area of personal/professional interest and two weeks of
theory (assessment submission focused). Examples of negotiated electives could include:
- working with/shadowing specialist/Consultant midwives in areas such as perinatal mental health,
bereavement, safeguarding, infant feeding, public health.
- Shadowing leadership roles within midwifery practice/management (e.g. Director of Midwifery, Head of
Midwifery, audit and risk leads, digital midwife, independent midwife), research (e.g. midwifery research
lead) or education (e.g. Lead Midwife for Education(LME) at an HEI or the NMC LME).
-

- Shadowing roles in Local Maternity Systems in professional unions such as The Royal College of
Midwives, in the Chief Midwifery Officer’s national or regional teams or with national charities (e.g.
Birthrights, AIMS).

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate critical and analytical exploration of barriers, enablers and opportunities within
contemporary midwifery leadership, within wider contexts of:
a. maternity and health care policy and implementation
b. national and global perspectives
c. historical antecedents and contemporary trends
d. theoretical perspectives (e.g. sociological, professional and political)

2. Demonstrate mastery of complex contemporary midwifery leadership needs, identifying informed,
realistic, original and innovative solutions to challenges and capitalising on opportunities
3. Display independent learning and fluent, autonomous reflective skills to support and empower leadership
and career to advancement when caring for women and families.

Module content

Content includes: contemporary midwifery leadership, roles and agendas; historical development and
sociological perspectives on midwifery leadership; CV development, networking, entrepreneurship, progressing
and accelerating a career; engagement with alumni, key national figures & University of York Careers and
placements.
Continued achievement of the themes within UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) University Standards with
relevance to this module.
Please see detailed mapping of the module to NMC (2019) Standards of Proficiency for Midwives for the
programme.

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

Indicative reading

Casey, M., et al. (2017). An overview of the outcomes and impact of specialist and advanced nursing and
midwifery practice, on quality of care, cost and access to services: A narrative review. Nurse Education Today.
Sept. Vol 56. pp. 35-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2017.06.004.
Drennen, V. et al. (2007). Entrepreneurial nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom: an integrative review.
Journal of Advanced Nursing. 26 Oct. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04458.x.
Fealy, G. M. et al. (2018). Developing and sustaining specialist and advanced practice roles in nursing and
midwifery: A discourse on enablers and barriers. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 12 June.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14550.
Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) (2019). Midwifery: a fertile field for social entrepreneurship. [Online]. Available
at:
https://hiponline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Midwifery-A-Fertile-Field-for-Social-Entrepreneurship-VF.p
df [Accessed 11 March 2022].
International Confederation of Midwives (ICM). (2022). Young midwife leaders securing the future. [Online]
Available from: https://www.internationalmidwives.org/icm-projects/young-midwife-leaders.html [Accessed 11
March 2022].
Kitzinger. S. (2015). A passion for birth: my life and anthropology, family and feminism. London: Pinter & Martin.

NHS Leadership Academy. (2022). NHS Leadership Academy. [Online]. Available at:
https://www.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk/ [Accessed 11 March 2022].
Tiran, D. (2018). The business of maternity care - a guide for midwives and doulas setting up in private practice.
London: Singing Dragon.
Tewes, R. (Ed). (2022). Innovative staff development in healthcare. Switzerland: Springer Nature.
Tupper, H. and Ellis, S. (2020). The squiggly career. London: Portfolio Penguin.
Tupper, H. and Ellis, S. (2022). You coach you: how to overcome challenges and tale control of your career.
London: Penguin careers.
UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative. (2021). UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative qualifications framework.
[Online] Available from:
https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/11/UNICEF-UK-Baby-Friendly-Initiati
ve-Qualifications-Framework-Programme.pdf [Accessed 11 March 2022].
University of East Anglia & Health Education England. (2020). Advanced clinical practice (ACP) in midwifery.
[Online]. Available from:
https://www.hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/document/Advanced%20clinical%20practice%20%28ACP%29%20in
%20midwifery%20Report%20v12.pdf[Accessed 11 March 2022]
Western, S. (2019). Leadership: a critical text. (3rd ed). London: SAGE.
Whitmore, J. (2017). Coaching for performance. (25th ed). Boston MA: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.