ACNM Business Meetings
Update: Report on Motions from the ACNM 56th Annual Meeting Business Meetings
The majority of time at business meetings is reserved for ACNM members to debate motions that have been proposed by other ACNM members regarding important issues and opportunities facing the midwifery profession and the ACNM organization. Business meetings are open to all members, although voting privileges are not extended to associate members and students. All members are allowed to voice their opinion in accordance with ACNM business meeting procedures. Your presence and opinions are highly valued and we strongly encourage you to participate! To learn more, visit our ACNM Business Meeting Motions FAQ page.
Opening ACNM Business Meeting: Wednesday, May 25, 3:45 - 6:00PM
Closing ACNM Business Meeting: Friday, May 27, 10:30 - 12:15PM
ACNM Business Meeting Changes for 2011: ACNM has increased the time available for members to debate motions from the membership by eliminating presentations and awards sometimes included during the business meetings, shortening the amount of time provided to each member to speak on a given motion (reduced from three minutes to two minutes per speaker), and providing an online Motion Discussion Blog for our members from April 25 - June 25. The online Motion Discussion Blog also allows members to discuss potential motions with other interested members. Any motion received prior to the Annual Meeting will be posted to the Motion Discussion Blog for discussion.How to Submit a Motion: Complete the 2011 ACNM Business Meeting Motion Form and e-mail it to mailto:information@acnm.org with the subject line: Motion form. Motion forms will also be available at the Annual Meeting.
Click here to participate in our 2011 Online Motion Discussion Blog -- Open now until June 25. Want to follow the discussion as it happens? Sign up for our Motion Discussion RSS feed.
Motions Submitted to Date:
Motion 1: Submitted by Joyce E. Thompson, January 11, 2011: I move that Article I, Section A. Name/Nonprofit Incorporation of the ACNM Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws (May 2008) be changed to read, "The name of the corporation shall be the American College of Midwives, Inc., hereinafter referred to as ACM or the College." Read the rationale for this motion as submitted by Joyce Thompson.
Bylaws Process for Name Change Motions:
Article XVII, Section C of the ACNM bylaws requires that ACNM implement the following procedures when a motion has been made to amend the name of the College:
History of this Motion Through 1998
ACNM members may recall that motions have been made to change the ACNM name dating back to the 1970s, and most recently in 1998. In 1998, to facilitate debate, ACNM published a special section of Quickening devoted to a discussion of the pros and cons of changing ACNM's name to the American College of Midwifery. Click here to read the 1998 Quickening ACNM Name Change Information Section -- you will find that much of this discussion is still relevant today.
We are pleased to be able to offer ACNM members the opportunity for live, interactive discussion on the 2011 name change motion (and other motions) through our online Motion Discussion Blog and our Motion Discussion RSS feed.2010 Approved Motion to Study Impact of an ACNM Name Change
In 2010, the ACNM membership approved a motion to "Explore the implications of removing the word "nurse" from the name of the American College of Nurse-Midwives," submitted by Joyce Roberts and seconded by Diane Boyer. The motion read as follows: "I move that the BOD carry out a systematic review/survey of relevant constituents and relevant organizations of the potential implications of a name change that removes the word "nurse" from ACNM's name. This assessment should include the fiscal as well as professional, political, and public image implications. The findings should not only inform the BOD but also be shared with the members before the vote is considered.' The motion was subsequently approved by the ACNM Board of Directors and funds were allocated for this assessment in 2011.
Consequently, the ACNM national office engaged Maia Marketing Group to conduct this assessment, which includes a brief poll of our members to gauge the current climate of opinion on this question; interviews with key opinion leaders within and outside ACNM; and financial implications.
Click here to read the Name Change Impact Analysis: Summary of Findings, released Saturday May 21, 2011. This report will also be provided to all attendees at the ACNM 56th Annual Meeting in San Antonio so that members attending the meeting and voting on the motion will have as much information as possible before voting.
Motion 2: To Issue a Public Statement on the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation
Submitted by Ronnie Lichtman, on May 10, 2011; seconded by Katherine Dawley: I move that, in relation to the ACNM's signing onto the Consensus Model for APRN regulation (LACE), the ACNM issue a public statement:
1) affirming its recognition of midwifery as an independent profession, and reaffirming the role of the Accreditation Council for Midwifery Education (ACME) as the United States Department of Education recognized accrediting body for midwifery education;
2) emphasizing its history that midwifery has had its own LACE for decades---i.e.:a) national accreditation from a United States Department of Education certified body, the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME);
b) certification offered by the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB); and
c) educational standards, the Core Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice, Standards for the Practice of Midwifery, and Code of Ethics, and affirming that this constellation of accreditation, certification, and educational standards is sufficient for reciprocity of licensure throughout the 50 states for Certified Nurse-Midwives and Certified Midwives;3) affirming that the scope of the Advanced Practice Registered Nursing (APRN) role simply does not fit midwifery’s definition and scope of practice, about which midwifery has been clear for over half a century;
4) reaffirming that the Board of Midwifery as the ideal mechanism for regulating midwifery practice and implementing midwifery disciplinary actions and affirming that ACNM will continue to work towards Boards of Midwifery in whatever states that is currently possible, and ultimately in all states;
5) reversing its decisions to sign the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation: Licensure, Accreditation, Certification and Education.
Motion 3: To Open a dialogue with the National Council of State Boards of Nursing
Submitted by Katherine Dawley on May 10, 2011; seconded by Ronnie Lichtman: I move that the ACNM Board of Directors opens a dialogue with the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to request reversal of discriminatory policy against midwives who do not hold the RN certification and against midwifery education programs not in Colleges or Schools of Nursing. These policies detrimentally affect the education and practice of midwifery students and graduates in three ACME accredited midwifery education programs.
Rationale:
As a midwifery education program located in a School of Health Sciences that awards an MS with a Concentration in Midwifery I have noticed that since LACE and the ensuing National Council of State Boards of Nursing policy, regulations are appearing that require an MSN for prescriptive authority. As our education in pharmacology meets lace requirements, this is discriminatory. I request a dialogue be opened with BON who have this restriction to request an appeals process, as is possible in Colarado, so I, and other program directors of programs that do not offer the MSN, can prove our education meets the necessary requirements for safe prescribing.
