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Upcoming Event:
Midwifery Regulation, Access & Health equity
The Nurse-Midwives of Zuckerberg San Francisco General, the UCSF Nurse-Midwifery Education Program, and the California Nurse-Midwives Association invite you to a presentation & discussion regarding midwifery regulation, access, and its impact on health equity with Indra Lusero.
Please join us for a presentation and informal discussion.
If you plan to attend (either in person or by Zoom), please RSVP by January 6 to ana.delgado@ucsf.edu.
Zoom link will be distributed upon RSVP.
January 15, 2020 9-11 am
UCSF Parnassus Campus, S-174 and by Zoom
More information can be found here.
Start the year off with a Jump start on your CEUs!
Professional Education Center (PEC) is proud to announce a partnership with the California Nurse-Midwives Association with a series of CNMA produced webinars that PEC will assist in distributing.
In collaboration with that project, PEC is offering all CNMA members discounts to the Limited Ultrasound and EFM Review programs in CA and Reno in 2020!!
Provide essential skills at the bedside that benefit your patients by their timeliness and continuity. Elevate yourself, provide your own limited fetal assessments, benefit your practice with this billable skill!
PEC provides the most affordable study options and is offering you special discounts. See the registration links and discount coupons below.
Get More Information HERE
Access Discount Coupon HERE (make sure to choose the appropriate coupon for the class your are taking)
AB 5 (Independent Contractor Bill) Update
In the wake of AB 5 (Independent Contractor/Gig Economy Bill), it will not be possible for hospitals to hire APRNs as independent contractors. There is a new bill underway and language being drafted by the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee to create exemptions for all APRNs and numerous other health care providers (physical therapists, nutritionist), as is currently the case for physicians. This effort is supported by the California Hospital Association and they have created a strong coalition. They are lobbying on behalf of APRNs and other health care providers. So far, only one CNM from Monterey County has reached out to me and we are assisting as we can. It appears her position will be terminated after January 1st as AB 5 becomes law. Her panel of clients due in 2020 will no longer have a midwife to continue their prenatal care or attend their births. If you are also concerned that this may affect you, please reach out to me at kathleen.belzer@gmail.com. We will continue to work hard to address these new restrictions on the provision of nurse-midwifery care in California.
Kathleen Belzer, CNMA President.
CNMA Updated Schedule 2 Course and Risk of Addiction/Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
We are currently finalizing our updated Schedule 2 course that will be in compliance with SB 1109 which passed at the end of 2018. This mandates Risk of Addiction and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome for all practicing CNMs. CSU, Fullerton has added some curriculum to the existing Schedule 2 course (approximately 15 years old), so if you must take the course now, you will be in compliance, but the powerpoint is incredibly dated and lacking. If you need to take this course and can wait a month or two, please do!! The new updated course is excellent and created under grant funding from CSU, Fullerton through the generosity of Ruth Mielke, CNM. The powerpoint was created by Susan Dragoo, NP who is an expert in addiction. This new course must first be vetted by the BRN, so this has become a lengthy process. We are working hard to get it through their system and up and running for everyone. All CNMs in the state will need to complete this to be in compliance with the new law and eventually when you renew your licenses, the BRN is charged with ensuring regulation. Thank you for your patience!!
Kathleen Blezer, CNMA President.
An Important Lesson in Humility to Share
Under the leadership of the CNMA Reproductive Justice /Anti-Racism Advisory Group to our Board, CNMA hosted an Anti-Racism training the day before our Annual Meeting in October. This training was intended for CNMA Board and committee members, CNM leaders in the State (such as those working with the BRN) and some of the student speakers at the Annual Meeting. We invited all of these members back into a discussion during our monthly Board meeting to follow up. Heather Thompson of Elephant Circle, the Anti-Racism facilitator hired for the training, led the discussion. I speak for myself in saying that there is always valuable new learning in these discussions. Ana Delgado of the RJ/Anti-Racism Advisory Group gave important feedback about the trauma felt by those of color who shared the space with white individuals at the training, many of whom were new to this type of training and the discussion of how racism affects the day to day lives of people of color. This felt harmful to some in the room who have experienced racism their whole lives. Although these conversations can be sensitive and challenging, it is imperative that we have them as an organization. We need to continue to move forward with this work under the leadership of our RJ/Anti-Racism Advisory Group and our colleagues of color. I know that I and the Board may make mistakes as we navigate this important work, but we will strive to always be thoughtful and intentional in addressing racism and bias. I acknowledge that I am truly a novice in these conversations when I am sitting with individuals who have the lived experience of racism; and I realize that I will always be in this category.
Thank you to all on the call who offered their insight and expertise. We are at the very beginning of this journey and I offer that the CNMA Board and myself will strive to be open-minded and learn from our colleagues of color. My goal is to move aside and usher in a much more diverse Board of individuals. I am thrilled that our incoming President, Paris Maloof-Bury, is a midwife of color and an exceptional leader!
In the last year, we have made substantial changes on the Board to address issues of racism. These include (but are not limited to) recent structural changes to our bylaws which will transform the composition of our Board to be more diverse, the addition of the RJ/Anti-Racism AdvisoryGroup and a voting position on the Board for the Chair of this committee. We have started California Nurse-Midwives Foundation to begin raising funds to address equity issues, and soon, we hope to offer free membership to midwives of color for a year. We have also asked ACNM to honor this proposal.
With humility,
Kathleen Belzer
CNMA President
CNMA ANNUAL MEETING SAVE THE DATE
Annual Meeting with be held August 28-30, 2020
Hayes Mansion
San Jose, CA
All birth workers are invited to participate.
Please reserve your room through Hayes Mansion. They are giving the board, and you the attendees a deal on room rates. Weblink for reservations to be sent out soon.
Will be offering two days of content, including kicking off a Me and White Supremacy closed work group on Sunday morning, limited to 20 participants.
Agenda for the days to be determined.
Please email jillcauley4@gmail.com if you have information you'd like to present, skills workshop you'd like to run or are considered an expert on any of the following topics:
- Reproductive endocrinology
- Abnormal Uterine bleeding
- Menopause
- PCOS management
Thank you and we look forward to serving our midwifery community with an exciting and informational annual meeting!
Jillian Cauley, CNM
Looking to make an end of the year donation? Donating to the Midwives-PAC is easy and effective.
The ACNM Midwives-PAC is your voice in Congress. We are a political action committee formed by ACNM in 2000 for the purpose of soliciting voluntary contributions from ACNM members that can be distributed strategically as campaign contributions to federal legislators. PAC contributions create a relationship between legislators and midwives, so that they see us as a resource when issues of women's health come up before the Congress. They also allow us to support legislators who have a proven record on the federal issues that matter to ACNM.
Recognitions
The clinical stars award is an ACNM award that a midwife can receive after being in practice for over 25 years!!! Two very special midwives in our community received this award recently. Rebecca Garrett-Brown and Rosalind Hirst! Rebecca is starting her 29th year as a CNM practicing in Southern California. Rosalind is recently retired from clinical practice but has contributed many over 25 years of dedicated service in the field.
Questions? News? Want to get involved?
Email us at info@cnma.org
That's all for this month's issue. Catch you next time!
-CNMA MEDIA TEAM
Visit us at cnma.org
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