Nurse Midwives

• Provide prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, or newborn care to patients.
• Explain procedures to patients, family members, staff members or others.
• Monitor fetal development by listening to fetal heartbeat, taking external uterine measurements, identifying fetal position, or estimating fetal size and weight.
• Develop and implement individualized plans for health care management.
• Write information in medical records or provide narrative summaries to communicate patient information to other health care providers.
• Document patients' health histories, symptoms, physical conditions, or other diagnostic information.
• Educate patients and family members regarding prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, newborn, or interconceptional care.
• Document findings of physical examinations.
• Order and interpret diagnostic or laboratory tests.
• Provide primary health care, including pregnancy and childbirth, to women.
• Consult with or refer patients to appropriate specialists when conditions exceed the scope of practice or expertise.
• Perform physical examinations by taking vital signs, checking neurological reflexes, examining breasts, or performing pelvic examinations.
• Prescribe medications as permitted by state regulations.
• Provide patients with direct family planning services such as inserting intrauterine devices, dispensing oral contraceptives, and fitting cervical barriers including cervical caps or diaphragms.
• Read current literature, talk with colleagues, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in midwifery.
• Establish practice guidelines for specialty areas such as primary health care of women, care of the childbearing family, and newborn care.
• Conduct clinical research on topics such as maternal or infant health care, contraceptive methods, breastfeeding, and gynecological care.
• Plan, provide, or evaluate educational programs for nursing staff, health care teams, or the community.

Source: O*NET OnLine information for Nurse Midwives.

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Source: O*NET OnLine information for Nurse Midwives.