Leading & Managing Change in Midwifery - HEA00156H

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  • Department: Health Sciences
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: H
  • Academic year of delivery: 2025-26
    • See module specification for other years: 2024-25

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 2 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
Critically evaluate leadership agendas and approaches within contemporary midwifery, maternity and
health care, recognising professional, organisational and policy influences.
Promote a systematic understanding and critical exploration of change management and quality
improvement methodologies within midwifery, maternity and health care.
Advance effective communication and presentation skills to confidently address a professional
audience.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate critical evaluation of care provision agendas and leadership approaches within
contemporary midwifery, maternity and health care, recognising professional, organisational and policy
needs and influences.
2. Critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, abstract concepts and data (that may be incomplete) to
make judgements and frame appropriate questions which advance quality improvement in
contemporary midwifery and maternity care.
3. Manage own learning and systematically apply quality improvement methodologies to contemporary
midwifery and maternity care.

Module content

Content includes: change management theory and methodologies; quality improvement methodologies; team
reflection activities to promote improvements in practice and service; collaboration skills to implement &
evaluate evidence-informed change at individual, group, and service level; sustainability agendas within
healthcare and midwifery; effective presentation skills - development and delivery. Themes within UNICEF UK
Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) University Standards mapped to this module to encompass the nature of leading
change in maternity services.
Please see detailed mapping of the module to NMC (2019) Standards of Proficiency for Midwives for the
programme.

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Departmental - aural assessment 100

Special assessment rules

Non-compensatable

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Departmental - aural assessment 100

Module feedback

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

Indicative reading


Cameron, E. and Green, M. (2019). Making sense of change management: a complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organisational change. (5th ed). London: Kogan Page.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority/NHS in Greater Manchester. (2019). Greater Manchester Quality Improvement Framework. [Online]. Available from:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/north-west/wpcontent/uploads/sites/48/2019/03/Quality-Improvement-Framework.pdf [Accessed 11 March 2022].


Hayes, J. (2014). The theory and practice of change management. (4th ed). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

McGowan, J. et al. (2023). Quality and reporting of large-scale improvement programmes: a review of maternity initiatives in the English NHS, 2010–2023. BMJ quality & safety. 33 (11), 704–715. Available at: doi:10.1136/bmjqs-2023-016606.

NHS England and NHS improvement. (2020). Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service. [Online] Available
at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/greenernhs/wpcontent/uploads/sites/51/2020/10/delivering-a-net-zero-national-health-service.pdf [Accessed 11 March 2022].


NHS. (2022). Greener NHS. [Online] Available from: https://www.england.nhs.uk/greenernhs/ [Accessed 11March 2022].

Pezaro, S. et al. (2024). Characteristics of strong midwifery leaders and enablers of strong midwifery leadership: An international appreciative inquiry. Midwifery. 132. Available at: doi:10.1016/j.midw.2024.103982.

The Health Foundation. (2021). Quality improvement made simple. [Online]. Available from: https://www.health.org.uk/publications/quality-improvement-made-simple [Accessed 11 March 2022].

THIS.Institute. (2020). Replicating and scaling a successful maternity safety improvement programme. [Online]. Available from:
https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/research-projects/replicating-scaling-successful-maternity-safety-improvement-programme/ [Accessed 11 March 2022].

thiscovery. (2022). This is a new way of doing research. [Online]. Available from:
https://www.thiscovery.org/about/ [Accessed 11 March 2022].


University of York. (2022). A practical guide to presentations. [Online]. Available at:
https://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/presentations [Accessed 11 March 2022].