Midwifery Ongoing Record Of Achievement

MidwiferyOngoing Recordof AchievementContext documentUniversity of PlymouthNovember 2020MidwiferyPracticeAssessmentCollaborationA collaboration of midwifery education and practice providers across England and Northern Ireland1

Table of Contents1.Introduction . 32.Expectation of proficiency completion for each year or part of the programme andflexibilities permitted by the programme . 33.Student progression . 64.Grading of practice . 7Tables:Table 1: Expectation of proficiency completion for each year of the programme . 4Table 2: Practice module profile for all programmes 5Table 3: Monitoring of student progression across all programmes. . 6Table 4: Monitoring of student progression across all programmes .8Table 5: BSc (Hons) Midwifery final year – Grading ranges based on MORA level 4-6 descriptors . 8Table 6: MSc Midwifery (Pre-registration) and MSc Midwifery (Shortened) final year – Grading rangesbased on MORA level 7 descriptors 82

1. IntroductionThe Midwifery Ongoing Record of Achievement (MORA) has been designed by the MidwiferyPractice Assessment Collaboration (MPAC) in England and Northern Ireland to document theachievement of the skills within Domain 6 of the NMC Standards of proficiency for midwives(2019)1 as indicated in the accompanying MPAC MORA mapping document. The MPAC MORAis designed to enable some flexibly in how each Approved Education Institution utilises itwithin the midwifery programmes being offered. This context document provides the detailregarding local implementation in relation to university regulations and programmestructure/requirements.The University of Plymouth is seeking approval for three midwifery programmes which willrun concurrently: BSc (Hons) Midwifery – 3 years undergraduateMSc Midwifery (Pre-registration) – 3 years postgraduateMSc Midwifery (Shortened) – 2 years postgraduate for first level (adult) registered nursesAll three programmes will use the MORA devised specifically for these routes, which will betransferred to an electronic platform on ARC. The MORA will provide the documentation forongoing monitoring and assessment of achievement of the students’ holistic performance inpractice, against the NMC proficiencies.2. Expectation of proficiency completion for each year or part of theprogramme and flexibilities permitted by the programmeThe MPAC MORA does not indicate specific proficiencies that should be achieved for eachstage of the programme. This is in line with the NMC outcomes focused approach 1 andrecognises the local variation in programme structure and practice learning opportunities.However, to ensure that students are making sufficient progress towards meeting theproficiencies by the end of the programme, there are programme specific guidelines in place.Across the University of Plymouth midwifery programmes, common theory content will bedelivered in all modules, with additional tutorial opportunities for masters students. A ‘needsanalysis’ will be completed by all students at the start of their programme, taking into accounttheir previous experience, mapped against the NMC proficiencies. This will enable them toidentify specific skills and topics for wider study or experience. This approach will facilitatestudents on the MSc Midwifery (Shortened) programme, in particular, to draw ontransferable skills and address gaps to ensure achievement of both theoretical and practicalcomponents.Although progress towards the majority of the NMC proficiencies will be summativelyassessed at the end of every year, a few will only be assessed in year two (of the three-yearprogrammes) or year one (of the shortened programme), once the relevant theory has beenundertaken. Taking into account the varied opportunities across the South West footprint,and the individual student pathways, the midwifery team has decided to additionally delay1NMC (2019) Standards of proficiency for midwives. Available .pdf3

assessing selected proficiencies in Domain 6 until the final summative holistic assessmentpoint. The students will, however, have access to the full MORA throughout their programme,enabling them to work towards achieving all NMC proficiencies. The needs analysis will alsocontribute to this planning. If experience is gained prior to this point, students can documentevidence in their episodes of care, needs analysis or reflections. This will then be crossreferenced in the final year MORA proficiencies.Table 1 indicates specific NMC proficiencies which do not need to be achieved until therelevant stage of each programme. The point of assessment of progress is shown in greenfont for year 2 (three-year programmes)/ year 1 (shortened) and red font for achievementin the final year across all programmes. Shaded blocks indicate that assessment of progresstowards achievement in these sections takes place every year in all programmes.MORA atalNeonatalPromoting excellenceContinuity of careRelationship buildingInfant feedingCommunicationUniversal N3.5N3.6Public healthMedicinesadministrationP7.8P7.11Record keepingInterdisciplinaryworkingAdditional careN5.1N5.2N5.3A8.8A8.10 .20IP9.2IP9.3IP9.5IP9.6IP9.10Supervision tE3.1Responding tovulnerabilityE4.2Table 1: Expectation of proficiency completion for each year of the programme4

Ongoing support is provided to clinicians, through regular updates and face-to-face,telephone or digital communication. Practice assessors and academic assessors work closelytogether to monitor the students’ progress, and meet in person or virtually at assessmentpoints. Practice assessors and academic assessors have continued access to the student’selectronic MORA throughout the year. Both are therefore able to monitor practice supervisorevidence, the student’s learning plan and comments from others at any point, as well as atformal reviews. Any issues relating to achievement of the NMC proficiencies can therefore beidentified at an early stage, and addressed in a collaborative fashion through tripartitemeetings and setting of progression plans, as required.The University of Plymouth Academic Regulations require all components of modules to beassessed at the same academic level. The midwifery team determined that it is unrealistic forMSc Midwifery (Pre-registration) students to be assessed against the MORA descriptors forlevel 6 in their first year. Similarly, it is not appropriate to assess the MSc Midwifery(Shortened) students at level 7 in their first year, reflecting the approach in the nationalMORA for shortened programmes. Modules have therefore been developed to accommodatethe university requirements while ensuring that expectations of students are appropriate.Zero-credited modules in years one and two of the MSc Midwifery (Pre-registration)programme and year one of the MSc Midwifery (Shortened) programme have been created,comprising solely practice assessment of the NMC proficiencies for that stage of theprogramme, on a pass/ fail basis. These will complement the concurrent practice modules inwhich theory will be assessed and accrue credits at the appropriate academic level for thatstage. The practice module profile and accreditation is illustrated in table 2.ModulesYear 1Year 2Year 3ProfessionalMidwifery PracticeProfessionalMidwifery Practice- MORADevelopingMidwifery PracticeDevelopingMidwifery Practice- MORAAdvancingMidwifery PracticeBSc (Hons)MidwiferyLevel 4 theory andMORA (credits)N/AMSc Midwifery(Pre-registration)Level 6 theory(credits)Level 5 MORA(zero-credit)MSc Midwifery(Shortened)N/ALevel 5 theory andMORA (credits)N/ALevel 7 theory(credits)Level 6 MORA(zero-credit)Level 7 theory(credits)Level 6 MORA(zero-credit)Level 6 theory andMORA (credits)Level 7 theoryand MORA(credits)Level 7 theoryand MORA(credits)N/ATable 2: Practice module profile for all programmesMapping of these modules against the programme learning outcomes and NMC proficienciesis found in the appendices of the respective Programme Specification documents, andtheoretical content can be found in the Definitive Module Records (DMRs).5

3. Student progressionThe University of Plymouth ensures that a new practice assessor is allocated to students foreach year of the programme, promoting objectivity in assessment. The pattern ofmonitoring agreed by the MPAC steering group will be followed. Table 3 indicates the timingof these meetings, which will be common across all programmes. An initial meeting will takeplace between the student and their practice assessor, followed by two formal practiceassessor reviews. These will normally take place at the end of the first and secondplacement blocks, and be followed (or accompanied) by academic assessor reviews ofprogress. The practice assessor and academic assessor will regularly monitor progress byviewing the electronic MORA, and further interim reviews will be arranged as required. Thepractice assessor and academic assessor will collaborate in the summative holisticassessment at the end of each year, confirming whether the student is ready to progress tothe next stage or entry to the register, pending confirmation by the Award AssessmentBoard.Year or part ofprogrammeYear 1Initial meetingPracticeAssessorReview 1Within the first 2 weeks Towards theof the first placementend of the firstplacementYear 2Within the first 2 weeks Towards theof the first placementend of the firstplacementYear 3Within the first 2 weeks Towards theof the first placementend of the firstplacementAcademicassessorreviewEarly in the firstplacementAt the end ofthe firstplacementTable 3: Monitoring of student progression across all programmes6PracticeAssessorReview 2Towardsthe end ofthe secondplacementTowardsthe end ofthe secondplacementTowardsthe end ofthe secondplacementAt the endof thesecondplacementSummativeholisticassessmentMid to lateJuneMid to lateJuneMid to lateJuneMid to lateJune (inpartnershipwith thepracticeassessor)