2023

​

Board of Nursing Regulate Certified Midwives

Signed into law on April 26th, 2023. Starting July 1, 2024, the act authorizes individuals who have a midwife certification from the American Midwifery Certification Board, pay the required fee, and submit to a criminal history record check to obtain a license from the state board of nursing (board) to practice as a certified midwife in the state. A certified midwife licensed by the board may apply for and obtain provisional and full prescriptive authority upon satisfying the requirements specified in the act. Certified midwives are subject to regulation by the board to the same extent that the board regulates the practice of nursing, including grounds for discipline and disciplinary actions. Effective July 1, 2024, the act adds a member to the state board of nursing who is a certified midwife or an advanced practice registered nurse who is a certified nurse midwife.

​

CU Nursing Receives a $2 Million Grant to Expand Healthcare in Rural Areas

Granted in September 2023. The Health Resources and Services (HRSA) Grant will create the Colorado Rural Midwifery Workforce Expansion Program. It is designed to increase the number of certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) practicing in maternity care provider shortage areas in rural Colorado.

​

CNMs and CMs Gain Independent Practice Authority

CNMs received independent practice authority in 2015; CMs received that same authority when they became licensed in Colorado. "Delegation of patient care" means aspects of patient care that are consistent with a plan of patient care prescribed by a licensed health care provider within the scope of the provider's practice and that may be delegated to a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse within the scope of the nurse's practice. "Delegation of patient care" includes aspects of patient care that may be delegated by a licensed health care provider within the scope of the provider's practice and within the provider's professional judgment to a licensed or an unlicensed health care provider within the scope of that provider's practice.

​

Prescriptive Authority for CNMs and CMs

CNMs gained prescriptive authority effective July 1, 2010; CMs were added in July 2024 when their practice was approved. An advanced practice registered nurse or a certified midwife may be granted authority to prescribe prescription drugs and controlled substances to provide treatment to clients within the role and population focus of the advanced practice registered nurse or certified midwife, as applicable.

​

Grand Rounds Session "Midwives Making a Difference: How the Certified Midwife Credential Can Positively Impact the Women’s Health Workforce in Colorado

If midwifery is one of the oldest professions in the world, why aren’t there more midwives? What do midwives do in addition to helping families give birth? How could midwifery solve problems we’re seeing in high maternal mortality rates and the healthcare labor shortage?

Those and other questions were addressed in a Grand Rounds session, “Midwives Making a Difference: How the Certified Midwife Credential Can Positively Impact the Women’s Health Workforce in Colorado,” Jan. 9 at the University of Colorado College of Nursing and streamed live on Zoom.