Certified Nurse Midwife Education Requirements
Nurse midwives generally have at least five or six years of education and possess graduate degrees in nurse midwifery. They provide routine gynecological care and family planning services to women, provide prenatal and postpartum care and attend births. They must pass an exam offered by the American Midwifery Certification Board to become licensed to practice midwifery.
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Undergraduate Degree
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Certified nurse midwives must earn bachelors' degrees in the science of nursing (BSN) by attending an accredited college or university. Undergraduate nursing programs usually take four years to complete and include classroom study, laboratory work and clinical experience. After graduation, nurses take the NCLEX-RN exam to become registered nurses licensed to practice in their states. Licensure is required for entrance into a graduate degree program.
Graduate Degree
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After completing their undergraduate degrees, certified nurse midwives must earn graduate degrees in nurse midwifery. They must complete a program of education at a school accredited by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (see Resources section for a list of accredited schools). They study midwifery and women's health in depth and get plenty of hands-on experience attending births. Some nurse midwifery programs require incoming students to have a year or more of experience working in labor and delivery, but some do not require experience.
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Subjects Studied
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In undergraduate school, all nurses study anatomy and physiology, psychology, nutrition, the normal aging process, common illnesses and injuries, reproduction and medical ethics. They learn about different fields of nursing, including pediatrics, gerontology, emergency medicine, psychiatric nursing and maternity care. They get hands-on experience in these fields during their clinical classes. In graduate school, nurse midwives study women's health, pregnancy and prenatal care, childbirth, the postpartum period, newborn care and family planning.
Continuing Education
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All licensed nurses and nurse midwives must earn continuing education hours to maintain their licenses, although exact requirements vary from state to state. For instance, registered nurses in Iowa must earn at least 36 hours of continuing education every three years to renew their licenses, while registered nurses in Kentucky must earn 14 hours every year. Continuing education classes allow nurse midwives to keep abreast of new information and techniques in their field, and they give nurse midwives an opportunity to increase their knowledge about topics with which they are already familiar.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit birth image by jedphoto from Fotolia.com
