Nurse-Midwifery Program Receives Pre-accreditation

The new Nurse-Midwifery program in the Graduate School at Bethel University has received pre-accreditation approval from the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME). Online classes for the Master of Science in Nurse-Midwifery began on August 18. Pre-accreditation from ACME will allow Bethel Nurse-Midwifery students to sit for the national certification exam to become Certified Nurse-Midwives at the end of their studies.

The program administrators will apply for full accreditation six months after the first class of students graduates, which will be in May 2016. “If we follow the plan that has been approved by ACME and our students do well on the certification exam, we can anticipate the program will receive full accreditation six months after our first cohort graduates,” explains program director Jane Wrede.

The Nurse-Midwifery program is online with three face-to-face residencies and taught by Bethel University nursing professors. Bethel’s program will be four semesters in length and can accommodate up to 30 students in each class, or cohort. The first cohort has 14 students with varying levels of nursing experience, which will help to create a rich learning environment, says Wrede. The application deadline for the next class is March 1, 2015, and informational webinars to learn more about the program will be held this fall on September 17, October 6, and November 11.   

“The quality and passion of the effort to design, prepare, and launch this missional-medical program has been exemplary,” says Richard D. Crombie, vice president and dean of Bethel University’s College of Adult & Professional Studies (CAPS) and Graduate School. 

The program’s faculty will include Julie Ann Vingers, Katrina Anderson, and Wrede. Sarah Bordewyk is the clinical coordinator and is already arranging clinical rotation assignments for students for the spring. “Our midwife team is an amazing group of dedicated individuals who, through their diverse experiences, are prepared to teach nurse-midwives for practice in today’s healthcare environment,” says Wrede. “We believe that God's hand has led Bethel to take on this new endeavor and we are certain that God's mercy and sovereign guidance will strengthen us going forward.