Nurse Midwifery Programs
Nurse Midwife Programs also called nurse midwifery programs most often are offered as a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree, with a focus on nurse midwifery and women’s healthcare. If becoming a nurse midwife is your career goal, then you need to look into these master’s level programs as well as complete the necessary requirements for entry to master’s level nurse midwife programs. Nurse midwife programs usually require two to three years of study and clinical training. Some certified nurse midwife programs (CNM) programs most often take two years to complete if you enter as a registered nurse (RN). There are also nurse midwife schools that offer a three-year, combination degree that blends an RN degree and master’s degree for applicants who have a bachelor’s degree in another field but are not nurses. For candidates who already hold a master’s degree in nursing, there is also the option of completing a two-year or shorter nurse midwife program, which leads to a post-master’s certificate in nurse-midwifery and/or women’s health nurse practitioner. This all depends on your current experience and educational level.
Earning the nurse midwife credential will prepare you to care for women’s health at many levels and life phases. Not only can you deliver babies and provide gynecological care, but you can care for women and their babies during pregnancy and postpartum, and can also provide general well care for women, giving annual exams, pap spears, and breast exams. Earning this degree qualifies you to eventually become a professor, administrator, or director of nurse midwifery. Most nurse midwife programs follow the guidelines of the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM). Nurse midwife core curriculum covers many areas, all related to women’s health. Some of the nurse midwife training topics are clinical pharmacology, advanced health assessment, nurse-midwifery management of pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period, assessment of psychiatric symptoms, disease prevention and health promotion, and well women care and newborn care. Theory and research courses also compose part of the nurse midwife student’s two-year program. The programs usually require a scholarly paper before graduation, and clinical residencies in well women’s health, newborn care, and women’s antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum care.
Most MS in Nurse Midwifery Programs require of their applicants a bachelor’s degree, as well as a current nursing license and some experience working as a registered nurse. Like many master’s programs, an entrance exam is also required as part of the application process. The General Record Examination General Test (GRE) or the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) is required, along with transcripts, an interview, a writing sample, and certain GPA requirements at many nurse midwife schools.
Certified nurse midwife programs will help prepare you for your certification exam, which is offered by the American Midwifery Certification Board. This exam is computer based, and keeps your certification valid for eight years, at which point you will need to recertify. Passing the nurse midwife certification exam makes you a certified nurse midwife (CNM) entitled to use the title CNM.
Online Nurse Midwifery Programs
An important consideration when choosing a nurse midwife school is that nurse midwife programs should be accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and by the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACME-ACNM). It is possible to earn these degrees using distance learning technology online, which can be an obvious advantage and convenience for those nurses currently employed. Online nurse midwife programs will require some campus visits as well as clinical practicums. The practicums are often completed in the student’s community or local geography. Explore the schools below to learn more about their accredited certified nurse midwife programs.