581a. Professional Issues and Leadership.2 credit hours. This course is an introduction to the profession of nurse-midwifery and midwifery; to the national professional organization, the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM); and to public policy and programs affecting the health care of women, mothers, and infants. Students review the history of the profession and gain a working knowledge of practice development, coding, insurance issues, risk management, quality assurance, and peer review; clinical ethics; midwifery research, and nurse-midwifery evaluation and effectiveness literature; the structure and function of the ACNM, ACNM documents, and credentialing; the nurse-midwifery role, its functions, leadership, policy development, and interdisciplinary team relationships; Title V and other programs that affect the health care of women and infants, their current legislative base, and implementation as public policy; and international midwifery and the Safe Motherhood Initiative. Discussion focuses on current issues, trends, and possible future directions for women and maternal-infant health care policy and programs, and for the profession. The course prepares students to participate knowledgeably in local, regional, national, and international midwifery meetings and activities of the ACNM, in legislative and policy initiatives for health care of women and others and infants, and to accept responsibility inherent in the profession. Required for all students in the nurse-midwifery specialty. M. Goff.
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