News

February 2001

Consultant Visit: Nancy Moss, PhD, CNM, Education Program Director for East Carolina Nurse Midwifery Program is our midwifery program consultant. She visited our program on January 29 and 30, 2001 and spent time viewing the progress of our midwifery curriculum development, clinical practice sites and recruitment of new students into the program. Dr. Moss visited with preceptors, current midwifery track students, and Helen Connors, RN, PhD, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for KUSON. Dr. Moss was very impressed with our program and the student comments related to their educational endeavors. She will continue consulting with our program as we move from a pre-accredited status to seeking full accreditation by the end of this calendar year.

Chapter Meeting: Our next Region V-18 Greater KC ACNM monthly meeting will be on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 at 6:00 PM in the Classic Cup Restaurant in Westport. We would LOVE to see some KU midwifery students! The chapter is sponsoring our 6th annual conference on March 2 and 3, 2001. Come learn all the last minute details of planning the conference and how you can help. The chapter will be awarding five scholarships to nurse midwifery students residing in Kansas or Missouri who are currently accepted in a midwifery education program. Your names have all been submitted; random drawings at the convention will be announced.

National Convention: The National ACNM convention is June 1-7, 2001. Get on the ACNM web page at www.midwife.org for all the news and registration information about this great conference. We STRONGLY encourage all students to attend. Also, student scholarships are available through the ACNM web site.

Clinical Sites Increasing! We have joined with the wonderful efforts of Sharon Foster, CNM in Wichita, KS who is privileged at Wesley Medical Center and Via Christi Hospital. Sharon will be precepting our student nurse-midwives this semester. Jodi Blair, CNM, PhD, continues to provide clinical experiences for students at the only freestanding birth center in Kansas, The Birth and Women's Center in Topeka. Becky Mitchell, CNM and CNM colleagues in Joplin, MO, have agreed to and are anxious to support KU midwifery students at Freeman Hospital and Clinics. KUMC Department of OB/GYN is moving slowly but steadily to bring CNMs to our campus. These efforts are supported by all levels of hospital administration and may be a reality by summer 2001! We are confident that midwifery support will remain strong at Truman Medical Center, and with both medical school affiliations (KUMC and UMKC), midwifery can increase it's presence as a stakeholder in the delivery of care to women and families. The persistent nature of CNMs fighting for passionate beliefs never ends.