Canadian Students

You must also have all of the following:

• Current certification in provider level "C" cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
• Current certification in neonatal resuscitation (NRP), including intubation
• Current certification in fetal health surveillance

Clinical Requirements

• 60 births within the past 5 years
• 40 births as the principal midwife, where 30 have taken place in the last five years or attendance as the primary midwife at a minimum of 200 births
• 30 continuity of care-you have managed the woman's labor and birth, including second and third stage, and had a minimum of seven visits with her, at least three ante partum and one postpartum
• 5 births in a hospital setting
• 5 births in an out-of-hospital setting

If not all of the clinical requirements are met, there may be a period of "conditional registration" to cover the required clinical experience. When an applicant completes the PLEA program to the satisfaction of the CMBC but requires a certain amount of added experience working under the supervision of an experienced registered midwife before they can practice as a registered midwife, they are called a "conditional registrant".

Who gets registered?

• The CMBC registers midwives who have demonstrated competency and safety to practice and meet the registration requirements as set out in its bylaws.
• They must successfully complete assessment through written, practical, and oral examination.
• They are obligated to obtain and maintain hospital privileges in order to provide comprehensive care in the hospital and home setting.
• As of April 2004, there were 70 registered midwives in B.C., mostly in the lower mainland and Vancouver Island areas.
• Each midwife may care for 40 women each year.

If you are currently working on a degree program at MCU or are considering applying to MCU, what will registration look like for you?

After graduation, you will go through the PLEA process for your individual province. This is how regulated provinces assess those who have not graduated from "approved" Canadian institutions. PLEA is similar throughout the regulated provinces.

You will complete a detailed application form with legal documention of your education and clinical experience as well as your understanding of the midwifery model of care in your particular province.

After you submit this information and documentation, your application will go before the board of the regulating body in your province for review.

You may or may not get accepted. If you get accepted, you will then go through the examination process, which is composed of clinical, written, and possible oral components.

Are there students from other US programs who have applied and have been accepted through the PLEA program?

Yes. Many students from the Seattle Midwifery School in Washington have applied using the PLEA program and become registered in various provinces. There is also a midwife who graduated from MCU currently registered and practicing in Alberta.

Is there any guarantee that if I take this course I will be approved by the regulating body in my province?

There are no guarantees if you have attended a school that is not officially "approved" by the regulating body in your province.  Students who choose to attend a program not specifically "approved" choose to take a risk of not being accepted for registration. 

What are the "approved" midwifery education programs in Canada?

• University of British Columbia
• Laurentian University
• McMaster University
• Ryerson Polytechnic University

What are the advantages of attending MCU for Canadian students?

1. MCU offers comprehensive, MEAC (Midwives Education Accreditation Council)-approved midwifery degree programs, which can be done by a flexible distance learning program which adopts an innovative coaching-style model.
2. MCU also offers a variety of holistic courses not available at other midwifery schools.
3. MCU allows those who desire to study midwifery access to the opportunity.

Can I get the required clinical experience in Canada?

Under the current bylaws of most of the regulating bodies, with the exception of Alberta, students attending programs other than "approved" Canadian midwifery degree programs cannot fulfill all of their requirements in their respective provinces.

Students will need to plan to attend a clinical site to obtain thier required numbers more than once throughout thier program.