Nurse-Midwifery

Program modality

Although this program is in-person, to accommodate the busy schedules of our students some courses will be offered in an online or hybrid format. All clinical experiences for this program are in-person on Penn’s campus or at affiliated clinical sites.

Our program

We prepare you for a midwifery practice focused on providing family-centered, comprehensive care to essentially healthy people and their families. We believe that the autonomous practice of nurse practitioners/midwives is based on the health promotion model and interdependent practice—a system that emphasizes the unique aspects each health professional brings to the care of a client. 

Our graduates go on to become home-birth practitioners, birth center practice directors, directors of midwifery educational programs, and directors of CNM services in large teaching and small community hospitals.

 

All students are required to know and abide by policies and practices stated in the University of Pennsylvania’s Pennbook, Penn Nursing’s MSN Handbook, and the and the Nurse-Midwifery & Women’s Health/Gender Related Nurse Practitioner Supplemental Guide.

Coursework

To develop well-rounded midwives, we offer courses  ranging from advanced physiology and pathophysiology to the use of ultrasonography during pregnancy. We also cover public policy, complementary therapies, and fetal evaluation. You’ll become a highly competent clinician, and an effective and a culturally sensitive patient advocate while learning to manage a team within the varied systems of healthcare delivery.

Your clinical work can be completed in hospitals, birthing centers, and in home birth experiences, as well as abroad through international study opportunities. As an added benefit, clinical experiences and preceptors  for our students are all arranged and coordinated by the School.

Study options

We offer the program full-time  and part-time.

Please note: BSN students who graduate in May from Nursing School and who are interested in applying to the Nurse-Midwifery Program are not eligible to apply full-time to the Program for that summer due to RN licensure requirements. These applicants are encouraged to either apply for part-time study beginning in the fall with an option to enter the Clinical Cohort/Clinical Course Sequence the following summer term, OR to apply for direct entry into the Clinical Cohort the following summer term.

Certification

The program is a dual major. Upon completion, you’ll be eligible for two national certifications: the certification exam for Certified Nurse-Midwives, given by the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB), and certification to be a Women’s Health Nurse-Practitioner, by the National Certification Corporation (NCC).