Frontier Midwifery School

BETSRN · Mar 1, 2005

Has anyone ever attended this school or know of anyone who has. What kind of reputation does it have? After reading their website I was very interested in their "community focus" and combined CNM/WHNP program. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

EXCELLENT school!! We have had several students from there and a couple of our long-standing CNM's went to school there and loved it! It is connected with Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland which is also an excellent university. I would highly recommend it, also because to go there you have to have already had nursing experience. That, in my book, is very important.

I hope you go!

joyrochelle · Mar 1, 2005

Allo there-- Good news actually too, that is a new development. they have now been awarded accredidation to award a MSN upon completion...no longer require to finish up at Case Western. Wohoo!!!

HaleyH2 · Mar 1, 2005

A WONDERFUL program. I have a friend who went there. She had no nursing experience except for nursing school (and we all know how much you learn in school :chuckle ) She turned into a fabulous midwife (she delivered my first baby at home). She told me she was glad she didn't have very much real world experience in nursing because many of the people in the program were stuck in the "nurse" role. Midwifery is a totally different animal. Anyway, just my two cents.

Khadijah2 · Mar 2, 2005

A WONDERFUL program. I have a friend who went there. She had no nursing experience except for nursing school (and we all know how much you learn in school :chuckle ) She turned into a fabulous midwife (she delivered my first baby at home). She told me she was glad she didn't have very much real world experience in nursing because many of the people in the program were stuck in the "nurse" role. Midwifery is a totally different animal. Anyway, just my two cents.

Wow! This is great. I am hearing so many good things about this school. They will definitely be at the top of my list. Thanks for responding everyone:)

SmilingBluEyes · Mar 2, 2005

A WONDERFUL program. I have a friend who went there. She had no nursing experience except for nursing school (and we all know how much you learn in school :chuckle ) She turned into a fabulous midwife (she delivered my first baby at home). She told me she was glad she didn't have very much real world experience in nursing because many of the people in the program were stuck in the "nurse" role. Midwifery is a totally different animal. Anyway, just my two cents.

Well perhaps, but CNMs, at least, ARE nurses first and always. Being "stuck" in nurse mode is not always a bad thing,either.

ayndim · Mar 3, 2005

Allo there-- Good news actually too, that is a new development. they have now been awarded accredidation to award a MSN upon completion...no longer require to finish up at Case Western. Wohoo!!!

Is the master's now regionally accreditated? I would love to go there and not have to go for 3 weeks to Case. This is the school that is at he top of my list. Love the fact that is community based. Just like in days gone by.

AlaskaKat · Apr 6, 2005

Does anyone know how hard it is to get in? Someone told me there was a waiting list and that I should apply now if I want to go in the next few years even if I don't quite have all my ducks in a row yet. Any ideas?

SmilingBluEyes · Apr 6, 2005

perhaps a good idea is to contact the school itself , alaska. I wish you luck and success on your way to becoming a midwife.

SmilingBluEyes · Apr 6, 2005

Here is their website for anyone interested:

http://www.midwives.org/Default.htm

FrumDoula · Apr 6, 2005

Well perhaps, but CNMs, at least, ARE nurses first and always. Being "stuck" in nurse mode is not always a bad thing,either.

It does not necessarily make for a better midwife, though. And doula studies found that it was actually preferable to NOT have a medically trained doula attend a woman. (Though we admittedly have no medical role in birth.)

I think that much of nursing and medicine, particularly when it comes to birth, is so fear based, that nurse-midwives have to divest themselves of this mindset in order to be at their optimum for the women they serve. CPM's and lay midwives, not having had the medical training, are less likely to approach birth with trepidation.

Now before everyone goes telling me about the CNM who is so granola that she crunches as she walks down the hall, and the lay midwife who acts like a mini-OB, I want to clarify that I'm speaking in generalities about the philosophical underpinings of nurse versus lay midwifery.

Interestingly, in studies done on outcomes of CNM's vs CPM's, it seems that having a nursing degree does not necessarily grant you more favorable results, just like having a medical degree doesn't get you healthier mothers and babies.

So while it's fine that those CNM's are nurses first, it might actually be more of a hindrance and less of a help at times. And depending on where the CNM is trained, and how controlling the OB department was in setting the tone of her training, as well as her personal bent on childbirth, CNM's are sometimes little more than obstetric handmaidens, sadly.

On Frontier - I've heard nothing but fantastic things about this program, particularly because you spend time not only learning the midwifery side, but the business side of things as well.

Alison

SmilingBluEyes · Apr 6, 2005

I think, Alison, we need to be careful with our verbage here. No one is "always" or "never" something. Please re-read my post. I said it's not ALWAYS bad to be "stuck in nurse mode" as a CNM.There are things we do and learn as nurses that are invaluable to midwifery practice. That is a fact. All the CNM's I have had the good fortune to work with were nurses first and very, very respectful of the family's choices and needs regarding their birthing experiences. They were VERY low intervention people, as well, doing tub births, very intermittent doppler monitoring, aroma/music therapies and other NON-medical skills served as staples of their "midwifery toolkits".

That so many people (including midwives) are against the medical model of childbirthing, I can very well understand.

But remember, we nurses DO possess skills that transcend machines, epidurals and monitors, ok? Our experiences can be invaluable and do count for a lot. Unless you are already a nurse, I can see where you may not understand this. But it bears repeating: Somethings need NOT be forgotten or lost as a person moves from bedside RN to CNM. It's NOT a bad thing to be a nurse first. We do learn about more than machines and monitors. We do care for PEOPLE first.

It may not be bad not to already be an RN, either. But I do think bedside experience cannot possibly hurt in CNM practice. Not having experience may be fine-----I am willing to allow it would depend on the INDIVIDUAL and his/her ambition and personal beliefs about birthing. Those are just as important as bedside experience for ANY practicioner. The learning curve will certainly be steep, but not insurmountable.