I'm thinking if going the CPM route...

[smallwonders07]

Hello everyone. I know there are some CPM's on the board so hopefully people can help me w/ questions. I have alot!

-What are some good midwifery schools?

-Is it better to go to a community college like Miami Dade, or are the smaller, free standing midwifery schools just as good?

-Is the midwifery part of most nurse-midwifery programs very similar to free standing midwifery school curriculums? (I am interested in learning about herbs and prenatal yoga and things of this nature and don't know if nursing programs teach this).

-Is distance learning effective? How do you do your clinicals?

Sorry for all the questions. I can't find a good, active midwifery forum. All nurses is always helpful so hope I get some responses.

[AOX4RN, MSN, RN, NP]

-What are some good midwifery schools?

-Is it better to go to a community college like Miami Dade, or are the smaller, free standing midwifery schools just as good?

Personally I would not go to a school that was not MEAC accredited. You can go to this website to see what schools have the designation. The reason I would not is MEAC schools are in sync with NARM (educational requirements) and MANA (core competencies). All other programs aren't guaranteed to prepare you properly for the NARM exam and more importantly, they may not be accepted for educational requirements for a license to practice.

-Is the midwifery part of most nurse-midwifery programs very similar to free standing midwifery school curriculums? (I am interested in learning about herbs and prenatal yoga and things of this nature and don't know if nursing programs teach this).

No, it's nothing like it. A nurse-midwifery program prepares you to be a integral part of the medical system, a primary health care provider for women throughout their life-cycle from low to high risk in all settings, a direct-entry program does not. My preceptor for DEM/CPM school was a Frontier grad and she learned traditional pharm and a lot of alternative options. I don't know any program that offers a yoga component and don't know why they would as it isn't relevant to NARM examination or skills testing.

-Is distance learning effective? How do you do your clinicals?

Distance learning effectiveness is a YMMV sort of thing. If you're good at self-study, you'll be good at that (so if you're a nurse or in nursing school, Frontier would be a great choice).

Good luck... why do you want to do this? Are you prepared to be a politician? To encounter resistance within your medical community? As a CNM you can scale back your practice to that of CPM "style" (low-tech, crunchy) but if you're a CPM you can't invoke the practices of a CNM because you won't have the education or the legal authority.