A master's degree for entry-level ACNM-certified midwives. An option or necessity?

The health care industry is a massive system that is changing so rapidly that it is reinventing itself. With these changes, added demands have been placed on the knowledge base and practice of nurse-midwifery with emphasis on primary care, administration, and research as well as traditionally accepted nurse-midwifery practice. The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) has a history of being alert to consumer demands, sociopolitical forces, and the health care industry itself as stimuli for change after full dialogue with the membership and appropriate study. Because the ACNM Division of Accreditation will be requiring a baccalaureate degree upon entrance or completion of each midwifery education program by June 1999, dialogue should begin now about the benefits of requiring a masters degree as the entry-level credential.