News

June 2001

Welcome to Class 2
Seven students with diverse backgrounds began the second nurse midwifery class program in Mid-may. The program began with a retreat/orientation day at Ginger's home that included sharing, clay model building symbols of midwifery, making rice bags for relaxation, and orientation to midwifery education. Two students, Jeane Schroeder and Karen Mull attended the national convention of ACNM in Washington, D.C. The intensity of the first midwifery course, Antepartum, also taught in the summer session quickly instills how the life of a student midwife needs to be flexible, dedicated, and committed to gaining all types of knowledge to best advocate for her patients and profession.

Class 1
The first midwifery class students Barbara Parker, Kimberly Negrete, Annette VanAnne, Heidi Wade and Jacki Witt will celebrate their completion on June 30th, 2001. The ceremony will be held at KUMC, Hixson Atrium and Lied Auditorium from 10:00 AM to Noon. A catered reception will follow. Friends, family, preceptors, and other students have been invited to attend this precedent setting event to acknowledge the hard work and success of these women. Sr. Jeane Muerer, CNM, MS, FACM has been selected by the students to present the keynote address. Sr. Jeane began the first nurse midwifery program in Missouri in St. Louis in the early 1970s and has been a long-time advocate of families and childbearing women throughout her nursing career. All of the completing students have exciting opportunities for employment they are each exploring in the KS/MO region. We are extremely proud of their work and commitment to the midwifery profession. Please join us in the celebration of their success!

ACNM Convention, Washington, D.C. June 1-8, 2001
Over 2,300 CNMs attended this annual meeting, the most ever registered at a national convention! Capitol Hill was visited by over 1,000 CNMs on a pleasant Tuesday afternoon where Congressmen and Congresswomen were requested to offer co-sponsorship for 95% reimbursement for Medicare for CNMs. A PAC reception in the late afternoon attracted several Congressmen/women and/or their staff to continue lobbying and discussing the issues our profession needs. Annette VanAnne, SNM, was recognized at a luncheon with mentor/faculty, Judie Wika, for her selection as a Wyeth-Ayerst Student reporter. Annette was busy the entire conference, we always saw her paging, attending meetings, or working with the student committees involved at national convention. Over 15 CNMs attended the meeting from the Greater Kansas City KS/MO area. This was truly a great conference, and we encourage everyone to plan to attend next year in Atlanta, Georgia the last week of May 2002.

Web Chat Board
We launched electronic communication via a chat board for integration students to share experiences and case studies over this summer session. Many comments have expressed the enjoyment and educational sharing of this communication medium. We invite all who have access to this restricted site to share comments with other students, and discuss issues or cases you are involved in that can facilitate thought, discussion, and broaden all our views.

Fall Semester: Pot-Luck/Blessing of Hands
The fall courses: Intrapartum and Newborn will begin as scheduled in the university bulletin. Our classes will begin on the Tuesday following the Thursday (Aug 23rd) start date. We will be planning a fall gathering when school resumes for students to informally meet with preceptors and faculty to eat, have fun, and have a blessing of the hands ceremony. As didactic courses will remain on Tuesdays, full day, we will probably plan for a Tuesday evening gathering to help in travel adjustments for out-of-town students.