Clinical Practice Guidelines For Midwifery & Women's Health, Third Edition

Nell L. Tharpe, CNM, CRNFA, MS-Adjunct Faculty, The Midwifery Institute at Philadelphia University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Adjunct Faculty, Birthwise Midwifery School, Faculty and Program Coordinator, Midwifery at Green Landing

Nell Tharpe completed her AAS in nursing in 1981 and her certificate in Nurse-Midwifery at the State University of New York (Downstate) in 1986. Nell completed her BSN at the University of Southern Maine in 2001 followed by her MS in Midwifery through Philadelphia University in 2003. She began a full-scope private midwifery practice in coastal Maine in 1986 and practiced in her home community through 2003, when her focus turned to midwifery education.
Nell has been active in the creation of nationally recognized on-line and hands-on programs for midwives on surgical assisting for women undergoing cesarean section, suturing and perineal repair, and newborn resuscitation in the out of hospital setting. Nell’s primary focus in on ensuring that midwives of all backgrounds have access to the education and skill development necessary to be confident and competent practitioners and exemplary representatives of our profession. Nell teaches continuing education programs for midwives through Philadelphia University, Birthwise Midwifery School, and free-lance through Midwifery at Green Landing.
Nell is an active advocate for midwifery and women. She is past President of the Maine Association of Certified Nurse-Midwives, and currently serves on the Maine Board of Nursing Advanced Practice Advisory Group. Additionally credentialed as a Certified Registered Nurse First Assistant, Nell continues to provide service to her community through her clinical work as a surgical first assistant.
 

Cindy Farley, CNM, PhD, FACNM-Faculty, Midwifery Institute at Philadelphia University, Clinical Midwife, Greater Cincinnati Nurse-Midwives

Cindy L. Farley received her Bachelor's of Science in Nursing from The Ohio State University in 1978, her Master's in Nursing in the nurse-midwifery program from Emory University in 1981, and her Doctor of Philosophy from The Ohio State University in 1999.  She has been active in clinical practice for over 27 years.  She is currently working part-time in a large full scope midwifery practice at the University Hospital of Cincinnati, Ohio.  Prior to this, she was director and clinical midwife of Greene Midwifery Care, a full-scope nurse-midwifery practice, providing labor and birth care to women and their families at Greene Memorial Hospital in Xenia, Ohio.  She has worked in a variety of clinical settings, including a free standing birth center and hospitals in rural, urban and suburban areas.

 Dr. Farley has been involved in midwifery education for over 18 years.  She currently teaches the critical inquiry course series and an introduction to teaching methods at The Midwifery Institute   of Philadelphia University. Prior to this, she taught the antepartum course series for the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing for 8 years.  She incorporates service-learning class research projects into her courses to combine academic objectives with real world work products.

Her class 10 students contributed to the review and updating of the evidence base in selected clinical practice guidelines in this edition of the book and in doing so, met course objectives, polished their critical thinking and writing skills and have authentic experience in publication and developing evidence-based clinical practice guidelines.

Dr. Farley served as a guest “profesora de parteras” to the traditional midwives of the rural, mountainous area near Lake Yojoa in Honduras, Central America and to Antigua, Guatemala.  Classes were developed and offered in affiliation with the NGO humanitarian organization, Program for Rural Reconstruction (PRR). PRR practices integrated development within four areas - education, organization, health, and economic improvement.  The goal is to help improve the quality of the people’s lives in such a way that the villagers will acquire the ability to continue the process, allowing them to move from being recipients of aid to leaders in their own development process.  It was with this goal in mind that Dr. Farley provided education to the rural traditional midwives and women of the area.  Educational workshops were developed in response to a perceived need on the part of the Honduran and Guatemalan midwives themselves for formal training to improve their skills and knowledge.