The Midwifery Initiative in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland aims to increase access to nurse-midwifery education in rural areas through a collaborative distance learning program. The program allows students to take core courses at their home university in the first year and midwifery courses at Shenandoah University in the second year. Students receive degrees from their home universities and a certificate from Shenandoah. This hybrid model addresses the lack of nurse-midwives in rural areas by making midwifery education more accessible and flexible for students in remote locations.
![The Midwifery Initiative in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland Collaborating to Increase Access to Nurse-Midwifery Education in Rural Areas by Juliana van Olphen Fehr, CNM, PhD, FACNM LACK OF ACCESS TO CARE IN RURAL AREAS Nurse-Midwifery Student Enrollment 2002-2009 HRSA Acknowledgement and Disclaimer This project is supported in part by funds from the Division of Nursing (DN), Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) under grant number DO9HPO7967, “Improving Access to Health Care in Rural and Medically Underserved Areas of Virginia with Advanced Practice Nurses,” award amount: $223,572.00. The information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by the Division of Nursing, BHPr, DHHS or the U.S.Government. IOM Board on Health Care Services: EXPAND DISTANCE PROGRAMS SHENANDOAH UNIVERSITY RESPONDED : WITH VIRGINIA’S FIRST NURSE-MIDWIFERY PROGRAM Virginia House Joint Resolution 431 recommends: OPEN Nurse-Midwifery program in Virginia to INCREASE access to CNMS 2002 1991 1996 SHENANDOAH UNIVERSITY RESPONDED: WITH THE “ The Midwifery Initiative” 2003-2010 2003 2010 Red dots = Tele-broadcast areas for ODU and MU ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],IOM: Use formal arrangements to expand rural-based education. HRSA: Develop creative, collaborative initiatives to expand enrollments. ANA : Develop ACCESSIBLE, FLEXIBLE & AFFORDABLE programs through new models & partnerships. AACN : STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS & collaborative relationships = more nurses. DHHS Task Force : Education Programs must fundamentally change to increase access . Year One : Core Course at Home University Year Two : Midwifery Courses at Shenandoah University](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/postermi2010-100409154144-phpapp01/85/poster-mi-2010-1-320.jpg)
