About the Nurse-Midwifery Program

Mission of the Nurse-Midwifery Concentration

The mission of the Nurse-Midwifery education program at East Carolina University is to transform the health of all women and gender diverse people, their newborns and their families in rural, underserved communities and beyond; prepare nurses with the knowledge, skills, and values to be leaders in caring for our clients in a global, multicultural society; and to pledge to reduce disparities within our profession and the communities we serve.

Philosophy of the Nurse-Midwifery Concentration

The Nurse-Midwifery faculty accepts and endorses the philosophies of both East Carolina University College of Nursing and the American College of Nurse-Midwives. We believe nurse-midwives care for women and the gender diverse population throughout the lifespan within a family- and community- centered context to assist them in the development of optimal health practices. We respect the dignity, individuality, and diversity of all clients and encourage self-determination and active participation in health care decision making among our clients.

We honor the normalcy of life events and support physiologic care and transitions within a health care system that provides for interprofessional consultation, collaboration, and referral.

We believe in graduate-level midwifery education as the foundation for professional midwifery practice. We value lifelong individual learning and the use of high-quality research evidence to promote best practices in midwifery care at the community, state, national, and international level.

As adult learners and professional nurses, nurse-midwifery students possess varied knowledge foundations and experiential backgrounds. We believe that student learning is enhanced through face-to-face learning experiences, distance learning technology, and individualized clinical experiences. These pedagogical methods promote professional growth through the development of critical thinking, self-directedness, self-evaluation, and self-corrective behaviors.

As educators we believe that education is a transformative process and both educators and learners are stakeholders in the learning process. We believe that education should not be unidimensional in context or approach; a balanced approach using different learning paradigms such as science, spirituality, culture, technology, and the arts should be employed.

Objectives for Student Outcomes

Upon completion of the ECU College of Nursing Nurse-Midwifery program graduates will be able to:

  1. Integrate theories and research from nursing and related disciplines to guide advanced clinical practice; to administer nursing systems; and to influence health policy decisions.
  2. Demonstrate proficiency in the ability to critically test theory-based interventions in practice and to participate in studies, which advance professional practice and expand knowledge.
  3. Function independently within an interdisciplinary framework to provide or direct expert care that is ethical and sensitive to the needs of a culturally diverse population.
  4. Exercise nursing leadership in collaboration with professional colleagues to maintain, reformulate or refine systems of health care that are effective, efficient, and responsive to the needs of all people.
  5. Demonstrate a strong professional identity characterized by a commitment to continued learning, ethical decision making, scholarly work, and the capacity to effect desirable changes.
  6. Acquire a sufficient knowledge of nursing theory and research on which to base doctoral study in the discipline.
  7. Integrate a global health perspective in the development of visionary solutions to health care problems for all citizens but particularly for those in rural underserved areas.

The midwifery program uses the ACNM Core Competencies for Basic Midwifery Education to guide the midwifery curriculum. The following Hallmarks of Midwifery are part of the core competencies and are considered outcomes for the midwifery student regardless of whether they are earning an MSN or a Post Master’s Certificate.

Hallmarks of Midwifery

The art and science of midwifery are characterized by the following hallmarks:

  1. Recognition, promotion, and advocacy of menarche, pregnancy, birth, and menopause as normal physiologic and developmental processes
  2. Advocacy of non-intervention in physiologic processes in the absence of complications
  3. Incorporation of evidence-based care into clinical practice
  4. Promotion of person-centered care for all, which respects and is inclusive of diverse histories, backgrounds, and identities
  5. Empowerment of women and persons seeking midwifery care as partners in health care
  6. Facilitation of healthy family and interpersonal relationships
  7. Promotion of continuity of care
  8. Utilization of health promotion, disease prevention, and health education
  9. Application of a public health perspective
  10. Utilizing an understanding of social determinants of health to provide high-quality care to all persons including those from underserved communities
  11. Advocating for informed choice, shared decision making, and the right to self- determination
  12. Integration of cultural safety into all care encounters
  13. Incorporation of evidence-based integrative therapies
  14. Skillful communication, guidance, and counseling
  15. Acknowledgment of the therapeutic value of human presence
  16. Ability to collaborate with and refer to other members of the interprofessional health care team
  17. Ability to provide safe and effective care across settings including home, birth center, hospital, or any other maternity care service

Accreditation

Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education

The East Carolina University nurse-midwifery program is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME), 2000 Duke St. Suite 300 Alexandria, VA 22314; Tel: 240-485-1803, support@theacme.org.

Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education

The East Carolina University College of Nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), 655 K Street, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791.

North Carolina Board of Nursing

The College of Nursing is approved by the North Carolina Board of Nursing, P.O. Box 2129, Raleigh, NC 27602-2129, 919-782-3211.