Mercy In Action Midwifery School

The Natural Alternative's midwives also run a full Midwifery School separate from the Homebirth Practice. The Midwifery School offers year-round opportunities to learn midwifery and primary health care through academic semesters, seminars, and international internships. Vicki is the director and main teacher, while Rose and Ian are adjunct instructors.

For more information on any of the trainings listed below, visit the website www.MercyInAction.com

School of Midwifery

 

Academic Component:

Three Month Intensive Academic School. Daily classes and group study in Boise, Idaho. This will be a full-time, 6 days a week school to meet your learning objectives in a short time. Elements of guided research, lecture, demonstrations, reading, writing, and student teaching will all contribute to an indepth midwifery education in a short time-frame. This educational path can be continued to achieve National CPM certification and a Degree of Science in Midwifery

Clinical Component:

Three Month Intensive Clinical Internship in birth center with high volume births in the Philippines. This is your time to learn hands-on midwifery, assist and catch babies at birth center births and home births, observe hospital births, and do home visits for postpartum and newborn care. You will be involved in caring for pregnant women and babies, as well as well-woman and sick-woman exams, diagnosis and treatment.

CPM Component:

Pass NARM and become a Certified Professional Midwife

Click here for the SCHOOL OF MIDWIFERY

Seminars and Trainings 

Midwifery Volunteerism in Developing Countries:

This week-end intensive seminar will be taught by midwives who have worked extensively in Asia to improve maternal/Newborn/Child Health. They will outline the needs of women and babies being birthed into situations of poverty around the world, both from their own experience and the collective work of those in the International community who are working for Safe Motherhood and Newborn Survival.

Week-end Seminar combines MEAC accredited continuing education credits, hands-on skills acquisition, and unique perspective on the needs of poor women and infants worldwide.

Click here for the MIDWIFERY VOLUNTEERISM SEMINAR

Midwifery & Birth Attendant Intensive Training:

This Midwifery and Birth Attendant Intensive Training Retreat will offer practical learning skills for midwives, nurses, students or doulas who are or will be attending births as primary or secondary midwife in out-of-hospital settings.

Skills taught will include vital signs of mother and baby, blood drawing and lab work, how to do vaginal exams, pelvimetry, breast exams, the role of the midwife, special equipment and supplies for home birth, charting, medical terminology, suturing, injections, emergency skills such as resuscitation, shoulder dystocia, twin and breech births, and much more. This will be a six-day Training Retreat, with lots of knowledge and skills being taught in a relaxed environment.

Click here for the MIDWIFERY & BIRTH ATTENDANT INTENSIVE TRAINING

NARM Study Retreat:

For those preparing to take their CPM certifing exam, we offer the NARM Study Retreat, held the week before each testing date. This is six days of focused review the week before the NARM Exam, with no distractions, taught and guided by Vicki Penwell, a midwife with experience preparing over 120 students to pass NARM and become CPMs using this method of intense retreat review and practice the week before the exam. While there are no guarantees, a very high percentage of students who studied with Vicki have passed NARM the first time.

Click here for the NARM STUDY RETREAT

International Trainings

 

Primary Health Care Intensive:

During this two week training session, you will spend time learning about common diseases of deprivation that plague people of the third world, the factors that oppress and injure children, and how to communicate vital health messages cross-culturally. You will learn how to diagnose and treat common illnesses and wounds, ear infections, malnutrition, respiratory  infections and parasitic diseases, and learn appropriate medical care of pregnant women and newborns. During the second week you will hike into remote and primitive tribal villages to give medical assistance to people who rarely or never see a doctor. You will be taught by medics and midwives with vast expereince in the Philippines, while residing on a beautiful tropical island in a guest house by the sea. Time will be set aside for fun adventures such as hikes to waterfalls and swimming or snorkeling in the ocean. You can apply as an individual or with a group for the sessions.

Click here for the PRIMARY HEALTH CARE INTENSIVE

Maternal-Newborn-Child Health Care Intensive:

This two week Maternal Newborn Health Care training in a developing world setting will give you amazing experiences in cross-cultural birthing practices, and equip you to impact the health of mothers and babies anywhere in the world. The first week will be an intensive training on the unique needs of pregnant women living in poverty, including new and updated "Best Practices" protocols from the world health community. We will compare what is similar and what is very different from the western way of providing prenatal care, labor and delivery care, and newborn and postpartum care. You will learn to diagnose, treat and prevent specific complications of pregnancy such as hookworms, Tetanus, TB, and the devastating effects of malnutrition, and learn how to prevent mother-to-child transmission of AIDs. Special attention will be given to the five major causes of maternal death in the third world; hemorrhage, obstructed labor, infection, eclampsia, and abortion, and you will learn life-saving skills to prevent these unnecessary deaths. We will also focus on practical ways to reduce the high rate of newborn deaths and stillbirths. All this training will take place on a beautiful tropical island where you will reside in a guest house by the sea. During the second week, we will travel to one of Mercy In Action's Mother-Friendly-Baby-Friendly birth centers where you will gain valuable experience in providing cross-cultural prenatal, intrapartum, and newborn care. Postpartum home visits will further enrich your understanding of the conditions mothers and babies are living with day by day. There is no guarantee of how many births you may see, but you will have the opportunity to attend births in the second week.

Click here for the MATERNAL-NEWBORN-CHILD HEALTH CARE INTENSIVE