A word from the Mary Breckinridge Chair of Midwifery

Frontier Nursing Service Quarterly Bulletin, Fall 2002 by Ernst, Kitty

I have just come from another Frontier Bound where a new class of very talented nurses began their journey into their education for nurse-midwifery and family nursing practice. In little more than a decade, we have admitted more than 1000 such nurses from all 50 states and from 7 foreign countries. They are the nurses making the two year transition from, as one student stated, "wanna be to gonna be" nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners. Many have waited years for the opportunity that the distance education program developed at the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing is providing.

The program has earned the respect of nurses, midwives and physicians throughout the land. It not only offers a strong and challenging curriculum that prepares graduates for today's complex world of health care delivery, but it is a program that respects and builds on the years of experience that the nurses that come to it bring. The orientation and beginning studies are heavily laced with the rich heritage of the Frontier Nursing Service and the lessons to be learned from the wisdom of its founder, Mary Breckinridge. The purpose of weeklong experience is to build a sense of community, a bond, among the students and with the faculty that diminishes the geographical distances between them as they work together over the next two years preparing for their life mission.

I have been connected to Frontier in one way or another for over half a century. I have found that this connection, this bond, is a hallmark of the unique experiences of all who have been part of this service over the years. I often wish that some of the past couriers, nurses, and supporters of the Service in the city committees could come to a Frontier Bound. They would experience, first hand, the fact that, through the distance education program, their faithful support made it possible for the vision of Mary Breckinridge to continue and that it is alive and well and growing at an unprecedented rate. It truly is the Banyan Tree that she hoped would bring shade to Wide Neighborhoods of men.

One of the special moments at the end of the first week of Frontier Bound is the dinner and tour at Wendover. My assignment on that evening is to sit in a rocker in the bedroom of Mrs. Breckinridge and try to give the students a sense of this remarkable woman. I point to the milestones of her life displayed in photos and certificates on the walls and remind them these events were all in preparation for the embarking on an extraordinary demonstration for the delivery of health care to women and children and families in a forgotten frontier of America. I remind them that these frontiers still exist in our rural and urban areas and throughout the world and that their mission is to go there and bring the hope that their services can bring to young families. The average age of our students is 37 and I remind those who are feeling the first flushes of hot flashes that she was 44 when she embarked on this venture. I pick up one of her books, which are always full of her notations to show the depth of her searching for meaning. I ask them to open her tiny closet to point out that she did not clutter her life with worldly possessions for all she had was contained in that small space.

We believe strongly in the value of storytelling as a learning medium and devote one evening to stories from faculty and students. Many poignant experiences are shared. Every evening we form a circle to provide an opportunity for thoughtful repose or for students and faculty to express their feelings about this beginning of their transition from competent experience nurses to competent nurse midwives and family nurse practitioners. We sing the old midwife songs that Helen Browne taught me. We sing the school song. We sing Amazing Grace for it has meaning for people making a dramatic life change. The last evening is dedicated to the student and faculty follies. This is an entertaining evening of skits by students and faculty.

One director of a university based nurse-midwifery program who came to Frontier Bound remarked, "What I see is that you are changing the culture of education and it is good." I think we have just developed a way to role-model midwifery in a partnership with our students.

We want mothers under our care to be confident about giving birth and competent in nurturing their children. We want our students to be confident, competent practitioners and do all we know how to do to make that happen. This is what the school has always done. When I look back, this is what Mary Breckinridge did when she handed me my diploma and said, "Go forth my child and take care of mothers and babies." I rode my horse over the mountain to the Bowlingtown Center to relieve the British nurse-- midwife for a three-month holiday. After a one-week orientation she left her district in my hands and with the confidence imparted to me by Mary Breckinridge and this experienced midwife, I knew I could do it.

Dr. Susan Stone, Dean and President of the school, is now engaged with the leadership faculty in the long and arduous task of taking the next quantum leap into the future. When this work is completed, the Frontier School will become accredited to give students the choice of a Masters Degree in Nursing. The affiliation with Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing will contunue for those who prefer that program or who already have a Masters Degree and seek to apply their Frontier education to their pursuit of doctoral studies. I hope that all our alumni and past supporters will continue to help us bring this necessary academic venture to fruition.