DMid Midwifery

The Midwifery Doctorate programme meets the needs of professionalseducationalists wishing to attain the highest level of professional and academic achievement. The programme of taught modules combined with the research component allows students to undertake study and research that is clearly relevant to their professional practice, will support them to contribute to professional knowledge in their field of practice and will enable their career development. A professional doctorate provides a rigorous programme of advanced study and research, equally rigorous to the purely research orientated PhD. The taught modules which occupy the first two years of the programme, provide opportunities to develop students’ skills and knowledge in key areas to facilitate career development, whilst the research component allows for development of skills in critical appraisal and the ability to develop the rationale, methodology and methods for research studies. The modules also allow development of other transferable skills such as project management, problem solving, information management and academic writing. The Midwifery Doctorate utilizes the expertise of the academic team across the whole of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences as well as experts from the clinical field to support the student’s development, research and scholarship; many of whom may be nationally and internationally renowned researchers in their own field. Learning outcomesEvaluate and reflect on the core skills that are required for effective communication at an interpersonal and organizational level.Critically assimilate the current political challenges in health and social care and the role that culture, power and politics plays when communicating with organizations in this context.Critically analyse and appraise the key elements of productive team working, including effective management of workforce conflicts, and how these can inform planned change processes.Identify and apply strategies for implementing a change process and for networking across boundaries to build relationships and share information, plans and resources.Critically reflect on the key characteristics and skills of an effective leader and how these can be used to implement change in the workplace.Demonstrate a critical awareness of the principles of research and evaluation.Critically evaluate the research evidence base to inform the development of practice basedprofessional research questions.Develop an appreciation and knowledge base of quantitative and qualitative paradigms, methodologies and methods and their application to practice basedprofessional researchCritically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a range of research methodologies and methodsAnalyse and reflect on the knowledge of the research process and methodologies and how these relate to own proposed research, providing a rationale and justification for choices made.Compose and critically debate a justified rationale for the research philosophy underpinning the project.Discriminate between and justify different research methodologies and methods underpinning the research project.Select and critically discuss the relevant data analysis methods for the proposed project.Develop a research proposal for the pilot study that demonstrates the ability to critically and analytically conceptualize the design of the research project. International students can't study part time at Keele. They are only eligible for full time study.