When Mary Breckenridge founded Frontier Nursing Service, it was the first practice in the country. She might be pleased to note that in 2004, Kentucky certified nurse-midwives (CNM's) attended 7.6% of all births in the state and that Midwife.org lists 48 certified CNM practices in the state as of 2008.They are located in large and small cities including Bowling Green, Corbin, Ft. Knox, Lexington, Richmond and Walker. Kentucky CNM's are advanced nurse practitioners who are authorized to write prescriptions and are reimbursed by insurance companies.
Successful applicants to a Kentucky nurse-midwife program must have a bachelor's degree in nursing and hold a current nursing registration. Nurse-midwife schools issue a Master of Science degree in Nursing that typically takes two to three years to complete, depending upon the curriculum offered. Schools require clinical training that includes attending births and conducting prenatal exams. At the conclusion of clinical and course work, you must pass the American Midwifery Certification Board exam to become licensed to practice in Kentucky.
The Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing is a nonprofit distance education program based out of Hyden, Kentucky. Their focus is to prepare nurses to "provide primary care for women and families. . .with a focus on rural and medically under-served populations." Frontier offers a Master of Science in Nursing degree. When this is combined with specialty courses at the post-master's level, you can gain the education needed to become a certified nurse-midwife. The school provides coursework on-line and you can gain clinical experience from hospitals, clinics and preceptors in your own community.
Northern Kentucky University offers a Certified Nurse Midwife/Women's Health to Adult Nurse Practitioner course as part of a nurse practitioner advancement program. It is designed for students who are pursuing a nurse practitioner degree and desire a specialty focus. Ten graduate credit hours are devoted to courses in pharmacology, community health and primary care and 3 graduate credit hours are devoted to residency. A total of 500 clinical hours are necessary to complete the degree program (credit may be awarded for prior work experience).