Catalogue 07-08: Midwifery Programs
Please note that this is the March 2007 version of the 2007-2008 Catalogue. Information within is accurate as of this date. Subject to change without notice.
Prerequisites for Midwifery Programs
Certificate in Midwifery
Bachelors of Science in Midwifery
General Education Requirements
Length of Midwifery Program
Credit Expiration
Life Learning Portfolio Program
Qualifications to Practice Midwifery
Prerequisites for Midwifery Programs
The following prerequisites are required for admission into either the Bachelor of Science in Midwifery or Certificate of Midwifery program:
Anatomy and Physiology Course
Applicants must have completed an anatomy and physiology course of at least 3 semester credits or 30 clock hours which covers all of the body systems, taken at an accredited post-secondary institution, and must have earned a grade of at least 3.0 (B). An official transcript must be provided. Birthingway offers “Human Anatomy and Physiology – Overview for Midwives”, which will fulfill this prerequisite if you haven’t taken A&P.
Labor Doula Workshop
Applicants must have completed an approved Labor Doula course or workshop. Birthingway offers an intensive Labor Doula Workshop entitled “Assisting Women with Birth” which will fulfill this prerequisite. Other approved Labor Doula programs include ALACE, DONA, ICEA and Birthworks. For approval of additional programs, please contact the college. Labor Doula Certification is not a requirement.
Writing Course
Applicants must have completed a three credit college-level expository writing course, and received a grade of at least 3.0 (B). Creative writing will not be accepted as a prerequisite. Birthingway offers “Writing for Midwives” which will fill this prerequisite.
You may take any of the prerequisites Birthingway offers while you are applying for either of our Midwifery Programs. Acceptance into the program would be final pending successful completion, and meeting pertinent grade requirements.
Certificate in Midwifery
Prerequisites: see Prerequisites for Midwifery Program
Certificate in Midwifery consists of:
49 credit hours in Midwifery Core Courses
26 credit hours in Midwifery Supplemental and Elective Courses
20 credit hours in Apprenticeship Credit
95 credit hours of coursework:
Students who do not wish to meet the General Education Requirement to receive the B.S.M. credential have the option of receiving a “Certificate of Midwifery.”
To graduate with a Birthingway Certificate in Midwifery, students must meet the following requirements:
- Completion of all coursework (homework, class presentations, exams). See CURRICULUM section for complete course listing
- Attendance at all courses with no more than one unexcused absence per term per course, or a total of two per term, and no more than four unexcused absences per academic year
- All financial obligations to Birthingway paid in full
- Documentation of midwifery skills practice and assessment on College approved forms.
- Demonstration of “Midwifery Integration,” an oral exam that demonstrates the candidate’s ability to weave together judgment, knowledge, skills, clinical assessment, decision-making, perceptions, and intuition into appropriate action plans
- Successful completion of written comprehensive exam; student may substitute NARM exam for the in-house exam
- Clinical requirements:
- Participant – 25 out-of-hospital births
- Participant – 5 hospital births
- Participant – 25 prenatal exams
- Primary Role – 25 births
- Primary Role – 75 prenatal exams, including 20 initials
- Primary Role – 25 newborn exams
- Primary Role – 40 postpartum exams
- Continuity of Care on 15 supervised primary clients
- Complete the “Completion of Graduation Requirements” form with an advisor
- Complete the “Application for Midwifery Certificate” and pay a $100 fee
Bachelor of Science in Midwifery
The Midwifery Degree program consists of all the requirements of the Certificate in Midwifery (see above) and the following General Education Requirements:
Prerequisites: see Prerequisites for Midwifery Program
Bachelor of Science in Midwifery consists of:
30 credit hours of General Education
49 credit hours in Midwifery Core Courses
26 credit hours in Midwifery Supplemental and Elective Courses
20 credit hours in Apprenticeship Credit
125 credit hours of coursework
General Education Requirements
To receive a Bachelor of Science in Midwifery degree, students must complete 30 semester credit hours or equivalent of General Education requirements. Students must document with an official transcript from an approved post-secondary program, the following coursework in the Liberal Arts and Sciences, with a grade of at least C/2.0:
- six semester hours of English composition
- six semester hours of Humanities: language, literature, philosophy, religious thought, fine arts (not emphasizing performance skills)
- six semester hours of Social Studies or Sciences: anthropology, cultural geography, general history, religious history and culture, economics, political science, general psychology, sociology
- six semester hours of Natural Sciences: biology, biological physiology, chemistry, physics, geology and physical geography, mathematics
- six additional semester hours in any Humanities, Social Studies or Natural Sciences coursework
According to State of Oregon standards, liberal arts and sciences do NOT include “professional and vocational courses” such as agriculture and forestry, wildlife management, architecture and design, business and public administration, communication (journalism), computer technology, education, engineering and related technologies, health professions, home economics, law, library science, military science, parks and leisure studies, physical education and recreation, protective services, or religious services. Also NOT included are artistic performance or physical activity courses, nor practical and general information courses such as personal health, career planning, human relations, public speaking, writing, elementary mathematics, and computer fundamentals.
The above requirements are in semester credit hours. Students transferring credits from schools using quarter hours should multiply the above requirements by 1.5. Students transferring credits using other systems (units, clock hours, etc.) should contact the Student Affairs Coordinator for assistance in planning their program.
If you graduate with the certificate and wish to later receive the degree: You have an additional three years after graduation with the certificate to transfer to Birthingway all of the General Education credits required for the degree. If you submit all necessary materials (transcripts, graduation request form, etc.) within this timeframe, we will issue you the BSM degree with no additional curricular requirements.
If you do not complete the requirements for the BSM degree within three years of receiving the midwifery certificate, we will need to review your midwifery program credits for equivalency to the current Birthingway requirements. You will need to meet the current graduation standards, which may mean taking additional classes, retaking classes or sections of classes, testing on specific subjects, or completion of additional clinical or skills requirements.
Length of the Midwifery Program
There is no time limit to complete the midwifery program. Students must be registered as a core or extension student from the date of matriculation to completion. The classroom work portion of the program is designed to be completed in three years, by registering for the core, supplemental, and elective courses in the recommended sequence.
Birthingway recommends that students begin apprenticeships in the first term of the second year. Students who begin an apprenticeship at that time, register for apprenticeship credit, and attend an average of two births per month, would be able to complete their clinical training requirement within the three year time frame.
While designed to be complete in three years, most students take longer than three years to complete the midwifery program. Birthingway’s program is flexible, allowing students to individualize their educational path and take as long as necessary to graduate. The length of time it takes to complete depends on many factors including
- whether the student attends full time or less;
- the size and availability of the type of midwifery practice desired as a preceptor site;
- personal life events, such as having a baby, getting married, etc.
Also see CREDIT EXPIRATION
Credit Expiration
Midwifery Program course credits expire after 7 years. If any of your midwifery program credits expire before you complete the program, the courses will be reviewed for current accuracy and completeness of knowledge (i.e. have there been significant advances our changes in information on the subject since the course was taken?) Students may be required to re-take courses, pass the current course exam, or otherwise demonstrate the currency of their knowledge in order to graduate. Any new coursework completed must be paid for at the current tuition rate.
Life Learning Portfolio (LLP) Program
Beginning the Process
The Life Learning Portfolio process is designed to give students who have had life experiences that fulfill the learning objectives of Birthingway courses, such as practicing midwives, lactation consultants or herbalists, an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and earn college credit.
Students enrolled in the midwifery program may pursue LLP credit at any time during their enrollment. Students must first fill out a Life Learning Portfolio Inquiry Form. These forms can be found in the student information area next to the student boxes. Students should return completed Inquiry Forms to the Student Affairs Coordinator. The Inquiry Form will begin the portfolio process. The Student Affairs Coordinator will schedule a meeting with the student (phone or in person) in which they discuss the experiences the student lists on the Inquiry form. If they are both satisfied that these experiences might warrant LLP credit, the Student Affairs Coordinator will provide the student with Learning Objectives for the course in question, along with an LLP Intent Form.
The LLP Intent Form is similar to a registration for LLP credits, but does not require completion within a given academic term. In it the student agrees to pay for the process and the College agrees to review the Portfolio and make a decision about issuing credit. The College does not guarantee credit.
The student should return the LLP Intent Form to the College office. The student will be invoiced $200.00 per LLP credit reviewed. The student has up to one year to complete her portfolio from the contract date. Students should be aware that courses are typically only offered once a year, and should not postpone their portfolios until near the end of their expected academic program, in the event that the LLP process is not completed or does not result in earning credit.
When the student fills out the Intent Form, the College will notify the appropriate instructor(s) that a student is working on a Portfolio for their course(s). The instructor should be available for questions as the student creates the Portfolio. This instructor will also generally be the one to review the final version of the Portfolio for credit. Instructors will be paid for the work they do during the Portfolio review process.
The Portfolio
Once the student has submitted the request for LLP credit, the process of creating the Portfolio can begin. Students should gather any documentation from courses, workshops, or seminars attended and apprenticeships to include in the Portfolio. In addition, the student must write an essay addressing each of the Learning Objectives for the course. In the essay, the student may describe ways in which she or he has had the opportunity to practice the skill described, or if it is a primarily theoretical objective, the life or classroom experiences that instructed her in this area.
Since the essay will describe the student’s life experiences, extra care must be given to protect privacy. If personal information about another person (such as a former client), must be included, it is important that no identifying characteristics (such as their real name, where they live, etc.) are involved. If documentation includes copies of medical charts, items such as names and addresses must be marked out to protect confidentiality. If personal details or complete charts are included, a letter or signed disclaimer from the individual in question, giving permission to use private information, must also be included.
For the purpose of legibility and convenience, portfolios must meet the following requirements:
• Each course should be contained in a separate three-ring binder, with at least three sections clearly designated:
1. A description of the course (from the school catalogue is fine) and a listing of each learning objective.
2. The essay
3. Documentation and Birthingway Skills Assessment (if required)
• Include an index of all the materials submitted.
• Essays must be typed, double-spaced, in a standard, legible, 12 point font (Such as Arial, Courier, or Times New Roman) on white paper with black ink, with no more than 1” margins.
• The essay should be written in a clear academic style, appropriate for a serious project of this type. Note that, in this case, “academic style” does not mean they need to be written in the third person.
• Each learning objective should be covered individually. Explanations will consist of a minimum of one paragraph per learning objective. For example, if the learning objective in question was to make an alcohol based tincture for Plant Medicine, the student would first state the objective. Then the essay should explain what experiences (academic or practical) the student has had to meet this objective. In addition, the student should demonstrate the knowledge in some way. In this example, the essay could describe how to properly make an alcohol based tincture, including information such as ratios, time involved, and how different plant materials might require different processes.
• Documentation of experience should be in the form of ORIGINALS whenever possible, with the exception of client charts. Please keep a copy for yourself. If you do not wish to submit your originals, submit a copy with a signed note from your advisor stating she has reviewed the originals. If you do not possess an original, and cannot get one, please include a note with your documentation explaining and stating why.
Review of the Portfolio
Once the student has completed a Portfolio, it should be turned in to the Student Affairs Coordinator, who will forward it to the appropriate instructor. If the student is seeking skills credits, the Student Affairs Coordinator will assist in coordinating demonstration of skills with the appropriate faculty member. Skills evaluation forms will then be added to the Portfolio for final review.
The instructor will have one month to review the Portfolio material. If the Portfolio meets all expectations, the instructor will submit the LLP Credit Completion Form to the Registrar. The credits will be designated by Birthingway as Life Learning Credits on the transcript.
If the Portfolio requires some remediation or clarification, the student will have one opportunity to explain areas that may not have met Birthingway’s grading criteria in the initial submission. If these clarifications satisfy the Portfolio evaluator, the student will then receive credit. If the clarifications do not meet the evaluator’s expectations or the learning objectives, the student will not receive LLP credit, and will be required to take the course(s) before graduating.
Qualifications to Practice Midwifery
With successful completion of all midwifery program components, students should have achieved sufficient classroom and clinical knowledge to meet examination and experiential requirements for national (NARM) professional certification and Oregon State licensure as a direct-entry midwife. Such credentialing is not conducted by Birthingway. Other states may have additional clinical requirements; for information, contact the credentialing body of the state in question. (see Appendix B: CREDENTIALS COMPARISON CHART)
Skills Acquisition
Midwifery related skills are acquired in a number of ways throughout a student’s tenure at Birthingway. Specific skills classes must be completed as part of the Core course requirements; most of class time in skills courses is designated for introducing and practicing skills. Students are responsible for completing all of the skills listed on the classroom skills forms during this classroom time, including a “final exam” of the student’s performance of the skill by the course instructor. Students practice these skills on each other, including invasive procedures such as blood punctures and vaginal exams.
Each term, the student receives Skills Documentation forms which list each of the skills taught and the number of times the student must demonstrate the skill before passing the class. The instructor must sign off on each skill demonstrated, as well as the final exam of mastery when applicable. The Student Affairs Coordinator reviews the student’s classroom skills documentation before the student graduates to assure that all of the skills have been completed.
Additionally, skills are acquired during the student’s apprenticeship. These skills are evaluated each term with the student’s preceptor using Weaver and Evans’ Practical Skills Guide for Midwifery and the Skills Assessment Checklist students receive each term they are in an apprenticeship. Skills gained during an apprenticeship are practiced on clients and are not uniform because of the nature of birth. Students are responsible to document any new skills acquired, as well as the enhancement of classroom skills achieved during their apprenticeship experience. Preceptors are required to meet with apprentices and go over the Skills Assessment Checklist each term. A current copy of the Skills Assessment Checklist is kept in the student’s academic file.
Students in apprenticeships receive a Skills Assessment Checklist each term they are registered for apprenticeship credit. The Skills Assessment Checklist includes all of the skills listed on MEAC’s Abbreviated NARM Verification Form, as well as some additional skills Birthingway reviews before graduation. Students and preceptors review the skills assessment form and return it at the end of each term. The Student Affairs Coordinator evaluates the forms each term and completes a final evaluation of documented skills the term that the student intends to graduate.