And now for some good news!!!
A midwifery school in Florida that has been struggling with threatened closure has announced it will remain open!
Miami-Dade is a great school, and since it's a community college its also very affordable- Its a public school so you can get regular financial aid! Its a three year program that leads to a Florida LM license, which is allows you to practice in most States and Canada. My birth assistant was trying to go to Midwifery School there since 2003, but it was not accepting students. The problem was a lack of support from the higher ups in the Community College institution that did not understand the particularities involved in midwifery education.It was just announced that the program beat the threat of closure they have been battling for three years, and will accept students again! This is a victory that represents a lot of hard work by birth/midwifery activists. The Miami Dade Community College Midwifery Program is one of a kind- quality program in a public school, affordable, economically and ethnically diverse, so it is great news for all of us in the midwifery community and homebirthers/birth center moms that this school will be training more midwives!!
However, they are operating under "conditions" and one is is having 20 students enroll who are academically ready to start the program and able to pay the tuition. That may in fact be the largest hurdle. I'd suggest if anyone knows of students who are thinking about starting that they urge them to contact Justine and start this fall.
Heidi
Here is the message I received from an e-group:
__________________________________________________ ______________
The Miami Dade College Midwifery Program is pleased to announce that we
are now accepting applications for a class to begin fall 2007. A
special thanks to all who contributed their support for this Program and
its continuance.
The Midwifery Program at Miami Dade College is a 3 year, 90 credit
course of clinical and didactic study which culminates in an Associate
in Science in Midwifery degree. This program consists of 34 general
education and natural science credits and 56 in-program midwifery core
course credits. Miami Dade College (formerly Miami Dade Community
College) is part of the Florida state educational system. Tuition is
$69 per credit for in-state residents and 3 times higher for out of
state residents (1 year residency is required). Additional costs are
lab fees, textbooks, equipment and student liability insurance. The
College requires each student to be insured to participate in clinicals.
The cost for student liability insurance is anticipated to be around
$6000-7000 for the coming academic year. Financial aid is available for
those who qualify. Interested students can apply online for federal
financial aid.
Although the Midwifery Program is in the College's School of Nursing,
this is a "direct-entry" (NOT a nurse-midwifery) program. In addition
to learning about maternity and well woman care, students are prepared
for a midwifery practice that specializes in natural birthings in
out-of-hospital settings. Graduates are eligible to take the North
American Registry of Midwives (NARM) national certification exam to earn
the credential CPM (Certified Professional Midwife). Once having passed
the NARM exam, graduates qualify to apply to become Florida Licensed
Midwives (LMs). LMs can be employed by or open their own birth centers,
home birth midwifery practices, work for clinics, doctors, and other
maternal and child service agencies such as Healthy Start Coalition of
Miami-Dade. If you plan to practice midwifery in another state, you
need to check with that state midwifery licensing authority to make sure
this educational route would enable you to get a license in that
jurisdiction.
Before beginning the Midwifery Program, the applicant must have
completed these courses (or comparable courses at another college or
university):
ENC 1101 English Composition: 3 credits, 45 hours
MAC 1105 College Algebra: 3 credits, 45 hours or any 3 credit
college-level math course
BSC 2085 Anatomy & Physiology I: 3 credits, 45 hours
BSC 2085L Anatomy & Physiology I Lab: 1 credit, 30 hours
BSC 2086 Anatomy & Physiology II: 3 credits, 45 hours
BSC 2086L Anatomy & Physiology II Lab: 1 credit, 30 hours
CHM 1033 Chemistry: 3 credits, 45 hours
In addition to the core Midwifery Program courses, these general
education and science courses may be taken concurrently with the
Midwifery Program, if not already completed:
PHI 2604 Critical Thinking and Ethics: 3 credits, 45 hours
PPE 1005 Psychology of Personal Effectiveness: 3 credits, 45
hours
SPC 1026 Fundamentals of Speech Communication: 3 credits, 45
hours
MCB 2013 Microbiology: 3 credits, 45 hours
MCB 2013L Microbiology Lab: 2 credits, 60 hours
HUN 1201 Essentials of Nutrition: 3 credits, 45 hours
Note: If you have an Associate in Arts or higher degree, you do NOT need
these courses:
ENC 1101 English Composition: 3 credits, 45 hours
MAC 1105 College Algebra: 3 credits, 45 hours or any 3 credit
college-level math course
PHI 2604 Critical Thinking and Ethics: 3 credits, 45 hours
PPE 1005 Psychology of Personal Effectiveness: 3 credits, 45
hours
SPC 1026 Fundamentals of Speech Communication: 3 credits, 45
hours
To find out more about direct-entry midwifery and the Miami Dade College
Midwifery Program, you are required to attend an Information Session at
Medical Center Campus. They will be held on Monday evening 6-8 pm April
9, 16 and 23, and Thursday morning 10 am-noon May 10 through July 26.
If you can not attend one of these dates or you live outside of
commuting distance, please contact us and we can make individual
arrangements to satisfy this requirement.
For more information, contact Justine Clegg at the College at
305-237-4234 or by cell (305-310-4507) or Diann Gregory at 305-237-4460.
Justine Clegg, MS, LM, CPM
Midwifery Program Coordinator
Miami Dade College Medical Center Campus
950 N.W. 20 Street
Miami, FL 33127
Office: 305.237.4234
Cell: 305.310.4507
Fax: 305.237.4119
email: jclegg@mdc.edu
Please note: Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most
written communications to and from College employees are available to
the public and media upon request. Therefore this email may be subject
to public disclosure.
A midwifery school in Florida that has been struggling with threatened closure has announced it will remain open!
Miami-Dade is a great school, and since it's a community college its also very affordable- Its a public school so you can get regular financial aid! Its a three year program that leads to a Florida LM license, which is allows you to practice in most States and Canada. My birth assistant was trying to go to Midwifery School there since 2003, but it was not accepting students. The problem was a lack of support from the higher ups in the Community College institution that did not understand the particularities involved in midwifery education.It was just announced that the program beat the threat of closure they have been battling for three years, and will accept students again! This is a victory that represents a lot of hard work by birth/midwifery activists. The Miami Dade Community College Midwifery Program is one of a kind- quality program in a public school, affordable, economically and ethnically diverse, so it is great news for all of us in the midwifery community and homebirthers/birth center moms that this school will be training more midwives!!
However, they are operating under "conditions" and one is is having 20 students enroll who are academically ready to start the program and able to pay the tuition. That may in fact be the largest hurdle. I'd suggest if anyone knows of students who are thinking about starting that they urge them to contact Justine and start this fall.
Heidi
Here is the message I received from an e-group:
__________________________________________________ ______________
The Miami Dade College Midwifery Program is pleased to announce that we
are now accepting applications for a class to begin fall 2007. A
special thanks to all who contributed their support for this Program and
its continuance.
The Midwifery Program at Miami Dade College is a 3 year, 90 credit
course of clinical and didactic study which culminates in an Associate
in Science in Midwifery degree. This program consists of 34 general
education and natural science credits and 56 in-program midwifery core
course credits. Miami Dade College (formerly Miami Dade Community
College) is part of the Florida state educational system. Tuition is
$69 per credit for in-state residents and 3 times higher for out of
state residents (1 year residency is required). Additional costs are
lab fees, textbooks, equipment and student liability insurance. The
College requires each student to be insured to participate in clinicals.
The cost for student liability insurance is anticipated to be around
$6000-7000 for the coming academic year. Financial aid is available for
those who qualify. Interested students can apply online for federal
financial aid.
Although the Midwifery Program is in the College's School of Nursing,
this is a "direct-entry" (NOT a nurse-midwifery) program. In addition
to learning about maternity and well woman care, students are prepared
for a midwifery practice that specializes in natural birthings in
out-of-hospital settings. Graduates are eligible to take the North
American Registry of Midwives (NARM) national certification exam to earn
the credential CPM (Certified Professional Midwife). Once having passed
the NARM exam, graduates qualify to apply to become Florida Licensed
Midwives (LMs). LMs can be employed by or open their own birth centers,
home birth midwifery practices, work for clinics, doctors, and other
maternal and child service agencies such as Healthy Start Coalition of
Miami-Dade. If you plan to practice midwifery in another state, you
need to check with that state midwifery licensing authority to make sure
this educational route would enable you to get a license in that
jurisdiction.
Before beginning the Midwifery Program, the applicant must have
completed these courses (or comparable courses at another college or
university):
ENC 1101 English Composition: 3 credits, 45 hours
MAC 1105 College Algebra: 3 credits, 45 hours or any 3 credit
college-level math course
BSC 2085 Anatomy & Physiology I: 3 credits, 45 hours
BSC 2085L Anatomy & Physiology I Lab: 1 credit, 30 hours
BSC 2086 Anatomy & Physiology II: 3 credits, 45 hours
BSC 2086L Anatomy & Physiology II Lab: 1 credit, 30 hours
CHM 1033 Chemistry: 3 credits, 45 hours
In addition to the core Midwifery Program courses, these general
education and science courses may be taken concurrently with the
Midwifery Program, if not already completed:
PHI 2604 Critical Thinking and Ethics: 3 credits, 45 hours
PPE 1005 Psychology of Personal Effectiveness: 3 credits, 45
hours
SPC 1026 Fundamentals of Speech Communication: 3 credits, 45
hours
MCB 2013 Microbiology: 3 credits, 45 hours
MCB 2013L Microbiology Lab: 2 credits, 60 hours
HUN 1201 Essentials of Nutrition: 3 credits, 45 hours
Note: If you have an Associate in Arts or higher degree, you do NOT need
these courses:
ENC 1101 English Composition: 3 credits, 45 hours
MAC 1105 College Algebra: 3 credits, 45 hours or any 3 credit
college-level math course
PHI 2604 Critical Thinking and Ethics: 3 credits, 45 hours
PPE 1005 Psychology of Personal Effectiveness: 3 credits, 45
hours
SPC 1026 Fundamentals of Speech Communication: 3 credits, 45
hours
To find out more about direct-entry midwifery and the Miami Dade College
Midwifery Program, you are required to attend an Information Session at
Medical Center Campus. They will be held on Monday evening 6-8 pm April
9, 16 and 23, and Thursday morning 10 am-noon May 10 through July 26.
If you can not attend one of these dates or you live outside of
commuting distance, please contact us and we can make individual
arrangements to satisfy this requirement.
For more information, contact Justine Clegg at the College at
305-237-4234 or by cell (305-310-4507) or Diann Gregory at 305-237-4460.
Justine Clegg, MS, LM, CPM
Midwifery Program Coordinator
Miami Dade College Medical Center Campus
950 N.W. 20 Street
Miami, FL 33127
Office: 305.237.4234
Cell: 305.310.4507
Fax: 305.237.4119
email: jclegg@mdc.edu
Please note: Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most
written communications to and from College employees are available to
the public and media upon request. Therefore this email may be subject
to public disclosure.