Financing Your Nurse-Midwifery Education

1. Contact a financial aid officer at the school or schools you are considering. They are professionals at finding scholarships, loans and other forms of assistance and can be a very valuable resource. Click here for a list of midwifery education programs.
   
   
2. Approximately $57 million was earmarked last year by Congress for nursing education funds--including $12.2 million for nurse-midwives and nurse-practitioners. This money is available in a variety of programs, including loans, scholarships and service paybacks to the community for underserved areas/rural health. For information on federal funds, visit http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/dsa/.
   
   
3. The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) offers a loan repayment program to nurse-midwives and other health care professionals that commit to working in underserved areas across the country. The Scholarship Program offers payment of tuition and fees, books, supplies, and equipment for up to four years of education, along with a monthly stipend. In return, for each year of support, the recipient must serve one year in a federally designated health professional shortage area of greatest need. For Scholarship information or a Loan Repayment application, call the NHSC Helpline at 1-800-221-9393 or e-mail NHSC@matthewsgroup.com. To find out more about this program, visit nhsc.bhpr.hrsa.gov/.
   
   
4. The Professional Nurse Traineeship Program through the Health Resources and Services Administration gives priority funding to programs that support professionals who are likely to practice in medically underserved areas. Participating programs award this financial support to student nurse-midwives selected by the program in accordance with the traineeship program. Contact the program director of the program you're interested in for more information.
   
   
5. The State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) is part of the overall strategy of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to improve access to underserved communities. Since the program?s inception, 38 States have participated, awarding over 1,500 loan repayment awards to primary care health professionals. To find out about programs in your state, visit http://nhsc.bhpr.hrsa.gov/join_us/slrp.cfm.
   
   
6. The Indian Health Service (IHS) is committed to encouraging
   American Indians and Alaska Natives to enter the health professions and
   to assuring the availability of Indian health professionals to serve
   Indians. The IHS is committed to the recruitment of students for the
   following programs: The Indian Health Professions Preparatory Scholarships; The Indian Health Professions Pregraduate Scholarships; and the The Indian Health Professions Scholarships.   More information is available online. 
   
   
7. The A.C.N.M. Foundation provides up to six scholarships of $3000 each to nurse-midwifery students every year. Guidelines and applications, as well as a list of recent award winners, are available on the website, www.midwife.org/support.cfm. Questions can be directed to the Foundation Office at (240) 485-1850 or fdn@acnm.org.
   
   
8. General and local scholarships and loans are available from many different organizations and agencies. Check with your state higher education and public health departments for state funds. In addition, you may contact organizations such as the American Association of University Women for information on educational funding opportunities.
   
   
9. Create your own source of funding. If you can demonstrate the need for nurse-midwifery services in your community, a local hospital, clinic or private practice may be willing to support you in full or part in return for a practice commitment.