The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) who regulate midwives and courses that prepare midwives are changing the standards required for practitioners returning to practice. As a result there will be a new programme from April 2020.
This is happening nationally and at BCU we will be posting the Programme Specification and Module Descriptions on our website at a later date.
In the meantime please visit the NMC website for more information about the new standards.
Return to practice offers a flexible approach to regaining your professional registration. You will share core learning with others who are returning to healthcare practice after a break, so you'll have the support of other returners to develop your confidence in practice.
The programme length will depend on your individual needs depending on how long you have been out of practice, your previous knowledge and experience, and relevant experience undertaken while you have been out of practice.
To be eligible for this programme you must first arrange a placement with a local healthcare provider.
The return to practice programme will also help you plan your future learning to develop your career.
This course is worth...
Award:
Starting: Sep 2020
Funding: Self Funded
Award:
Starting: Sep 2020
Funding: Employer Funded
Sorry, this course is not available to International students.
If you're unable to use the online form for any reason, you can complete our PDF application form and equal opportunities PDF form instead. The University reserves the right to increase fees in line with inflation based on the Retail Prices Index or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament up to a maximum of five per cent.
Applicants should be aware that qualifications, personal statement, interview and reference all form part of the selection criteria for this programme
If you apply for the Return to Practice Course at Birmingham City University you will asked whether you are subject to any Conditions of Practice Orders or Striking-Off Orders. We will then need to disclose this information to our insurance advisers who will decide on a case by case basis whether they are able to provide indemnity insurance cover during your placement.
If indemnity insurance cover is declined by our insurers then we will also need to share this information with the placement provider for the course. You should be aware that there is a possibility that the placement provider will be unable to offer you placement if insurance cover has been declined. This may mean that you will be unable to complete the Return to Practice Course at BCU.
Please contact the course leads if you wish to discuss this further.
Please read the 'Online application and enrolment process' and 'Method of payment' information below before making your application.
If you're unable to use the online form for any reason, you can complete our pdf application form instead.
Please submit your application as early as possible. We aim to give you a decision within two weeks of receiving your application. Please note that NHS Trust application deadlines may differ from our own and you should check with your NHS Trust training/education contact for confirmation of their deadlines.
Please ensure that you include full details of your qualifications and relevant work experience as part of your application.
The method of payment of your course fees will differ depending on whether you are a self-funding, sponsored or contracted/commissioned applicant. Definitions are provided below and you must choose the appropriate option when prompted. If you are unsure which funding method applies to you please consult your training/education contact in your NHS Trust prior to applying:
1) Self-funding
You are paying for the course and responsible for the fees.
Select 'Self Funded' when making your application.
2) Sponsored
Course fees are paid directly by the employer/NHS Trust which means we invoice your employer/NHS Trust to obtain payment.
To apply for this course you must download and complete the CPD Sponsorship Agreement Form, and submit it with your application. The upload facility is available in Section 3 of the application form: Fees and Sponsorship.
Select ‘Sponsored (eg employer, NHS Trust, charity)’ when making your application’.
Download Financial Support Form Instructions
3) Contracted/Commissioned
The NHS Trust agrees with HE West Midlands for your course fees to be paid directly to the University from funds managed by HE West Midlands for pre-agreed programmes.
To apply for this course you must obtain a contracted/commissioned financial support form from your Trust contact and upload the completed form and submit it with your application. The upload facility is available in Section 3 of the application form: Fees and Sponsorship.
Select ‘Funded by HE West Midlands (Contracted/Commissioned)’ when making your application.
Prior to submitting your application form please read the following document to make sure that you are eligible for the course and that you supply the required information in your application.
This is a single module which has been developed in line with NMC standards and consultation with practice partners from local NHS Trusts. The module is delivered over a period of up to 45 weeks, with learning activities including face-to-face contact, on-line learning and practice-based learning as agreed with the professional navigator. |
Return to Practice Midwifery
15 credits
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The Return to Practice (Midwifery) course comprises 6 core study days (usually held over a 3 week period) followed by a period of placement. |
NHS and NMC changes
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Generic skills of medicines management
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Aseptic technique
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Patient/service user handling
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CPR
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Academic skills and careers advice
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NNR
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Midwives Exemptions
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Perineal suturing
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CTG interpretation
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Professional and legal changes
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MEOWS and SBAR
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Trends in maternal morbidity and mortality
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Placement is a minimum of 150 hours but can be up to 450 hours depending on the length of time you’ve been out of practice. You will need to rotate through hospital and community settings to experience antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum midwifery care.
You will need to arrange your own placement. The requirements for placement include that you are assessed by a 'sign-off mentor' as competent for return to the NMC register, that you are supported by a Professional Midwifery Advocate (PMA) or local equivalent replacement to Statutory Supervision, and that the clinical area is currently audited for student placements.
University study days are normally two days per week during the initial study block.
We are constantly investing in our estate and are currently in the process of spending £340 million on new learning facilities.
We boast up-to-date, innovative facilities that simulate the real situations that medical staff may come across.
These resources are essential in offering students a hands-on introduction to health and social care practice. Much of our teaching is carried out within our state-of-the-art, £30m Seacole Building, which houses cutting-edge facilities.
Take a virtual tour of our skills suites at Seacole
In a sector where new techniques are constantly being discovered, we work hard to ensure that students learn using the most up-to-date equipment available. These include the only mock operating theatre in an English university and a cutting-edge radiography virtual clinical training facility, virtual ward and virtual case creator.
For pre-registration midwives, Virtual Case Creator software contains a range of scenarios to let you experience birthing situations and decide on appropriate interventions in a safe environment.
Our mock wards enable you to get a feel of what a ward is really like before you head out for your first placement. They contain ‘Sim Men’, which are demonstration dummies that develop ailments, allowing you to treat them as you would a real patient and build your confidence in reacting to the changing needs of patients.
The Hospital Ward can be adapted from a low care to high dependency care environment with the necessary monitoring equipment.
Part of the package is our SIM baby, SIM man and Mega code kid. There are also nursing manikins for fundamental skills teaching and various equipment to support essential skills teaching, such as blood pressure monitoring venepuncture and cannulation equipment.
The SPACE (Skills Practice And Clinical Enhancement) learning facility lets you further practice the skills taught in class, at your own pace and convenience.
It is fully stocked with the specialist items and equipment needed for procedures such as taking blood pressure, giving an injection, abdominal examination of a pregnant woman and caring for ill babies in an incubator.
We have recently installed new laboratory facilities to help you explore understand the scientific principles underpinning many of our courses. The physiology laboratory is equipped to help you learn about the way the human body works by performing investigative experiments. The biomedical science laboratory is undergoing an upgrade over the summer and will allow you to learn about anatomy, cellular processes, immunology and enzymology in a hands-on way that links directly to day-to-day health care.
We have several Simulation men (SIM men) and Simulation babies (SIM babies) which are leading edge, anatomically correct mannequins used for teaching specific techniques such as advanced adult and paediatric life support skills, acute and high dependency clinical skills, first aid and communication skills.
The SIM men and SIM baby mannequins are complete with software, which is used to replicate real symptoms, and are enhanced by the manipulation of for example blood pressure, pulse and heart rate for extra realism. SIM Man can also “talk” to the students which adds another dimension to their use in teaching clinical skills and in simulation exercises.
The Seacole library, based at City South Campus, is one of the UK's largest specialist health education libraries. The state-of-the art facility offers an extensive range of range of information and reference materials set out in a relaxing environment, conducive to studying. There are comfortable seating areas, group study areas, a silent study area and private study rooms.
The Seacole building houses a large open access IT Suite which comprises of 96 PCs, full colour printers, photocopiers and scanners. Our PCs utilise the latest Intel i5 core technology, all with:
Our PCs are also designed to support students who may have difficulties with reading and writing, featuring specialised software with zooming/magnification and screen reading capabilities, which may also be customised for individual student needs.
The IT Suite offers extended opening hours and is supported by a specialist Open Access Assistant during term time. In addition to the open access PCs within the IT Suite, there are 12 networked student PCs available within Seacole library.
Rachel is the programme leader for the return to practice: midwifery course. She has herself previously undertaken a RTPM course. Rachel is supported by colleagues from midwifery and nursing. Close links are maintained with practice education teams in local NHS Trusts. Wider afield, links are strongly made and maintained with trusts outside the region to support the RTP candidates to return to the midwifery register.
The programme leader welcomes informal enquiries to discuss your individual situation.
Please contact Rachel Moule:
Local NHS Trusts support the programme and most returners obtain employment in the same Trust as they undertook placement.