Nurse-midwives are seeking full practice authority, meaning that they can practice to the full extent of their education, clinical training and certification. Currently, over half of states license and regulate nurse-midwives to practice to full extent of their education, clinical training and certification. Three states still require physician supervision though North Carolina is dropping from that list in October. The remaining states require a signed collaborative practice agreement as a condition of licensure for a subset of nurse-midwifery services, such as the intrapartum period or for prescriptive authority.
Credit: Courtesy of American College of Nurse-Midwives