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An Introduction to Nurse-Midwifery
The term “nurse-midwives” was first used in 1914; since then, the discipline has evolved into a critical component of maternal-child care in the U.S. and abroad. In 1962, the American College of Nurse-Midwifery (ACNM) approved its first definition of a nurse-midwife, as “a registered nurse who by virtue of added knowledge and skills gained through an organized program of study and clinical experience has extended the limits of her practice into the area of management of the care of mothers and babies throughout the maternity cycle…” We can simplify this definition: nurse-midwives are nurses who specialize in midwifery after their baccalaureate study, and they are concerned not only with the birthing process itself, but also with every aspect of pre-natal and post-natal care for the mother and baby. They focus not just on the biological aspects of birth but also the emotional/social/cultural/spiritual aspects. A leading nurse-midwifery scholar, Judith Rooks, explains, “Whereas medicine focuses on the pathologic potential of pregnancy and birth, midwifery focuses on its normalcy and potential for health [and] on each woman as a unique person, in the context of her family and her life.” This holistic approach allows nurse-midwives to take active roles in maternal-child care in the months before and after delivery, and outside of the hospital or birthing center.
Claire Andrews, a CWRU professor and practicing midwife, explains that writing has always played a large role in nurse-midwifery, acting as the preferred method of examination as opposed to objective tests. She notes that healthcare is not black and white; unanticipated occurrences and complex family situations prevent simple answers, and nurse-midwives perform problem-solving in that context. Thus, students write case studies while in clinical training and conduct research that requires extensive writing in their midwifery classes. Furthermore, written exams are deemed as the best way to understand a student’s thinking. Due to practical considerations, the national exams have recently become objective rather than writing-based; however, writing continues to play a significant role in nurse-midwifery training and in the lives of practicing nurse-midwives.
Despite these facts, some people within the field (including Andrews), note the lack of published scholarship among nurse-midwives. While the cause of this lack has been attributed to many different factors (including busy schedules and lack of confidence in writing performance), proponents of nurse-midwifery publication have been working to counteract this trend. For instance, Andrews has actively led efforts at CWRU to organize workshops for nurse-midwives, helping them with their writing and encouraging them to publish. Shirley A. Smoyak, in “So Why Haven’t I Seen That Manuscript?” (2002), urges her nursing colleagues to overcome barriers to publication and take the time to contribute written scholarship to the discipline; Smoyak conducts publication workshops for nurses to help achieve this goal. (See attachment below)
Clearly, though, nurse-midwifery is not without its published scholarship. Several professional journals, within nurse-midwifery and extending across the nursing field, provide evidence that nurse-midwives have much to offer to publications. National and international midwifery organizations have built upon midwifery’s rich history to continue evolving the discipline into a dynamic force for humanitarian change. Writing experts have published numerous guides for nurses and nurse-midwives. Thus, the relationship between nurse-midwifery and writing is growing, and as students continue entering the field and becoming immersed in its discourse, the canon of published nurse-midwifery scholarship has the potential to greatly expand. The collection of resources on this website is aimed at teachers of technical communication, who are responsible for helping students of nurse-midwifery to develop their writing skills. Annotated lists of journals, writing guides, and professional organizations and scholars provide a framework for understanding the discipline-specific conventions of nurse-midwifery research and writing. A glimpse into writing efforts at CWRU’s Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing provides an example of sustained efforts to encourage publication. An interview with Francie Likis, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Midwifery and Women's Health provides an insider perspective from a leading scholarly publication. A brief history of nurse-midwifery’s early days is helpful for setting the current trends in a larger context. Finally, a list of additional resources provides further avenues for research on the relationship between nurse-midwifery and writing.
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So Why Haven't I seen that Manuscript.pdf (Adobe Portable Document Format - 129k)
posted by assadmary Oct 9 2008, 9:19 PM EDT
So Why Haven't I Seen That Manuscript?
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