Nurse Midwifery

Program Description

The Nurse Midwifery Program is designed to prepare nurses as nurse midwives. The focus of the academic and clinical aspects of this program is the management of the health care of low-risk women and their newborns. While emphasis is placed on care during the childbearing cycle, the curriculum also includes study of women's health needs throughout the life cycle. Graduates are prepared for full scope midwifery practice, including well-woman gynecology, family planning, antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, and normal newborn care. Intensive clinical experience is provided in each of these areas in a variety of settings, exposing students to diversity in patient populations and practice options. Students learn to provide independent care for healthy women and consultative or collaborative care for women with medical and/or obstetrical complications.

Graduates are eligible to take the national certifying examination administered by the American College of Nurse Midwives' Certification Council to become a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM). Graduates are also eligible to register with New York State as a licensed midwife.

The Program Director of the Nurse Midwifery specialty is Laura Zeidenstein, BA, BSN, MSN, DNP.

Admission

Please contact the Office of Admissions for details regarding admission and financial aid packages. Faculty review applications on a rolling basis so that students may apply throughout the year. Please note, applications for the Nurse Midwifery Program can only be submitted online.

Admission criteria include:

*RN's with an associate degree and a non-nursing baccalaureate degree are required to complete 5 credits in community health in addition to the course requirement listed.

Curriculum

Core Credits
Assessing Clinical Evidence 4
Health and Social Policy: Context for Practice and Research 4
Interpersonal Violence and Abuse 1
Management in Advanced Practice 1
  10
Sciences  
Advanced Pharmacology* 3
Advanced Physiology* 3
Maternal and Fetal Physiology* 2
Incorporating Genetics into Advanced Nursing Practice 3
  11
Specialty  
Primary Care I 3
Advanced Clinical Assessment** 3
Pelvic Assessment of Women** 1
Primary Care II 3
Well Woman Gynecology – Didactic ** 3
Well Woman Gynecology – Clinical ** 2
Antepartum – Didactic ** 2
Antepartum – Clinical ** 2
Intrapartum – Didactic ** 2
Intrapartum – Clinical ** 2
Breastfeeding and Postpartum** 1
Newborn Care Assessment** 1
Integration in Nurse Midwifery ** 3
Complex Management of Women's Health Condition Throughout the Lifespan 2
Professional Issues in Midwifery 1
  31
Total Credits 52

*Must be taken prior to or concurrent with first clinical courses.
**Clinical courses or courses in the clinical tract must be taken in order.

School of Nursing

The School of Nursing has paved the way for professional nursing since 1892 and continues to lead the field as the foremost institution for advanced practice nursing.

The School of Nursing is a designated World Health Organization Collaborating Center for International Nursing Development in Advanced Practice. With urban clinical sites, expert faculty practitioners, cutting edge research, and the strength of the Columbia name and reputation, the School of Nursing produces graduates who possess the skills necessary to bring advanced practice nursing into the new millennium. As medical advances offer a cascade of new and useful therapies, the need for more health care providers will increase exponentially. Our country will face many health care challenges in the next 20 years, and nurse practitioners are essential to providing access to quality primary care.

Founded in 1892 as Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing, the School became part of Columbia University in 1937 and began offering the baccalaureate degree. It is one of the oldest schools of nursing in the US. In 1956, it became the first nursing program in the country to award a master’s degree in a clinical nursing specialty. In 1999, the School granted its first doctoral degree. More than 9,000 nurses have graduated since the School opened.

The School shares the Columbia University Health Sciences Campus with the Mailman School of Public Health, the School of Dental and Oral Surgery, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Each of these schools adds to the richness and diversity of the educational experience of students and faculty.

School of Nursing faculty have substantial experience in curriculum, instructional design, and research. They maintain expertise in their areas of teaching responsibility through participation at local, regional, and national conferences, involvement in scholarly presentations and publications, and faculty practice.

Columbia University School of Nursing is distinguished by the clinical excellence of its programs and graduates. Columbia nurses are making crucial contributions and improving the health of individuals wherever they practice.

The above information is current as of 10/07 and is subject to change at any time.