Nurse-Midwifery

Overview

Welcome to the Nurse Midwifery DNP specialty program at the University of Utah College of Nursing! We are excited to work with you during the next three years as you progress towards your Doctorate in Nursing Practice degree. You have chosen a profession that contributes to the health and well-being of women, newborns, and families. You can be proud that you follow a very long line of providers who have a commitment to high quality healthcare, as well as high quality education. You will join the ranks of excellent clinicians and excellent scholars who all make a difference in the lives of many. We have a mission and a vision that is carried out through our program objectives. We are happy to have you join us!

Nurse Midwives provide primary health care to women across the lifespan. Other services include gynecologic and family planning, pregnancy and birthing services, and care for women after menopause. Nurse midwifery career options include independent full-scope practice in a variety of settings that may include outpatient women's health care clinics, hospitals, birth centers, and others.

As a doctoral student in the Nurse-Midwifery track, you will:

• Develop skills to influence public policy through participation in professional organizations and health policy activities at the local, national, and global levels.
• Participate in one of the top ten programs in the US and the oldest continually operating Nurse Midwifery track west of the Mississippi.
• Take courses in evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and systems leadership.
• Be mentored within our unique faculty practice, Birthcare Healthcare.
• Have the option to complete dual Nurse Midwifery (NM) and Women's Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP) specialties concurrently (extends plan of study by one semester).

Program Objectives

To prepare nurse-midwives who will:

• Integrate evidence-based care, principles and theory underlying advanced nurse midwifery management of the antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, newborn, gynecologic client, and common primary care problems.
• Incorporate midwifery Core Competencies, as stated by the American College of Nurse Midwives.
• Accurately perform advanced health assessment of women and promote high-level wellness of women across the lifespan, including childbearing.
• Engage in a participative process of culturally sensitive care in which women are empowered to make decisions about their care and assume appropriate self-care activities.
• Apply knowledge of pharmacokinetics and pharmacotherapeutics of common medications used for the appropriate treatment of antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, primary care, and gynecologic clients, by competently prescribing appropriate pharmacologic agents.
• Integrate principles and theory of nurse midwifery management of reproductive, childbearing, and gynecologic needs and complications through appropriate and timely consultation and referral.
• Apply knowledge of screening and diagnostic testing judiciously for appropriate diagnosis and treatment of antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, primary care, and gynecologic healthcare.
• Provide leadership in development of health care policy and quality improvement at the local, state, and national level.
• Contribute to evidence-based practice by implementing clinical research findings and participate in clinical research, when appropriate, to demonstrate improvements in practice and health care outcomes for women and families.