Family Nurse Midwife Program

Parent-Child Nursing Master's

 

Family Nurse Midwife

 

The Family Nurse Midwife curriculum combines the Family Nurse Practitioner and the Certified Nurse Midwife tracks, allowing students to sit for certification exams in both of these areas upon program completion. The program is based on an understanding of health sciences theory and clinical preparation that shapes knowledge, judgment, and skills necessary to provide primary health care to individuals across the lifespan, including during pregnancy and childbirth and from infancy to old age. With a strong emphasis on health promotion, our program focuses on the development of healthy behaviors as they pertain to diverse groups at different developmental stages.

The primary benefit of the Family Nurse Midwife dual program is that it broadens the scope of practice beyond that of a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) or a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) alone. The program combines the core strengths of the FNP and CNM programs to prepare culturally competent practitioners who provide the full range of primary care across all stages in an person’s life. This includes women’s healthcare such as pregnancy, childbirth, the post partum period, care of the newborn, and the family planning and gynecologic needs of women as well as caring for the rest of the family members through the provision of well care to children and adults and the diagnosis and management of common acute and chronic health problems. Because of the comprehensive scope of the program, Family Nurse Midwives often practice in rural or international locations where access to medical and healthcare resources may be limited.

The faculty who teach in the Family Nurse Midwife program are not only excellent instructors and researchers, but also expert clinicians who maintain active practices at prestigious institutions such as the University of Michigan Health System – a premier health care organization- as well as in international settings. In addition to their teaching, research, and practice, our faculty are actively involved in leadership roles in national organizations, using their expertise to help shape and advance the future of FNP and CNM care and education.

 

The School of Nursing provides diverse clinical placement experiences that expose students to the entire spectrum of care. Depending on their interests and strengths, students have learned in practices that allow for high touch, low tech care (e.g. low risk home births) as well as in hospitals for high volume, high risk births. They’ve been placed with School of Nursing faculty who practice at school-based clinics, shelters, and community facilities (e.g. Michelle Pardee at Ozone House, Dr. Cynthia Darling-Fisher at RAHS school centers). Others have worked in fast paced specialty clinics affiliated with major hospital systems (e.g. Taylor Teen Clinic) and still others have worked with Dr. Kathleen Moriarty who launched the nation’s first complementary and integrative therapies clinic for pregnancy and reproductive women’s health within the School of Nursing’s nurse managed centers. In addition to this formal placement experience, students have the opportunity to engage in more general health promotion by participating in community health fairs, health education, and local and state politics involving nurse practitioners.

 

Women and children are the most vulnerable populations in global health, making the family nurse midwife program a logical fit for students interested in using their skills globally. The School of Nursing is a designated World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center and many of our FNP and CNM faculty are actively engaged in international settings, a fact that creates unique opportunity for master’s students to complete their clinical experiences outside of the United States. Past opportunities have included Liberia, Netherlands, Ghana, Taiwan, Honduras, Guatemala, and New Zealand just to name a few.

The University of Michigan School of Nursing Family Nurse Midwife program meets and exceeds the Core Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice as outlined by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) as well as the Core Competencies for Family Nurse Practitioners outlined by the National Organization for Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF).

 

The process of education at the University of Michigan School of Nursing begins with a solid foundation in primary care. The curriculum then builds to include pregnancy care, childbirth, and newborn care. Clinical experience is integral throughout the program, with a range of opportunities available to students for the intensive clinical experience including global settings. Ultimately, the program focuses on training advacned practice nurses who can provide care across the lifespan while also providing the higest quality midwifery care to women and their newborns.

Family Nurse Midwives are in demand. Family Nurse Midwives’ skills combine women’s health care and primary family health care across the lifespan. Because of this, they are ideally trained to care for whole communities in urban, rural, or international locations where their expertise can support increased access to health promotion and provide added healthcare options that might otherwise be severely limited.

 

Family Nurse Midwives can practice in a number of settings (e.g. birth centers, hospitals, private or public clinics) and apply their training to multiple ends (e.g. teaching, advocacy, research, public education). As well as being in demand locally, the skills Family Nurse Midwives use are globally recognized, meaning Family Nurse Midwives can work almost anywhere in the world.

 

In addition to the practical benefits, a huge amount of personal satisfaction and respect comes from making a difference in the health and well being of a family. Family Nurse Midwives can empower women to take more active roles in making decisions about their healthcare and lifestyle habits and help entire families make smarter, healthier decisions, reducing their risk of health complications later.

 

Ultimately, Family Nurse Midwifery is a dynamic practice. Family Nurse Midwives learn the art of midwifery that often reduces the need for high-tech interventions and the health promotion skills that can prevent illness and lead to simpler medical treatment. However, they are also highly skilled practitioners trained to make the latest in safe scientific procedures available to their patients. No day is ever the same. Each patient’s needs are different and Family Nurse Midwives use a range of skills to provide them with the best level of care.

Listed below is the basic plan of study and required courses for the Family Nurse Midwifery Program. The School of Nursing is committed to working with students to help them balance the demands of graduate education with their other personal and professional commitments.  As such, students can select from full-time and part-time program plans.