Setting standards for midwifery: the certified midwife (CM).In response to numerous state initiatives that call for the legalization LEGALIZATION. The act of making lawful. 2. By legalization, is also understood the act by which a judge or competent officer authenticates a record, or other matter, in order that the same may be lawfully read in evidence. Vide Authentication. of midwifery midwifery (mĭd`wī'fərē), art of assisting at childbirth. The term midwife for centuries referred to a woman who was an overseer during the process of delivery. In ancient Greece and Rome, these women had some formal training. practice and the increased utilization of midwives, midwives and their supporters from 20 states have come together to establish standards for national certification national certification Lab medicine A voluntary form of regulation that affirms that a person has the knowledge and skill to perform essential tasks in a given field, in the lab or in nursing; NC is granted by nongovernmental agencies or associations with . It is hoped that this process will be used by states, groups and individuals in a variety of ways including legalization, streamlining current state certification processes, guidelines for training, reimbursement, and so on. Following is an overview of what a Certified Midwife is and what the certification process will entail. The Interorganizational Workgroup on Midwifery Education generated a statement on midwifery certification that was endorsed by the Boards of the Midwives' Alliance of North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. (MANA) and the American College American College is the name of:
The Certified Midwife (CM) * The Certified Midwife has successfully completed prescribed studies in midwifery accomplished through a variety of educational routes. The certified midwife has demonstrated competency in the skills required for midwifery practice and has passed the North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. Registry of Midwives (NARM NARM National Association of Recording Merchandisers NARM North American Registry of Midwives NARM National Association of Reunion Managers NARM Navy Resource Model NARM North American Reciprocal Museums NARM North Alabama Railroad Museum, Inc ) Examination. * The Certified Midwife practices in accord with the MANA Standards and Guidelines for the Art and Practice of Midwifery. * The Certified Midwife demonstrates accountability to the women and families served and practices in accord with the MANA Statement of Values and Ethics. * The Certified Midwife participates in activities that promote current knowledge and peer review. Certification is a means of validating knowledge, skills, and experience while allowing a variety of educational routes into midwifery. A Certified Midwife will be able to work in a variety of sites ranging from home to birth center to hospital. The North American Registry of Midwives has assumed responsibility for implementing certification in addition to administering its written exam. The certification process will include but is not limited to the following: * A written examination administered by NARM tests knowledge based on the MANA Core Competencies. * Qualified evaluators will validate midwifery skills. * Supervised experience requirements must also be documented. * The Certified Midwife also demonstrates accountability through recertification recertification Recredentialing Graduate education A process in which a professional is periodically re-evaluated–eg, every 10 yrs by an accrediting body to assure continued provision of safe, high-quality health care requirements such as annual renewal of CPR Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Definition Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a procedure to support and maintain breathing and circulation for a person who has stopped breathing (respiratory arrest) and/or whose heart has stopped (cardiac skills and continuing education continuing education: see adult education. continuing education or adult education Any form of learning provided for adults. In the U.S. the University of Wisconsin was the first academic institution to offer such programs (1904). . Other accountability measures such as submission of statistics and a peer review process may be required. * Reciprocity for certifying currently practicing experienced midwives is being offered until December 1996. * Midwives seeking certification who require special consideration or assistance to complete the process may apply through the Special Circumstances special circumstances n. in criminal cases, particularly homicides, actions of the accused or the situation under which the crime was committed for which state statutes allow or require imposition of a more severe punishment. committee. Much of the work to make the Certified Midwife a reality has already been initiated, and a pilot project has begun that will certify midwives by early fall. The certification process should be open to all soon after. Midwifery On-Line For those of you not familiar with the Internet, it is part of the vast "information superhighway" that we keep hearing about. Through modems and personal computers, people from all over the world can communicate. When I first discovered the, Internet it was all I could do to not spend day and night exploring the vast amounts of information. After the novelty wore off, however, I decided that I wanted to be able to access information that would be helpful to me ... that is, information about birth. Initially I found very little in the way of birth issues. However, recently I have made two very interesting discoveries. One is the midwifery mailing list, started by a midwife and her husband. It is a format that uses electronic mail (you can send a letter to California from Ohio and it will be there within 5 minutes). The mailing list is rather small at the moment but is growing more every day. The other discovery I made was that Midwifery Today went on-line and had an e-mail address (Midwifery@aol.com). The last bit of exciting news is that the people who belong to the midwifery mailing list are attempting to create a "newsgroup newsgroup Internet forum for discussion of specific subjects. Newsgroups are organized into subjects (e.g., automobiles); each typically has several subgroups (e.g., classic cars, Formula One racing cars). " devoted strictly to midwifery. Newsgroups This is a list of newsgroups that are significant for their popularity or their position in Usenet history. As of October 2002, there are about 100,000 Usenet newsgroups, of which approximately a fifth are active. are probably the most accessed types of information on the Internet. It is somewhat like a public bulletin board where folks can post their thoughts, ideas and questions. There are hundreds of newsgroups that deal with every topic of interest from parenting to chemistry. It was exciting for me to know that those of us interested in safe, educated childbirth are out there trying to make a difference, no matter what platform we use. Stories Being Collected I am gathering stories from midwives who have experienced death in their practice. These stories may be used for future publication, but your permission will be obtained prior to that. All names, dates and places will be changed and your identity will be protected. Stories may include circumstances surrounding the death, grieving, healing, legal ramifications ramifications npl → Auswirkungen pl and how it has impacted your practice today. Please make a copy of your story before sending it. Send stories to, or for more information write: Judy Engel P.O. Box 282 Toms Brook, VA 22660 (703) 934-7688 Midwifery under Siege Independent midwives in Connecticut are facing harassment by the State Department of Health and Addiction Services, Nurse midwives are regulated but there is currently no statute regarding independent midwives and the state maintains that, until there is, midwives are "practicing medicine without a license." The Friends of Midwives in Connecticut held a rally on May 5th, International Midwifery Day. It received extensive media coverage which, for better or worse, has brought the issue to the forefront. The group has also decided to hire a lobbyist to introduce legislation to keep midwifery in Connecticut an option for all. Any contributions to help defray de·fray tr.v. de·frayed, de·fray·ing, de·frays To undertake the payment of (costs or expenses); pay. [French défrayer, from Old French desfrayer : des-, the cost of the lobbyist or information on other state's legislative efforts should be sent to: Friends of Midwives P.O. Box 505 East Windsor Hill, CT 06028 Birth Forum on Computer Another new computer bulletin board resource is Birth Forum, founded by the Association of Chilbirth Companions (Carl Jones) and supported in part by Nature's Life (a leading supplier of nutritional supplements Nutritional Supplements Definition Nutritional supplements include vitamins, minerals, herbs, meal supplements, sports nutrition products, natural food supplements, and other related products used to boost the nutritional content of the diet. ). It is available free via RIME NET which has local numbers in almost every major city throughout the US. To find the number nearest your home ot connect with the Birth Form, call Natures Life at 1-800-605-0081. |
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