Nurse Midwifery

The Nurse Midwifery (NM) specialty is designed to prepare clinically competent midwives who provide holistic primary health care across the lifespan. Clinical experiences throughout the two specialty years of the program provide experience in the midwifery model of care as a framework for high-quality health care. Relevant research and concepts from midwifery, nursing, medicine, and the sciences are studied to provide the evidence and rationale for clinical practice. Students are expected to examine their midwifery and nursing practice critically and to develop beginning skills in the evaluation of research methods and statistics. Leadership development is encouraged and supported.

Courses and clinical work focus on the independent management of health care needs, including perinatal, intrapartum, contraceptive, gynecological, and primary care of individuals, families, and the neonate across the lifespan. Students learn collaborative, interdisciplinary management of health complications. Clinical practice takes place within health care systems that provide for medical consultation, collaborative management, and referral in accord with the Standards for the Practice of Midwifery set by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), which can be found at http://midwife.org/Full-Practice-Authority. The curriculum meets the ACNM Core Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice. Elective and independent study courses offer opportunities for students to pursue individual educational and professional goals. Completion of the NM curriculum qualifies students for the national certification examination offered by the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB). For more information, visit their website at http://amcbmidwife.org.

Nurse Midwifery courses are only open to specialty students admitted to the NM specialty. Students from other specialties who are interested in taking a NM specialty course must consult with the specialty director.

The NM program of study is fully accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME), http://www.midwife.org/Accreditation; and by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, https://www.aacnnursing.org/CCNE.

Year One

Fall Term
NURS 6000	Advanced Health Assessment	3
NURS 6010	Advanced Pathophysiology	3
NURS 6020	Advanced Pharmacology	2
NURS 7020	Primary Care I A	1
NURS 7030	Primary Care I B	1
NURS 7200	Women’s Health I	1
NURS 7210	Women’s Health II	1
NURS 7220	Women’s Health I and II Clinical Preparation 1	1
NURS 7235	Childbearing Care I	1
Spring and Summer Terms
NURS 6040	Statistics and Research for Evidence-Based Practice Nursing	3
NURS 7040	Primary Care II	2
NURS 7230	Women’s Health III	1
NURS 7240	Women’s Health IV	1
NURS 7250	Women’s Health III and IV Clinical Conference 1	1
NURS 7260	Childbearing Care II	2
NURS 7270	Childbearing Care II Clinical Practice 1	3
NURS 7295	Women’s Health Outpatient Clinical Practice	3
NURS 7340	Midwifery and Women’s Health Pharmacology	1
NURS 7350	Mental Health Care Provision for the Midwife and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner	1

Year Two

Fall Term
NURS 6050	Transitions to Professional Practice	2
NURS 6060	Promoting Health in the Community	2
NURS 6070	Mental Health Management for Advanced Practice Nurses 2	2
NURS 7060	Primary Care IIIA	1
NURS 7280	Women’s Health V	2
NURS 7290	Women’s Health V Clinical Conference 1	1
NURS 7300	Childbearing Care III	2
NURS 7310	Childbearing Care III Clinical Practice 1	3
Spring and Summer Terms (if needed)
NURS 7320	Integration of Midwifery Care 1	6
NURS 7330	Integration of Women’s Health Care 1	6

1	Clinical courses may be taken in a different term depending on clinical site availability
2	NURS 6070 will be offered for the class of 2025 only and then will be discontinued. Subsequent years will transition to Mental Health for Midwives and Women's Health Nurse Practitioners offered in the first-year spring semester.

Nurse Midwifery/Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Dual Degree (Offered through class of 2026)

Students currently attending YSN may pursue the combined NM/WHNP program. WHNP students cannot make changes to their specialty selection once admitted into the program. Students admitted to the GEPN program as NM or dual NM/WHNP must declare their decision to pursue the dual NM/WHNP program prior to the start of the specialty years. Students who are accepted into the dual program will pay an additional dual specialty fee, split over four terms, beginning in the fall of the first specialty year (see the chapter Educational Expenses and Financial Aid). In addition, students will need to be enrolled in an extra term, usually but not always completed during the summer, in order to complete both specialties. Graduation in May of the second specialty year cannot be guaranteed. It will be influenced by the availability of clinical sites and student flexibility in clinical placements. NM/WHNP courses are only open to students enrolled in the dual specialty program. Students from other specialties who are interested in taking an NM/WHNP specialty course must consult with the specialty director.

Year One

Fall
NURS 6000	Advanced Health Assessment	3
NURS 6010	Advanced Pathophysiology	3
NURS 6020	Advanced Pharmacology	2
NURS 7020	Primary Care I A	1
NURS 7030	Primary Care I B	1
NURS 7200	Women’s Health I	1
NURS 7210	Women’s Health II	1
NURS 7220	Women’s Health I and II Clinical Preparation 1	1
NURS 7235	Childbearing Care I	1
Spring/Summer
NURS 6040	Statistics and Research for Evidence-Based Practice Nursing	3
NURS 7040	Primary Care II	2
NURS 7230	Women’s Health III	1
NURS 7240	Women’s Health IV	1
NURS 7250	Women’s Health III and IV Clinical Conference 1	1
NURS 7260	Childbearing Care II	2
NURS 7270	Childbearing Care II Clinical Practice 1	3
NURS 7340	Midwifery and Women’s Health Pharmacology	1
NURS 7335	Women’s Health Primary Care Clinical 1	2
NURS 7350	Mental Health Care Provision for the Midwife and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner	1

Year Two

Fall
NURS 6050	Transitions to Professional Practice	2
NURS 6060	Promoting Health in the Community	2
NURS 6070	Mental Health Management for Advanced Practice Nurses 2	2
NURS 7060	Primary Care IIIA	1
NURS 7280	Women’s Health V	2
NURS 7290	Women’s Health V Clinical Conference 1	1
NURS 7295	Women’s Health Outpatient Clinical Practice	3
NURS 7300	Childbearing Care III	2
NURS 7310	Childbearing Care III Clinical Practice 1	3
Spring/Summer
NURS 7320	Integration of Midwifery Care 1	6
NURS 7330	Integration of Women’s Health Care 1	6

1	Clinical courses may be taken in a different term depending on clinical site availability, or completed during academic breaks.
2	NURS 6070 will be offered for graduating class of 2025 only and then discontinued. Subsequent years will transition to Mental Health Care for Midwives and Women's Health Nurse Practitioners offered in the first-year spring semester.

Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Specialty

The Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP) specialty prepares students for the role of a patient-centered primary health care provider who focuses on gender-related health care needs. WHNP students are prepared to care for individuals from adolescence through their later life, with expertise in gynecology, prenatal care, and primary care. They are also prepared to provide sexual and reproductive-related health care to men and patients across gender identities. Relevant research and concepts from nursing, reproductive health, medicine, the sciences, and the humanities provide a base for classroom education and clinical practice. Clinical experiences include a variety of outpatient health care settings from community health centers to public and private reproductive health and primary care offices.

Students from other specialties who are interested in taking a WHNP specialty course must obtain faculty approval.

Completion of the WHNP curriculum qualifies students for the national certification examination offered by the National Certification Corporation (NCC).

Year One

Fall Term
NURS 6000	Advanced Health Assessment	3
NURS 6010	Advanced Pathophysiology	3
NURS 6020	Advanced Pharmacology	2
NURS 7020	Primary Care I A	1
NURS 7030	Primary Care I B	1
NURS 7200	Women’s Health I	1
NURS 7210	Women’s Health II	1
NURS 7220	Women’s Health I and II Clinical Preparation 1	1
Spring and Summer Terms (if needed)
NURS 6040	Statistics and Research for Evidence-Based Practice Nursing	3
NURS 7040	Primary Care II	2
NURS 7230	Women’s Health III	1
NURS 7240	Women’s Health IV	1
NURS 7250	Women’s Health III and IV Clinical Conference 1	1
NURS 7335	Women’s Health Primary Care Clinical 1	2
NURS 7340	Midwifery and Women’s Health Pharmacology	1
NURS 7350	Mental Health Care Provision for the Midwife and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner	1

Year Two

Fall Term
NURS 6050	Transitions to Professional Practice	2
NURS 6060	Promoting Health in the Community	2
NURS 6070	Mental Health Management for Advanced Practice Nurses	2
NURS 7060	Primary Care IIIA	1
NURS 7280	Women’s Health V	2
NURS 7290	Women’s Health V Clinical Conference 1	1
Spring and Summer Terms (if needed)
NURS 7330	Integration of Women’s Health Care 1	6

1	Clinical courses may be taken in a different term depending on clinical site availability or completed during academic breaks.
2	NURS 6070 will be offered for the class of 2025 only and then discontinued. Subsequent years will transition to Mental Health Care for Midwives and Women's Health Nurse Practitioners offered in the first-year spring semester.