Trainee experience

Each semester students attend a one-week session on the University of Minnesota Minneapolis campus that includes core courses, enhancement programming, specialty courses, and adviser meetings. Mayo Clinic cohort students may meet at the University of Minnesota Rochester campus throughout the year for additional activities.

Beginning the second year of the program, students meet in-person two to three additional times per semester for one-two days each time for coursework. Additional didactic education is provided virtually along with clinical practicum hours at Mayo Clinic sites.

Midwifery students gain valuable clinical skills and knowledge in their coursework. Courses in pharmacology, pharmacotherapeutics, physiology, pathophysiology, and health assessment are the building blocks to five semesters of midwifery-specific courses. All midwifery students are required to complete a course on racism and health disparity prevention specific to the midwifery profession.

Through coursework in informatics, economics, evidence-based practice, policy, and completion of a quality improvement project, graduates are prepared to affect change within their clinical environment, and those interested may take on formal leadership positions.

Midwifery students have the opportunity to earn a 12-credit Certificate in Integrative Therapies and Healing Practices for those seeking greater expertise in integrative health. There are also options to add a 12-credit minor in Public Health. Public health minor opportunities include American Indian Health and Wellness, Global Public Health, Health Equity, and Sexual Health.

View the University of Minnesota School of Nursing course by course program plan.

Schedule and hours

Nurse-midwifery students attend didactic classes during routine business hours on weekdays. Clinical training takes place during day and night shifts, seven days a week including evenings and weekends to accommodate childbearing patients.

Outside work

Students are encouraged not to hold outside work positions due to the demanding nature of the program. However, students are allowed to work outside of the program if they would like. Personal work hours need to be scheduled around the requirements of the program.

Facilities

Students will attend classes at the University of Minnesota Minneapolis campus once a semester and periodically at the University of Minnesota Rochester campus as a Mayo Clinic cohort. Students will attend clinical training at Mayo Clinic sites in Minnesota and Wisconsin in the second and third years of the program.

Evaluation

Primary grading is completed through the University of Minnesota program. Additional evaluation by Mayo Clinic nurse-midwifery faculty through the Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences uses these evaluative tools: online quizzes and examinations, online self-assessment exercises, lab and clinical activities, investigative projects and assignments, competency assessment and demonstration of skills, faculty reviews, and affective-behavior evaluation.

Mayo's system of evaluation provides students and faculty with a comprehensive look at individual performance. This allows faculty and administrative staff to direct students who are experiencing academic difficulty to the appropriate support resources, including tutoring programs and counseling opportunities. A competency-based evaluation system is used to assess clinical performance.