MountainHeather

To LookingAhead: In response to your question, yes reproductive choices (including abortion) get a fair amount of discussion in our program and among my classmates. We have also discussed the issue in some of our classes of having CNMs, NPs, and PAs be first trimester abortion providers. If it were possible in California, I'm sure there are many of us Master's nursing students who would like to learn how to do aspiration abortions. As it is now, only those CNMs, NPs, and PAs who are enrolled in the ANSIRH study can be trained and perform aspiration abortions. So, if legislature wasn't holding us back, yes there would be a lot of interest on behalf of the students to learn aspiration abortions while in school. What we are allowed to do right now as Nurse-midwifery students is learn how to do laminaria insertions to dilate the cervix. That is as much as we can do besides medical abortions. Yes, lots and lots of interest in expanding the scope of practice for CNMs, NPs, and PAs to do aspiration abortions.

I am a Nurse-midwifery student at UCSF and we do not have opportunities to learn aspiration (aka surgical) abortions. We have learned in class how to do medical abortions. It is not possible for us to learn aspiration abortions as students because California law does not yet permit Advanced Practice Nurses nor Physicians Assistants to do aspiration abortions. The only non-physician providers who can do aspiration abortions in California right now are those who are enrolled in the ANSIRH study and those participants are providers who already have their license. I do not know whether OHSU or other Nurse-midwifery programs offer training in aspiration abortions.