Certified Nurse-Midwife

Certified nurse-midwives, or CNMs, are registered nurses additionally trained to deliver babies—in a hospital or at a home—and care for a woman and her baby during pregnancy, as well as after delivery. Nurse-midwives, who can become certified upon graduating from an accredited nursemidwifery program and passing a national certification exam, may also provide family planning counsel and gynecological services, such as breast exams and Pap smears.

In underserved areas where doctors can be scarce, the role of NHSC nurse-midwives can take on special importance, as people rely heavily on their expertise in bringing children safely into the world. NHSC nurse-midwives are trained to learn about different cultures and their varying approaches to childbirth and women's health.

Brielle Jenson Stoyke, CNM
A Labor of Love in Rural Minnesota

For certified nurse-midwife Brielle Jenson Stoyke, there are some 9-to-5 days of routine patient appointments at her Long Prairie clinic—including postpartum, prenatal, and annual clinical exams—sometimes followed by teaching prenatal classes in the evening. However, it's not unheard of for a would-be lunch hour to launch into a noontime baby delivery. And on days when Stoyke is scheduled for some hard-earned relaxation near her lakeside home, enjoying the tranquil surroundings aboard her canoe, she's sometimes interrupted by her cell phone's ring. "Then," says Stoyke, "I'll have to paddle back to shore—fast. Someone's in labor." As one can tell, Stoyke enjoys the combination of excitement and serenity.

We asked Stoyke about the NHSC:

What difference has the NHSC made in your community?
By placing clinicians here in this rural Minnesota community, the NHSC has helped to fill a critical shortage of health professionals. NHSC health providers approach their responsibilities with a sensitivity that is important when providing care in a diverse community of farm families, a sizable Spanish-speaking Hispanic population, and about 50 Amish families, many of whose children speak only German.

What difference has the NHSC made in your professional life?
I am thankful to the NHSC for so many things—some professional and others more personal. I say thank you, National Health Service Corps, for everything I have learned. I have had to learn Spanish, ask questions that I never asked during my training in the city, and polish up my rusty German.

And thank you for the husband who shares my commitment to this community. [Family practice resident] Philip Stoyke first came to our hospital for a 2-month rotation in a rural setting. Now, we are in our second married year and he has joined me in the Long Prairie clinic as an NHSC family practice physician.