Assessment of Perinatal Mental Health and Wellbeing

2023/24 Part-time Postgraduate Short course and CPD

Faculty:

Faculty of Life and Health Sciences

School:

School of Nursing

Campus:

Belfast campus

Credit points:

30

Start dates:

24 September 2023

28 January 2024

Overview

This module will provide students with the skills to complete an assessment of the MH needs of pregnant women and new mothers.

Summary

NICE (2016) describe the assessment of PMH as a high priority area for quality improvement and outline guidance for the assessment of the MH of pregnant women and new mothers. This module will provide students with the skills to complete an assessment of the MH needs of pregnant women and new mothers.

During pregnancy and in the year after birth, women can be affected by a number of mental health (MH) problems. These can range from mild to moderate conditions such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and adjustment reactions, to more severe conditions such as bipolar affective disorder (BPAD), schizophrenia and puerperal psychosis. Conditions such as these often develop suddenly and require different kinds of care or treatment and they are collectively referred to as "perinatal mental illnesses". the incidence of many MH disorders per se does not change during the perinatal period and thereby, pregnant women and new mothers have the same level of risk as other adults. What is particularly different however, is that the effects of these illnesses are likely to be more significant at this critical period in a women's life and for certain serious mental illnesses, such as puerperal psychosis, severe depressive illness, schizophrenia and bipolar illness, the risk of developing or experiencing a recurrence of the illness does increase after childbirth. Joint Commissionning Panel for Mental Health (2012) - Guidance for Commissioners of Perinatal Mental Health Services.

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About this course

About

This module has a twofold aim that will enable midwives to:

* Assess the MH status of childbearing wormen and refer appropriately to specialist services

* Work within the multiagency context to ensure efficient, effective and safe management of women who have an identified MH need during pregnancy and the early postnatal period

Assessment

100% Coursework

Attendance

Module runs over a 12 week period in total. Mode of Attendance can vary between modules ie weekly, block teaching or alternate weekly teaching. Please contact the individual Module Co-ordinator for details.

All students are expected to attend all classes associated with the programme and be punctual and regular in attendance (where applicable). Attendance will be monitored at the University and Employers are informed of all absences.

Entry requirements

  • Satisfy the University’s general entry requirements as set out in the prospectus or demonstrate their ability to undertake the course through the accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL). https://www.ulster.ac.uk/apply/entrance-requirements
  • Hold a degree in Nursing or equivalent or demonstrate their ability to undertake the course through the accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL).
  • Hold current registration with the NMC and have completed a period of experience as a registered nurse to have consolidated pre-registration outcomes.
  • English language requirements for international applicants. Please contact module co-ordinator.

Start dates

  • 24 September 2023
  • 28 January 2024

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

Teaching, learning and assessment

The content for each course is summarised on the relevant course page, along with an overview of the modules that make up the course.

Each course is approved by the University and meets the expectations of:

Attendance and Independent Study

As part of your course induction, you will be provided with details of the organisation and management of the course, including attendance and assessment requirements - usually in the form of a timetable. For full-time courses, the precise timetable for each semester is not confirmed until close to the start date and may be subject to some change in the early weeks as all courses settle into their planned patterns. For part-time courses which require attendance on particular days and times, an expectation of the days and periods of attendance will be included in the letter of offer. A course handbook is also made available.

Courses comprise modules for which the notional effort involved is indicated by its credit rating. Each credit point represents 10 hours of student effort. Undergraduate courses typically contain 10, 20, or 40 credit modules (more usually 20) and postgraduate courses typically 15 or 30 credit modules.

The normal study load expectation for an undergraduate full-time course of study in the standard academic year is 120 credit points. This amounts to around 36-42 hours of expected teaching and learning per week, inclusive of attendance requirements for lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical work, fieldwork or other scheduled classes, private study, and assessment. Teaching and learning activities will be in-person and/or online depending on the nature of the course. Part-time study load is the same as full-time pro-rata, with each credit point representing 10 hours of student effort.

Postgraduate Master’s courses typically comprise 180 credits, taken in three semesters when studied full-time. A Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) comprises 60 credits and can usually be completed on a part-time basis in one year. A 120-credit Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) can usually be completed on a part-time basis in two years.

Class contact times vary by course and type of module. Typically, for a module predominantly delivered through lectures you can expect at least 3 contact hours per week (lectures/seminars/tutorials). Laboratory classes often require a greater intensity of attendance in blocks. Some modules may combine lecture and laboratory. The precise model will depend on the course you apply for and may be subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. Prospective students will be consulted about any significant changes.

Assessment

Assessment methods vary and are defined explicitly in each module. Assessment can be a combination of examination and coursework but may also be only one of these methods. Assessment is designed to assess your achievement of the module’s stated learning outcomes.  You can expect to receive timely feedback on all coursework assessments. This feedback may be issued individually and/or issued to the group and you will be encouraged to act on this feedback for your own development.

Coursework can take many forms, for example: essay, report, seminar paper, test, presentation, dissertation, design, artefacts, portfolio, journal, group work. The precise form and combination of assessment will depend on the course you apply for and the module. Details will be made available in advance through induction, the course handbook, the module specification, the assessment timetable and the assessment brief. The details are subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. You will be consulted about any significant changes.

Normally, a module will have 4 learning outcomes, and no more than 2 items of assessment. An item of assessment can comprise more than one task. The notional workload and the equivalence across types of assessment is standardised. The module pass mark for undergraduate courses is 40%. The module pass mark for postgraduate courses is 50%.

Calculation of the Final Award

The class of Honours awarded in Bachelor’s degrees is usually determined by calculation of an aggregate mark based on performance across the modules at Levels 5 and 6, (which correspond to the second and third year of full-time attendance).

Level 6 modules contribute 70% of the aggregate mark and Level 5 contributes 30% to the calculation of the class of the award. Classification of integrated Master’s degrees with Honours include a Level 7 component. The calculation in this case is: 50% Level 7, 30% Level 6, 20% Level 5. At least half the Level 5 modules must be studied at the University for Level 5 to be included in the calculation of the class.

All other qualifications have an overall grade determined by results in modules from the final level of study. In Master’s degrees of more than 200 credit points the final 120 points usually determine the overall grading.

Figures correct for academic year 2022-2023.

Academic profile

The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 60% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.

Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (19%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (22%) or Lecturers (57%).

We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic and learning support staff (85%) are recognised as fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) by Advance HE - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.

The profiles of many academic staff can be found on the University’s departmental websites and give a detailed insight into the range of staffing and expertise.  The precise staffing for a course will depend on the department(s) involved and the availability and management of staff.  This is subject to change annually and is confirmed in the timetable issued at the start of the course.

Occasionally, teaching may be supplemented by suitably qualified part-time staff (usually qualified researchers) and specialist guest lecturers. In these cases, all staff are inducted, mostly through our staff development programme ‘First Steps to Teaching’. In some cases, usually for provision in one of our out-centres, Recognised University Teachers are involved, supported by the University in suitable professional development for teaching.

Figures correct for academic year 2022-2023.

Belfast campus

Accommodation

High quality apartment living in Belfast city centre adjacent to the university campus.

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Student Wellbeing

At Student Wellbeing we provide many services to help students through their time at Ulster University.

Find out more - information about student wellbeing (Opens in a new window)  

Apply

Start dates

  • 24 September 2023
  • 28 January 2024

Fees and funding

Prices

Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and EU Settlements Status Fees: £1,119.90

Fees information

For a 30 Credit Point Postgraduate Module the fee for 2023/24 is £1,119.90

Fees are correct at the time of publishing https://www.ulster.ac.uk/finance/student/tuition-fees-rates​

Additional mandatory costs

It is important to remember that costs associated with accommodation, travel (including car parking charges) and normal living will need to be covered in addition to tuition fees.

Where a course has additional mandatory expenses (in addition to tuition fees) we make every effort to highlight them above. We aim to provide students with the learning materials needed to support their studies. Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. Computer suites and free Wi-Fi are also available on each of the campuses.

There are additional fees for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.

Students choosing a period of paid work placement or study abroad as a part of their course should be aware that there may be additional travel and living costs, as well as tuition fees.

See the tuition fees on our student guide for most up to date costs.

Contact

CONTACT MODULE CO-ORDINATOR:

Mr Victor Robinson

E: v.robinson@ulster.ac.uk

T: +44 (0)28 90366451

For more information visit

Disclaimer

  1. Although reasonable steps are taken to provide the programmes and services described, the University cannot guarantee the provision of any course or facility and the University may make variations to the contents or methods of delivery of courses, discontinue, merge or combine courses and introduce new courses if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Such circumstances include (but are not limited to) industrial action, lack of demand, departure of key staff, changes in legislation or government policy including changes, if any, resulting from the UK departing the European Union, withdrawal or reduction of funding or other circumstances beyond the University’s reasonable control.
  1. If the University discontinues any courses, it will use its best endeavours to provide a suitable alternative course. In addition, courses may change during the course of study and in such circumstances the University will normally undertake a consultation process prior to any such changes being introduced and seek to ensure that no student is unreasonably prejudiced as a consequence of any such change.
  1. The University does not accept responsibility (other than through the negligence of the University, its staff or agents), for the consequences of any modification or cancellation of any course, or part of a course, offered by the University but will take into consideration the effects on individual students and seek to minimise the impact of such effects where reasonably practicable.
  1. The University cannot accept any liability for disruption to its provision of educational or other services caused by circumstances beyond its control, but the University will take all reasonable steps to minimise the resultant disruption to such services.