Choosing a midwifery school requires consideration of certification levels, work environments, clinical hours, and staffing. Location, cost, and financial aid options should also be considered, along with job placement assistance and licensing exam preparation.
At a midwifery school, students learn to care for women during pregnancy and deliver babies so they can work as midwives in a variety of settings, including hospitals, birthing centers and private homes. There are several things to think about when choosing a midwifery school because there are different levels of certification for midwives and different types of work environments available to people with midwifery training. As training and certification requirements are highly variable, it may help to talk to several midwives who work in the area you plan to practice to learn more about your options.
Depending on the level of training, a midwife can be a certified professional midwife (CPM), a licensed or registered midwife (LM or RM), a lay midwife, a direct entry midwife, or a certified nursing midwife (CNM). Before attending a midwifery school, candidates should find out what type of certification the school prepares them for. For example, someone wanting to become a CNM should look for a list of programs accredited through a professional organization of certified nurse midwives.
People can also think about where they want to practice. Some midwifery schools focus on preparing midwives to practice in the hospital or birth center, while others provide an opportunity to learn about home birth. A midwifery school should also offer ample clinical hours and the opportunity to train with a practicing midwife. Restrictions on medical practice in certain areas must also be taken into account; for example, home birth may not be permitted or a certification organization may refuse certification for people who offer home birth options to their clients.
Staffing is another important consideration when evaluating a midwifery school. Team members must be fully qualified, well trained and highly experienced. Ideally, they should have publishing credits, and the school itself should have an overall good reputation that promotes trust. Midwifery school planners can also request performance statistics on school graduates to see how many graduates are working as midwives.
Location can be an important consideration. Some schools offer distance learning or low-residency midwifery training, while others require students to attend sessions on a campus, which may require students to relocate. Students can also think about cost and financial aid options to ensure they can afford a full course of training at a midwifery school. They should also ask if the school offers assistance with job placement and preparing for licensing exams.
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