Growing a More Diverse Certified Nurse Midwife Workforce: What Are Their Educational and Career Pathways and How Do They Differ by Race and Ethnicity?
Description:
There has been recent attention and funding put toward increasing the size of the certified nurse midwife (CNM) workforce, practitioners who provide prenatal, birth, and postpartum care as well as other gynecological services and whose care is associated with improved perinatal outcomes. However, more research is needed which factors important for facilitating entry into the CNM workforce as well as for increasing its diversity. To address this, we described the CNM workforce including sociodemographic characteristics, employment experiences and career pathways in 2018 and 2022. We examined how these factors may vary compared to other women’s health providers, how they have changed over time, and specifically how career pathways may differ according to sociodemographic characteristics such as race, ethnicity, and gender.
Lead Researchers: Paula Kett, PhD, MPH, RN & Kyla Woodward, PhD, RN
Contact Information: pmk@uw.edu & kylas@uw.edu
Funder:
HRSA: HWRC Health Equity
Status:
Complete
Publications/Presentations
| Authors | Title | Type | Date | Documents/Media |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kett PM, Woodward KF, Shahrir SF, Mohammed SA | Career Pathways and Employment Experiences of Certified Nurse-Midwives Compared With Other Advanced Practice Registered Nurses in the United States | PUBLICATION | 04-15-2026 | Article |
| Kett PM, Woodward KF, Shahrir SF, Mohammed S | Certified Nurse Midwives: Racial Differences in Career Pathways and Employment Experiences | PRESENTATION | 11-04-2025 | |
| Kett PM, Woodward KF, Shahrir SF | Certified Nurse Midwives: Racial Differences in Career Pathways and Employment Experiences | PRESENTATION | 04-10-2025 | Certified Nurse Midwives- Racial Differences in Career Pathways and Employment Experiences |