Cara Busenhart,
RN,CNM, MSN
Education Program Director
Clinical Instructor
(913) 588-3354
cbusenhart@kumc.edu
Cara A. Busenhart joined the KU School of Nursing faculty in February 2009 as a clinical instructor. In May 2009, she was named director of the Bi-State Nurse-Midwifery Education program at KU. Prior to her position with KU, Busenhart was a clinical instructor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She also has worked as a certified nurse-midwife in metropolitan Kansas City, as a provider in a large, multi-site obstetrics-gynecology practice. She also is an experienced obstetrics/gynecology nurse, with particular expertise in labor management, newborn care and post-partum care.
Busenhart is a member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, Sigma Theta Tau International and Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society. She is Chair of the Kansas Affiliate of ACNM. Busenhart also sits on the planning committee for Women’s Health Care Symposium and Title X Family Planning Clinical Conference.
Busenhart is pursuing further studies in the Doctor of Philosphy (PhD) program at the University of Kansas School of Nursing. Her planned course of study and research interests are focused on nursing education and the use of simulation methodologies for clinical coursework.
Link to Cara Busenhart Faculty Profile
Barbara Parker, CNM - Biography
Clinical Instructor
(913) 588-1650
bparker4@kumc.edu
If you ask most Midwives, they will tell you that Midwifery is not just a profession, it’s a calling. Caring for women—mothers and babies—is somehow a part of your soul you recognize from the first moment you experience it. I knew it was a calling for me the first day I walked into a labor and delivery unit as a nursing student. I felt as if I had “come home”.
My personal road to Midwifery was long and winding, as an RN through med-surg nursing, labor and delivery, the emergency department and finally the Family Nurse Practitioner program at KUMC. I completed that program in 1997, and began working in a family practice clinic, thinking that was where I would spend my days—and I really loved it. I also taught from 1997 to 2002 for KUMC part time in the FNP program. I loved the concept and practice of caring for families across the lifespan, knowing my patients, their children, and watching them grow. But I really missed birthing babies. One day I got a phone call, and was offered the opportunity to become part of the first class of Midwives to graduate from KUMC, which I was fortunate enough to do in 2001.
I went on to practice full scope midwifery for five years in Rockford, Illinois, the second largest city in Illinois—I was the first midwife there, and practiced with an Obstetrician who was very supportive. The first month I had hospital privileges, I delivered 6 babies; the second month, 12 babies. The third month, 20 babies. And then it really took off. When I finally left the practice, we had expanded to 3 full time midwives and were delivering 450 babies/year, at three local hospitals. It was a huge learning experience, and I loved the work. I often had students from as far away as Pennsylvania, and as near as the University of Illinois-Chicago and Marquette in Milwaukee, as well as my alma mater, KU Med.
In my life as an FNP, I have practiced with a large group of physicians in private practice, briefly in an Emergency Department setting, and more recently in a retail clinic setting. Each one has different challenges and learning experiences. But I have always loved teaching. So now, I find myself back at KUMC, teaching full-time in the Midwifery Program, and helping out over in the FNP Program as well.
On the personal side, I have three grown children, two sons who live in the KC area, and a daughter who lives in Lincoln, NE, several dogs and cats, and to my dismay, no grandchildren….yet. I love to sew, read and hang out with my family.
Link to Barbara Parker Faculty Profile
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