Understanding Vaccines for Midwives-Vaccination requirements during pregnancy and early childhood

Understanding Vaccines for Midwives-Vaccination requirements during pregnancy and early childhood aims to equip midwives with knowledge and skills to feel confident to engage with women and their families on the topic of vaccines and vaccination. The course is an introduction to immunisation and key vaccines and topics relevant to midwives, and aims to assist midwives to deliver a safe and effective immunisation service by:

  • introducing the learner to information on the theoretical and practical components of immunisation
  • guiding the learner to utilise the relevant resources that support best practice when delivering an immunisation service, and
  • assisting the learner to assess their understanding of the relevant information.

This program has been developed by immunisation and education experts from the Communicable Disease Control Branch (CDCB), Department for Health and Wellbeing, South Australia, WA Health and the Education and Training Department of the Women and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia.

Register now for Understanding Vaccines for Midwives-vaccination requirements during pregnancy and early childhood.

Certificate awarded

Health professionals who successfully complete and meet all course requirements will be awarded a Certificate of Completion.

Accreditation and continuing professional development

Understanding Vaccines for Midwives - Vaccination requirements during pregnancy and early childhood is an Australian College of Midwives CPD Recognised Activity and has been allocated 20 CPD hours.

On completion of the course, all learners will be able to print a Record of Study that can be used to assist with claiming Continuing Professional Development.

Registration requirements

To register, you must provide your full name, email address, a password and state or territory of residence. If provided, your AHPRA number will be recorded on your Certificate of Completion.

Course requirements

The course requires access to the internet and a current browser. It is recommended to use the most recent version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge of Internet Explorer 10 and above. The course can be accessed via desktop, laptop or mobile devices.

The program must be completed within a period of 20 weeks from the date of purchase.

Course assessments

Multiple-choice assessments are included throughout the two modules and there is one exam. Learners are allowed two attempts at each assessment question and need to achieve 80% correct for the module assessment to move on to the next module or the exam. At the conclusion of Module 2, there is a short exam and 80% must be achieved within two attempts, to successfully complete the course. 

Clinical assessment

A clinical assessment is not required to successfully complete this program.

Depending on skills and experience, many registered nurses and other health practitioners may already have the necessary skills, knowledge and abilities that underpin clinical performance applicable to providing an immunisation service.

For those new to immunisation and those who feel they require further development of clinical competency are strongly encouraged to arrange clinical supervision from an experienced immuniser and this should be followed by a clinical competency assessment. For more information please see the Clinical Competency Assessment Guide (PDF 266KB).

Cost

The course cost is $125 (inc GST). Secure payment is made by credit card online through BPOINT. This is linked to the registration process. If purchasing access on behalf of multiple users (three or more), a request to pay via invoice can be made.

Course content

Module 1

This module discusses immunity through vaccination and introduces The National Immunisation Program, the childhood vaccination schedule, the routinely recommended vaccines in pregnancy, vaccine preventable diseases and the vaccines administered to provide protection against these diseases. Topics include:

  • Importance of midwives
  • Why we immunise
  • Basic microbiology
  • The immune system
  • National Immunisation Program
  • Vaccine preventable diseases
  • Vaccination in pregnancy

Module 2

This module provides information to assist a midwife in the role of confidently discussing vaccines and the immunisation recommendations with pregnant women, and the requirements to deliver a safe and effective immunisation service.  Topics include:

  • Legislation
  • Informing individuals
  • Vaccine safety
  • Adverse Event Following Immunisation
  • Adverse reactions
  • Vaccine distribution and cold chain management
  • Delivering an immunisation service

Frequently asked questions

Why is this course needed?

There is a growing need for health professionals providing immunisation services to have ready access to comprehensive and affordable education to maintain the level of knowledge, skills and professionalism required to deliver a safe immunisation service. The increase in the provision of midwives providing vaccination programs has led to the development of this online education program.

Who should do this course?

Any midwife involved in the discussion or delivery of vaccination programs will benefit from this course.

Is there support available during the course?

Clinical support about the content of the course is available by phone Monday to Friday 8.30 am to 5.00 pm (Australian Central Standard Time) from a team of immunisation nurse experts. Emails can be sent anytime and a response will be provided by the next business day.

Technical support is available through an online help-desk. You can submit a request 24/7 however the technical experts at Digital Media are only able to respond Monday to Friday 9.00 am to 5.00 pm (Australian Central Standard Time).

Are resources provided?

All resources required throughout the course are provided electronically.