Just three years after the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing opened a Nurse-Midwifery program, it celebrated its first graduates and attained a $4 million federal grant to support more Midwifery education.
Established in 2021, the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in Nurse-Midwifery offers specialized knowledge and skills in family-centered primary care with a mission to improve health outcomes for pregnant women and their children.
It is the only DNP in Nurse-Midwifery at a public university in Tennessee. In addition to the six students who graduated in May, 15 are currently earning their DNP in Nurse-Midwifery, and seven were admitted to the program this August. The program’s first graduates look forward to empowering women, serving the underserved, and taking a holistic approach to health care. During National Midwifery Week, Oct. 6 – 12, we recognize the contributions of this new program.
Increasing Access
Alison Doyle, DNP, a mother of four who was among the first Midwifery graduates, knows from experience what a difference a midwife can make. “The midwives that provided care for me through my pregnancies were inspirational in every aspect of their lives. Plus, it is such a miracle to witness the blossoming of a family. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?”
Dr. Doyle, 35, of Oxford, MS, will work as a nurse-midwife in Clarksdale, MS, at the Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center. Another Mississippi native, Lacey Ballard, DNP, is taking her new Nurse-Midwifery degree and skills across the country to Tacoma, Washington, where she will work at Tacoma General Hospital as a midwife seeing patients in the hospital and clinic. Dr. Ballard attained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from UT Health Science Center, too, but chose to move to Washington to be closer to her nephews.
The DNP in Nurse-Midwifery “is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done,” she said. “Every time I pass a new mother her newborn, I am reminded that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
New graduate Stephanie Maupin, DNP, decided to pursue the degree because, “I loved the care model provided… I appreciated that the midwifery model focused more on low interventions and treating the whole person, not just the issue at hand.” She plans to work in a birth center or hospital.
Jasmine Walker, DNP, has joined the Midwifery practice of Regional One Health in Memphis, achieving her goal of working in an underserved community. She also wants to get involved in policymaking and would like to help develop more resources for patients to improve overall health outcomes in maternity care. “The Midwifery program has reinforced my concerns that being compliant with care plans is influenced by so many other factors like lack of transportation and finances,” she said.
Dr. Walker chose to pursue the DNP in Nurse-Midwifery because, “Midwifery represents everything I stand for: women’s empowerment, creating a safe environment to build rapport with people, educating and providing evidence-based practice care, and decreasing the gap between access and equity of care.”
The Impact of the Grant
In 2020, the maternal mortality rate in Tennessee was 58.5 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the 2022 Report to the Tennessee General Assembly from the Tennessee Department of Health on Family Health and Wellness. This is much higher than the national maternal mortality rate for 2020 of 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In Tennessee, more than three out of four of those maternal deaths were considered preventable. Residents in 35 of Tennessee’s 95 counties have no access to maternity care, according to the 2022 March of Dimes report on maternity-care deserts.
The $4 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Association will enable the college’s Nurse-Midwifery program to expand its partnerships to include the following institutions as clinical learning sites: the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss.; Professional Care Services, which operates clinics in rural West Tennessee; Baptist Memorial Health Care, which operates hospitals throughout the Delta; the Shelby County Health Department; and the UTHSC Nursing Mobile Health Unit, which serves patients in Lake and Lauderdale counties. The college will continue partnering with the midwifery practice at Regional One Health.
More than 70% of the grant’s funding annually will be applied to student training costs. The remaining funds will be used in developing those vital clinical partnerships. The grant’s principal investigator is Professor Kate Fouquier, PhD, APRN, CNM, FACNM.
Why UT Health Science Center
Meredith Morris, DNP, came to the UT Health Science Center program because she wanted to learn from Dr. Fouquier, who leads the Nurse-Midwifery program, and because the program provided preceptors. “Preceptors in a CNM program are very hard to find. This has been the best program I have been part of,” she said.
Dr. Morris plans to work in Mississippi, where she lives. “My biggest goal is to give women informed choices and autonomy in their own care. I want women to feel trusted and heard.”
Jessica Martin, DNP, also plans to continue working in Mississippi. “I hope to improve birth outcomes in Mississippi for all women,” she said. “I want to provide care that decreases birth trauma, and I want to increase awareness about midwifery and what midwives are capable of doing.”