• A passion for women's health.
• The ability to work independently and with others.
• The ability to respond to changing circumstances.
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills.
• The ability to work well under pressure.
• The ability to be accountable.

• NCEA Level 3 (60 credits at Level 3 and 20 credits at Level 2 or higher) which must include:
• 18 credits at Level 3 in each of biology or chemistry**
• a minimum of 16 credits at Level 3 in an English language rich subject such as English, history, art history, classical studies, geography or economics
• a further 16 credits at Level 3 in one other subject from the list of NZQA approved subjects^
• Literacy^ - 10 credits at Level 2 or above, made up of 5 credits in reading and 5 credits in writing, AND
• Numeracy^ - 10 credits at Level 1 or above (specified achievement standards, or unit standards 26623, 26626, 26627).

**We recommend that if you don't have a minimum of 18 credits at Level 3 in BOTH biology and chemistry, you have at least 16 credits at Level 2 in your secondary subject.

^ For NZQA approved subjects, visit http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/qualifications-standards/awards/university-entrance

• OR you have a year-long Level 3-4 Health Science bridging course qualification. A Level 4 B+ average is required for entry including a B+ in a Level 4 bioscience course
• OR you have a bachelor's degree in any discipline (additional bioscience courses may be recommended).
• OR you can demonstrate equivalence to the above academic entry criteria.

• You must also:
• provide the names and email addresses of two referees who can attest to your suitability to train as a midwife. One must be from an employer/community group and the other an academic referee; referees must be persons of standing in the community who are not friends or relatives. Please see more information about the referee reports in the completing your application section below. 
• submit your curriculum vitae and an application essay (topic available during application period) demonstrating your commitment to midwifery and any life experience relevant to midwifery and/or women’s health.
• demonstrate self-responsibility in relation to learning and practice and the personal qualities appropriate for midwifery practice such as strong communication skills and a demonstrated interest in women's and childrens health. 
• provide a health declaration and current comprehensive First Aid Certificate (including proficiency in CPR – NQF unit standards 6401 and 6402 OR equivalent).
• provide a conviction declaration and you will be required to provide permission for a Police Check to ensure you meet the requirements of the Vulnerable Children's Act 2014.
• provide a verified copy of your full driver’s license. 
• have good computer skills.
• International students will be individually assessed to ensure that they meet the Bachelor of Midwifery degree-level entry requirements and must have achieved the equivalent of Year 13 biology or chemistry (both would be an advantage), and Year 11 mathematics.
• If English is not your first spoken language, you must also provide an IELTS with an overall band score of 7.0, with no less than 6.5 in writing and reading, and no less than 7.0 in speaking and listening.This is a Midwifery Council requirement and there are no exceptions to this.

*subject to final approval

The Health Bridging Certificate offered by the School of Social Services, acts as a bridging programme into this midwifery qualification. A minimum B+ average pass, achieved across four courses during semester two, is required to meet the academic entry requirements into the Bachelor of Midwifery. This MUST include a B+ in Bioscience 2.

The Health Bridging Certificate is also ideal if you need to update specific knowledge and skills, and demonstrate your academic ability. Distance options are available. For more information about this programme, please click here. 

Please note: due to the high demand for places, successful completion of the Health Bridging Certificate (Level 4) will not automatically guarantee you entry into the Bachelor of Midwifery programme. 

For a more detailed step-by-step guide on how to apply for this programme, please view our Application Guide.

• Please complete the Otago Polytechnic online application form. To begin this process, click the blue APPLY tab in the top right hand corner of this information sheet and you will be taken through to the application form.
• In addition, please also complete the Bachelor of Midwifery Applicant Information form which is an editable PDF. You can download this by clicking here.

Once you have completed you can then either:

• scan a copy and attach it as a PDF file to an email which you send to ebsMID@op.ac.nz, OR
• scan a copy and upload it as a PDF file to the Supporting Material section of the online application form at the time that you are applying online.    
• Please carefully select two referees to complete the referee report form. Guidelines for this are outlined in the Bachelor of Midwifery Applicant Information form. Completed Referee reports should be returned by your chosen referees to studentadmin@op.ac.nz.

Please use this Application checklist to ensure you have provided all of the required information.

Please note: We are still considering applications for 2018.  Please bear in mind that applications will not be assessed until we have received all application documents including Referee reports (directly from the referees).

Please click here for more information about the course-related costs for this programme.  

The Irihapeti Ramsden Memorial Midwifery Scholarship offers fees subsidies to one Māori midwifery student accepted into the Bachelor of Midwifery programme at Otago Polytechnic. Please click here for more detailed information on application details and criteria.  Applications are welcomed with the Midwifery portion of your application to our programme after June each year.

Completed applications will be assessed according to our applicaiton guide. Interviews by phone may be required. Final selection is based on both academic and other entry criteria. A waiting list will be maintained once places are full and late applications may be accepted. Note that each satellite site has a maximum number of places available.

Advance your skills and knowledge by applying for our Postgraduate Midwifery Programmes.

• When studying courses offered online or using other electronic media, you may be at risk of Occupational Overuse Syndrome or other injuries brought about by long periods of computer use
• Physical injuries including soft tissue injury may occur through hazards in the classroom, practice laboratory, Otago Polytechnic campus or in a midwifery practice setting
• Issues affecting your emotional and physical well-being may arise as a component of learning about various matters of a sensitive nature or through inappropriate behaviour by self or others, including harassment
• Allergic reactions may occur through contact with latex. Accidental exposure to drugs or chemicals may cause sensitisation or adverse reactions 
• Infection may be caused by contact with infective agents in the practice setting or practice laboratory or through cross-infection

Risk Management Procedures

Health and safety information relating to computer use and to practice equipment will be provided, and you will be advised how to reduce risk of injury. Access to copies of relevant hazards registers and processes for reporting accidents and injuries will be available so these can be followed up centrally by Health and Safety Officers. You are required to undergo screening tests for infectious diseases prior to the commencement of the programme.

Organisation of the Programme:

Satellite Sites

The Otago Polytechnic Bachelor of Midwifery is structured to provide for a number of 'satellite sites' so that you do not have to move to undertake the programme. Otago Polytechnic is responsible for Midwifery education in South Otago, North Otago, Central Otago, Whanganui, Palmerston North, Wellington and Dunedin.

Each satellite site has a designated Midwifery Lecturer who provides individual support, runs face-to-face tutorials and coordinates your midwifery practice opportunities. Theory is delivered through online resources and other electronic mechanisms such as video conferences and virtual classrooms. Online tutorials are held weekly.

Intensives

During the compulsory intensives, you are required to attend one or two week blocks in Dunedin if you are based on the South Island. If you are based on the North Island, you will need to attend a one-week block in Dunedin at the beginning of year one, and one to two week blocks in Kapiti during the rest of the qualification. There are four intensives in year one and two, and two in year three. They will provide the opportunity for you to get to know your lecturers and fellow students, and for delivery of some of the essential face-to-face content of the programme.

Midwifery Practice Opportunities

You will access much of the required midwifery practice experience in your local community with support and supervision from local midwives. However, you also need midwifery practice experiences in secondary and tertiary maternity facilities (second and third year), in neonatal intensive care units (second year) and in rural maternity settings (third year), and will therefore be required to move at times to access these placements. If you live in a rural area, you may have additional travel costs if your clients birth outside of the area. In the third year of the programme, you will have an individual allocation of placements and will attend the required 'intensives' in Dunedin/Kapiti. Some year three placements may be at various locations around the country or outside New Zealand (overseas).

The Bachelor of Midwifery degree is completed over three years of full-time study. Note that the credit value is equivalent to four years full-time study. All courses are compulsory.

YEAR ONE

Year one is foundational and courses provide a broad context for midwifery practice and the later development of specific midwifery knowledge and practice skills. Philosophically, year one focuses on the woman/wahine and her family/whānau; it explores the wider context of New Zealand's maternity services and the options and choices available to women and families in various settings. Gain practice experience in maternity facilities for the acquisition of foundation practice skills, and through one-on-one continuity of care with women and midwives where you provide a support role for women throughout pregnancy, labour, birth and the postnatal period.

Midwifery Ways of Knowing 1

Delivery: Online resources and tutorials supported by face-to-face components during intensives.

Be introduced to the concepts and theory upon which midwifery practice is based, focusing on partnership, and the historical and social contexts of current midwifery practice in New Zealand. Learn how to search for evidence and access information. Explore the main approaches to research, and begin to develop the skills needed to critique and apply research to practice.

Midwifery Assessment and Practice Skills

Delivery: Theoretical face-to-face components during intensives reinforced by online resources and tutorials, and small group face-to-face tutorials, and practical midwifery practice placements supported by face-to-face tutorials.

Develop professional expertise in the practical foundation skills of midwifery practice and gain the skills to create therapeutic relationships as a basis for partnership with women and to promote effective professional relationships with peers and colleagues.

Sharing the Woman's Experience of Childbirth

Delivery: Theoretical face-to-face components during 'intensives' reinforced by online resources and tutorials, and small group face-to-face tutorials, and practical allocated placements and follow-throughs supported by face-to-face tutorials.

Become acquainted with the culture of childbirth in New Zealand and community support for childbearing women and families. By acting as a birth companion to women over the academic year, you will learn to recognise the individual realities of the experience of childbirth for women and their families. Develop skills in forming culturally-safe relationships with women and families and take the opportunity to utilise theories of human development to identify and understand what you bring to the relationship.

Women in Aotearoa New Zealand

Delivery: Online resources and tutorials supported by face-to-face components during intensives.

Develop an awareness of the importance of culture as a critical component in the delivery of midwifery care. Based on the understanding that awareness of one's own cultural identity is required for safe midwifery practice, this course also introduces you to contemporary analyses of gender and power in relation to ethnicity, sexuality, body image, personal relationships, work, welfare, education and popular culture. It provides you with an opportunity to examine and reflect on issues that midwives are likely to face as they work with women and their families.

Bioscience Foundations

Delivery: Online resources and tutorials supported by face-to-face tutorials during intensives.

Enable learners to explain the anatomy and physiology of human body systems within the parameters of normal homeostatic functioning. This will provide the necessary foundation for understanding the anatomical and physiological changes that take place in a woman’s body during pregnancy, labour & birth and the postpartum period and also provide the foundations for understanding the development and functioning of the fetus and neonate. 

Hauora Māori

Delivery: Online resources and tutorials supported by face-to-face components during intensives and an overnight marae visit.

Explore the historical and contemporary concepts of Hauora Māori and Tikanga/Tikaka Māori within the framework of the Treaty of Waitangi and examine the implications for the delivery of midwifery and maternity services for Māori.

Integrated Midwifery Practice 1

Delivery: Face-to-face during four intensive integration days.

Embrace the opportunity to integrate the knowledge and skills you have gained across the 100 level papers and apply these to midwifery practice situations. Advance your critical thinking and reflective practice skills and begin to develop professional midwifery judgement. The experiential nature of this course provides you with the chance to further explore personal issues fundamental to acquiring the skills, attitudes and knowledge base of midwifery.

Pharmacology Foundations

Delivery: Online resources and tutorials supported by face-to-face teaching during intensives.

The ambition of this course is to enable our future midwives to understand and explain the principles of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, accurately perform drug calculations, and outline the legislation related to prescribing medicines.

YEAR TWO

Year two provides the opportunity to develop specific midwifery practice knowledge and skills. Courses focus on the knowledge and skills required for midwives to work in the Midwifery Scope of Practice and to work collaboratively with other health professionals when required outside of the Midwifery Scope of Practice. Gain midwifery practice experience in a variety of settings including one-on-one continuity of care experiences with women and midwives, and undertake placements in a range of maternity facilities, particularly secondary and tertiary facilities. Philosophically, the second year of the programme focuses on the midwife and her developing professional framework for practice.

Midwifery Ways of Knowing 2

Delivery: Online resources and tutorials supported by face-to-face components during intensives.

Designed to enable you to integrate further concepts and ideas into a professional framework for beginning midwifery practice, this course builds on knowledge gained during your first year and provides an opportunity for analysis and critique. Explore professionalism, standards for practice, ethical and legal responsibilities, principles of informed consent, information sharing and current midwifery issues, and extend your understanding of research principles and methods to allow you to become an evidence-informed practitioner.

Midwifery Scope of Practice

Delivery: Theoretical content is accessed online, supported by face-to-face components during intensives, face-to-face small group tutorials (akonga), online tutorials and practice placements.

This course recognises the midwife as the expert in normal pregnancy and childbirth and acknowledges the woman's autonomy throughout her childbirth experience. The role of the midwife in normal childbirth, acting in partnership with the woman, is explored and you will develop midwifery knowledge and skills that are integrated into midwifery practice. Midwifery practice experiences within a continuity of care framework provide the basis for the development of expertise within the Midwifery Scope of Practice. The development of a negotiated relationship between the midwife and the woman, as a central tenet of Midwifery Partnership, is integral to this.

The Midwife and Collaborative Practice

Delivery: Theoretical face-to-face components during intensives reinforced by online resources and tutorials, and small group face-to-face tutorials, and practical allocated placements and follow-throughs supported by face-to-face tutorials.

Examine the role of the midwife in situations where a woman may have a pre-existing medical condition and/or develops a complication during pregnancy, labour, birth or in the post-natal period. In these situations, midwives work in collaboration with other health professionals and the nature of this collaborative relationship is explored during this course, including how the midwifery partnership is maintained. Gain experience in a secondary/tertiary maternity hospital where the emphasis will be on exploring the effects of pre-existing conditions, complications, and variations of normal on the care of women and babies during the childbirth process. You will also obtain experience in recognising complications and variations from the normal, initiating an appropriate response, and consultation and referral processes.

Bioscience in Pregnancy and Childbirth

Delivery: Online resources and tutorials supported by face-to-face tutorials during intensives.

Enable learners to critically examine the anatomical and physiological changes that take place in a woman’s body during pregnancy, labour and birth and the puerperium, and the accompanying development of the baby, and to discriminate between normal homeostasis and pathological processes in the woman and/or baby during this time.   

Pharmacology and Prescribing

Delivery: Online resources and tutorials supported by face-to-face teaching during intensives.

The framework of this course recognises the midwife as an autonomous practitioner in the provision of primary midwifery care. In this role, midwives are legally able to prescribe and administer medications to women and neonates during the normal childbirth experience. This usually involves care during pregnancy, labour, birth and the puerperium. Gain comprehensive knowledge of the matters surrounding prescribing, and the use and administration of medication, within normal childbirth. Explore the pharmacological aspects of drugs commonly prescribed by midwives, as well as those prescribed by obstetricians/physicians, for women experiencing deviations from normal in childbirth (including women with pre-existing medical conditions).

Integrated Midwifery Practice 2

Delivery: Face-to-face during intensives two and four.

Enjoy the chance to integrate the knowledge and skills you have gained across the 200 level courses and apply these to midwifery practice situations. Continue to develop your critical thinking and reflective practice skills, and professional midwifery judgement. The experiential nature of this course provides you with the opportunity to further explore personal issues fundamental to developing the skills, attitudes and knowledge base of midwifery.

Women's Health

Delivery: Online resources and tutorials supported by face-to-face components during intensives.

Become acquainted with the connections between gender and health. Social relations that affect women's health will be investigated and specific women's health issues will be examined in depth. The ways in which women's health issues may affect the experience of pregnancy, childbirth, mothering and breastfeeding and the implications for midwifery practice will also be explored.

The Midwife, Newborn and Breastfeeding

YEAR THREE

Year three provides substantial opportunity for integration and consolidation of your learning from years one and two. An individualised programme of placements will provide significant opportunity for midwifery practice in one-on-one continuity of care experiences with midwives and women, and also in maternity facilities. Work more independently in the application of knowledge and skills in practice settings, consolidate your learning and demonstrate your readiness to meet the Competencies for Entry to the Register of Midwives. Philosophically, the third year focuses on the partnership between each midwife and woman in the shared experiences of pregnancy and childbirth.

Midwifery Ways of Knowing 3

Delivery: Face-to-face during intensives and two assignments.

Build on the knowledge you developed in Midwifery Ways of Knowing 1 and 2. Develop and articulate your professional framework for midwifery practice and obtain the necessary skills for evidence-informed midwifery practice.

Rural Midwifery Practice

Delivery: Allocated midwifery practice placements supported by face-to-face tutorials.

Explore the role of the midwife in providing midwifery services in rural settings, including understanding the effect of locality on midwifery decision-making. Issues of choice and safety for rural women will be examined, and innovative ways of providing midwifery care will be explored.

Continuity Midwifery Practice

Delivery: A continuity placement of 14 weeks duration with a lead maternity care midwife or practice supported by supervision, debriefing and face-to-face learning during intensives.

Embrace the opportunity to consolidate your midwifery skills, knowledge and professional behaviour within the Midwifery Scope of Practice by working alongside a midwife who is providing continuity of care to women as a Lead Maternity Carer (LMC). Explore issues of LMC practice for midwives including practice management.

Elective Midwifery Practice

Delivery: Allocated midwifery practice placements supported by online tutorials.

Enjoy the chance to consolidate your midwifery skills, knowledge and professional behaviour within the Midwifery Scope of Practice in one or two practice settings of your choice.

Secondary/Tertiary Midwifery Practice

Delivery: Allocated midwifery practice placements supported by face-to-face components during seminar weeks.

Gain experience in a secondary/tertiary maternity hospital, enabling you to achieve greater insight into the role of the midwife working within a secondary or tertiary maternity setting and to develop and enhance skills related to care within such settings. The nature of the collaborative relationship in these settings is further explored including how the midwifery partnership is maintained and you will acquire experience in recognising complications and variations from the normal, initiating an appropriate response, and the consultation and referral processes.

Sustainable Midwifery Practice

Delivery: Online resources and tutorials.

Building on the Sustainable Development course, examine sustainable midwifery practice as a carbon footprint model of excellence for the 21st century and investigate midwifery models of practice within the New Zealand maternity system. Focus on the growth and sustainability of the wider midwifery profession and look at how to develop a sustainable midwifery practice. International models will also be reviewed to help you understand the benefits of midwifery in providing a sustainable maternity system. The course will provide you with the opportunity to learn how to manage a small business as a self-employed midwife and will include legislative small business responsibilities and Inland Revenue Department (IRD) services, as well as information specific to the processes of self -employed midwifery practice in New Zealand.

Becoming a midwife is a rewarding but demanding career with very unpredictable hours. Our programme is a four year degree taught in three years. This will have an impact on your family and personal life due to the academic expectations and the demands of clinical placements. We welcome your application and recommend that you have a discussion with your whanau/family about how they can support you to succeed in this programme.

The qualification is delivered as follows: 

• 45 'programmed weeks' every year, averaging 35.5 hours per week
• a minimum of 4,800 total programmed hours (480 credits) within which there is:
• a minimum of 2,400 midwifery practice hours (240 credits) (of which a minimum of 1,280 hours or 128 credits are completed in year three), AND
• minimum of 1,920 theory hours (192 credits).
• Years one and two are structured through three 15-week trimesters and seven weeks of annual leave each year; there are four compulsory intensives in both years one and two.
• Year three is structured individually to suit your needs and provides 34 weeks of midwifery practice experience at an average of 38.8 hours per week; there are two compulsory intensives in the final year.

Student loans and allowances are for domestic students who have lived in New Zealnd for three years. For information about student loans and allowances please visit the Studylink website. It is important to apply for your student loan/allowance at the same time as you apply for this programme, due to the length of time Studylink take to process. Loan/allowance applications can be cancelled at any time if you decide to withdraw your programme application or if it is unsuccessful. 

Midwifery at Otago Polytechnic: an insight into midwifery at Otago Polytechnic, this video series will help give you a greater understanding of midwifery careers and the Otago Polytechnic programme: Midwifery at Otago Polytechnic

The New Zealand College Of Midwives (NZCOM) is the professional organisation, and recognised 'voice', for midwives and student midwives in New Zealand, and represents over 2800 members: NZ College of Midwives

Nga Maia o Aotearoa me to Wai Pounamu (Nga Maia) is the national organisation representing Maori birthing. The kaupapa of Nga Maia focuses on Mama, Pepi and Whanau and promoting Matauranga Maori in pregnancy and childbirth: Nga Maia

International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) supports, represents and works to strengthen professional associations of midwives on a global basis. At present ICM has over 90 member associations in more than 70 countries. The ICM works with midwives and midwifery associations globally to secure women's right and access to midwifery care before, during and after childbirth: International Confederation of Midwives

The Midwifery Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) is the regulatory body for New Zealand midwives and midwifery nursing in New Zealand. It is responsible for the protection of the health and safety of women and babies during the childbirth process by providing mechanisms to ensure that midwives are competent and fit to practise midwifery: Midwifery Council NZ    

While every effort is made to ensure that this sheet is accurate, Otago Polytechnic reserves the right to amend, alter or withdraw any of the contained information. The fees shown in this document are indicative ONLY. Both domestic and international fees are subject to change and are dependent on the development and implementation of Government policies. Please note that additional fees may from time to time be required for external examination, NZQA fees and/or additional material fees.