Nurse Midwife History

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The history of the nurse midwife can be dated back to many centuries. Florence Nightingale, probably the most well known nursing pioneer, was responsible for opening the "Nightingale Training School for Nurses" in 1860 (Selanders & Crane, 2012). In 1893, a facility called the "Henry Street Settlement" was founded by another great nursing pioneer, Lillian Wald, an establishment that was geared toward helping the poor in the lower east side of Manhattan (Britannica, 2013). Mary Breckenridge, a nurse with the Frontier Nursing Service "is considered the founder of nurse midwifery" (Seaton, 2006). Before the birth of these well-known nurses, the midwife was caring for women and delivering babies. The definition of a nurse midwife is "A nurse who …show more content…
The individual that desires to enter this field has options of seeking a formal education. There are three categories of the nurse midwife: The Direct Entry Midwife, the Certified Professional Midwife, and the Certified Nurse Midwife (Seaton, 2006). The direct entry midwife has no formal nursing training and practices in birth centers and homes. The certified professional midwife can obtain certification by doing self-study or apprenticeship. The certified nurse midwife completes her degree by attending an accredited program offered at colleges and universities. To be accepted into the program the applicant must hold a current Registered Nurse License. Upon completion of the program, the nurse will obtain a Master's of Nursing degree (MSN) or Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) (Flynn, …show more content…
Nurse pioneers were instrumental in paving the way for this profession and the advancements that have been made. According to the American College of Nurse midwives, 82% of midwives now hold a Masters degree (Essential Facts About Midwives). In the Nurse Midwife, it states the "yearly median earning as $92, 510" (Flynn, 2016). What some may think is outdated, has grown into a respectable, and promising practice. The mid-wife and her responsibilities have come a long way since the beginning, but the profession will make many advances in the

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