Retirement among Florida's certified nurse-midwives: an impending workforce crisis

An anonymous survey was mailed to 499 CNMs in Florida in May 2001 to examine the impact of CNM retirement on the Florida women's health provider workforce and to estimate the replacement demand for CNMs. The survey also investigated where Florida's CNMs studied midwifery, reasons for choosing education programs, reasons for moving to Florida, and causes of underemployment of CNMs. Two hundred eighty respondents returned the survey. Thirty-nine percent of respondents received their midwifery education in Florida. Eighty-one percent of respondents were working as CNMs. From 2010 through 2025, an average of 11 CNMs in Florida will reach age 65 each year. These data indicate that retirement will generate demand for new CNMs in the next two decades. These data, along with future research tracking midwifery education, employment, and retirement, could be used to plan program funding, clinical site needs, and legislative support of midwifery.