Midwife Continuing Education

Continuous learning allows us to expand our thinking capabilities further into the future. As midwives, continuous education is important as it aids us at a professional level to stay on top of every change that takes place in the healthcare industry. We need to safeguard the future health workforce and the provision of high-quality healthcare; therefore, steps must be taken to ensure that midwives receive adequate training and skills development.

Midwives must get certifications in institutions or organizations that is proven and recognized to give certifications that are suitable to the needs of the midwifery profession in the healthcare industry. To assist you further in your continuing education, here are the steps and requirements how for certification from the three main and well-known organizations which certify and assess each midwife’s qualifications to provide midwifery services.

North American Registry of Midwives (NARM)

NARM’s mission is to provide and maintain an evaluative process for multiple routes of midwifery education and training; to develop and administer a standardized examination system leading to the credential “Certified Professional Midwife” (CPM); to identify best practices that reflect the excellence and diversity of the independent midwifery community as the basis for setting the standards for the CPM credential; to publish, distribute and/or make available materials that describe the certification and examination process and requirements for application; to maintain a registry of those individuals who have received certification and/or passed the examination; to manage the process of re-certification; and to work in multiple arenas to promote and improve the role of CPMs in the delivery of maternity care to women and their newborns.

NARM CEU Requirements

One Contact Hour is defined as 55 clock minutes. To be awarded .5 (half) Contact Hours, the period is 30 minutes to 55 minutes. Less than 30 contact minutes will not be awarded Continuing Education Contact Hours. NARM, in collaboration with the US Department of Education (USDE) accredited education programs and US MERA professional organizations, will administer and award the Midwifery Bridge Certificate to CPMs based on completion of 50 accredited approved continuing education contact hours (CEUs/CMEs/CNEs) within the five years before application.

Required continuing education will be based on identified areas to address emergency skills and the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) competencies. The list of approved continuing education will be maintained by NARM and regularly evaluated and updated. For as long as US MERA continues to operate, a committee from among those organizations will provide advice and consultation to NARM on this provision. NARM requires recertification for all CPMs every three years.

Recertification

Recertification requires 25 continuing education credit hours and 5 hours of peer review. Continuing education acquired to meet the Midwifery Bridge Certificate will also count toward CPM recertification, but not all work accepted for recertification will count toward the Midwifery Bridge Certificate. CPMs are responsible for tracking their Continuing Education credit hours, documentation, and dates to meet both the CPM recertification requirements and the Midwifery Bridge Certificate requirements.

All CEUs/CMEs/CNEs must have been completed in the past five years and must have been granted by an accrediting organization such as MEAC, ACOG, ACNM, AWHONN, AAFP, State Health Departments, Nursing or Perinatal Associations.

CEUs for the Midwifery Bridge Certificate taught by midwifery associations or non-accredited educational programs will not count unless accredited as CEUs by a third party.

For purposes of the NARM Midwifery Bridge Certificate, NARM uses the term “CEU” to refer to required continuing education, which may be documented in hours or in units. 1 contact hour is equal to 0.1 units.

Know more about CEU Certification here http://narm.org/certification-recertification/mbc/

Midwifery Education Accreditation Council (MEAC)

MEAC is an independent agency for professional direct-entry midwifery education in the United States. One of its roles is to provide expertise in the evaluation of continuing education (CE) for midwives and other women’s health care providers. MEAC acts to approve as appropriate the CE programs that individual sponsors and national or state midwifery organizations offer to midwives and related professionals. Program sponsor organizations receive MEAC approval for their intended offerings, then award to participants the contact hours or equivalent continuing education units (CEUs). MEAC does not award contact hour certificates or proof of attendance, or “accredit” CE programs. It approves learning opportunities presented by organizations/sponsors who then award contact hours for their CE programs after review of their applications

Continuing Education (CEU)

One of MEAC’s roles is to evaluate continuing education (CE) and distance continuing education for midwives and other women’s health care providers. MEAC acts to “approve as appropriate” the CE programs that individual sponsors and national or state midwifery organizations offer to midwives and related professionals.

Program sponsors who receive MEAC approval for their intended offerings then award to participants the continuing education units (CEUs) or contact hours. MEAC does not award the CEU certificate or proof of attendance, or ‘accredit’ CE programs. It approves organizations to award CEUs for their CE programs after review of their applications.

MEAC approves Continuing Education Programs attended by professional midwives to maintain and upgrade their skills and knowledge for practice. One of MEAC’s roles is to evaluate and approve continuing education (CE) for midwives and other women’s health care providers. Program sponsors who receive MEAC approval for continuing education programs then award continuing education units (CEUs) or contact hours to participants.

Know more about the MEAC Accreditation Procedure here https://www.meacschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-3-CEUGuidelines.pdf

American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB)

Approved Accreditation Programs

The Certificate Maintenance Program accepts continuing education units approved by the following organizations to satisfy the 20 contact hours requirement:

ACNM (American College of Nurse-Midwives)
ACCME (Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education)
AMA (American Medical Association)
AAFP (American Academy of Family Physicians)
AANP (American Academy of Nurse Practitioners)
NPWH (National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health)
ACPE (Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education)

Additional Continuing Education Options

Additionally, each of the following nine alternatives may be used once per certification cycle instead of a portion of the contact hours required to satisfy the continuing education component of the Certificate Maintenance Program.

Graduate Level Coursework: completion directly relevant to clinical midwifery practice will be approved for 10 contact hours. A transcript is required for documentation. A maximum of 10 hours will be awarded for this per cycle.
DNP and PhD Level Coursework in Health-Related Field: will be approved for either “Option 1” or “Option 2” (The dates for either option must have been achieved during the current CMP cycle year):

Option 1: A partial program transcript may be used for 10 contact hours for a degree in progress.
Option 2: If Option 1 has not been utilized during a previous or current cycle, a transcript or degree showing completion of the Graduate or PhD program may be used for 20 contact hours.

A formal presentation on a topic that has contact hour approval from one of the above-approved providers will be approved for double the number of contact hours that are awarded to participants. Up to 10 hours may accrue for this alternative. When multiple speakers (such as a panel) are present, eligible credit will be divided by the number of presenters. A copy of the program brochure is required for documentation. A presentation at a meeting without continuing education hours from the approved providers will not be accepted.
Publication in a peer-reviewed journal as a primary author on a midwifery-related topic will be approved instead of 10 contact hours. A photocopy or PDF document of the published article is required for documentation. Secondary authors may request 5 hours. Acceptable documentation includes a copy of the document and evidence of the degree of their participation in the development of the article. An example of this evidence would be a statement in the published article describing each author’s participation.
The primary author of a chapter in a peer-reviewed textbook relevant to midwifery and women’s health may receive recognition in lieu of ten contact hours. A photocopy of the published chapter from the textbook is required for documentation. Secondary authors may request 5 hours. Acceptable documentation includes a copy of the document and evidence of the degree of their participation in the development of the chapter. An example of this evidence would be a statement in the publication describing each author’s participation.
Peer reviewer of an article for a referred journal or textbook chapter relevant to midwifery and women’s health will be approved for 1.5 contact hours. A letter or certificate from the journal is required for documentation. Up to 10 hours may accrue for this alternative.
Direct clinical supervision as a preceptor to a nurse-midwifery/midwifery student from an ACME accredited program (with or without payment), will be approved for up to 10 contact hours for 90 hours or more spent precepting. A letter from the faculty coordinator is required for documentation.
Participation in an ACNM or AMCB committee that advances midwifery practice will qualify an individual for up to 10 hours. A letter of verification from the committee chair with dates of service and hours of participation is required. The number of qualifying hours will be at the discretion of the committee chair.
Participation in an ACME Accreditation Review will qualify a CNM/CM for 10 contact hours once per certification cycle. A letter from the ACME executive director will be required for verification.

Continuing Education that is NOT Accepted

Continuing education only sponsored or approved by a state board of nursing or a state nursing organization (e.g., MNA)
Contact hours solely accredited by the National Certification Corporation (NCC)
American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) continuing education contact hours unless it is for an identified advanced nursing practice conference (e.g. NPACE conferences)
Basic Life Support (BLS)
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP)
Electronic Fetal Monitoring (EFM) unless the documentation specifically states that is advanced
Up to Date and similar programs without submission of a log or other evidence that the program is beyond core knowledge

CNMs and CMs residing outside of the US and continuing their AMCB certification are to submit hours of continuing education approved by an AMCB-recognized accreditation program. Many online opportunities are available to fulfill this requirement. If an individual would like to receive credit for any other continuing education activity before they have attended, then it is the responsibility of the individual to apply directly to the ACNM Continuing Education Committee, click here, for pre-approval of the desired activity.

It is highly recommended that midwives encourage sponsors of continuing education activities appropriate to midwives to apply to the ACNM for ACNM contact hours before offering the continuing education. When you participate in continuing education and you have a choice between ACCME credits and nursing credits, choose ACCME.

References

Continuing education policy. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2022, from https://www.amcbmidwife.org/certificate-maintenance-program/continuing-education-policy

Midwifery bridge certificate. North American Registry of Midwives. (2022, February 5). Retrieved September 30, 2022, from http://narm.org/certification-recertification/mbc/

Midwife Continuing Education Requirements (NARM, MEAC, AMCB)