Western journal of nursing research
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Nurse-midwives provide significant health care to underserved and vulnerable women, yet there is limited information about the nature of nurse-midwifery practices and compensation for services. This study reports the results of a Colorado statewide survey of nurse-midwives (N = 217). Electronic survey was utilized to detail practice in seven areas: demographics, type of practice, compensation, leadership, legislative priorities,teaching involvement, and practice satisfaction. ⋯ Restriction from medical staff membership, prescriptive authority constraints, and liability issues were practice limitations. While teaching a wide variety of learners, nurse-midwives do limited mentoring of nurse-midwifery students, a finding which is concerning given the decreasing numbers of nurse-midwives. Findings are compared to known national data, with implications for the provision of health care services detailed.