KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s College of Nursing is now offering a Doctor of Nursing Practice Nurse-Midwifery option – the only such program at a public university in Tennessee.
The UTHSC College of Nursing has received a four-year pre-accreditation from the American College of Midwifery Education and anticipates admitting its first cohort in August.
The only other option for nurse-midwifery education in Tennessee is Vanderbilt University.
There is a shortage of maternity care providers in the United States.
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists workforce analysis of 2017 projects a shortfall of more than 20,000 qualified maternity care providers by the year 2050.
A certified nurse-midwife is a nurse practitioner who can provide pregnancy and childbirth care, as well as primary care, annual gynecology wellness exams, family planning, fertility, and newborn care.
Applications for the Doctor of Nursing Practice Nurse-Midwifery option are now open and will close May 15, 2021. The first cohort will begin in August and include a maximum of eight students. The full-time plan of study for the program is three years, and the part-time plan of study is four years.
