Accountability provides reassurance to families who choose CPMs as their care providers and to states who utilize the CPM for legal recognition. Professional conduct is expected for all CPMs and student midwives. When there are concerns regarding the conduct of a CPM, NARM has an Accountability process to evaluate the concerns.
Currently, NARM Complaint Reviews are conducted by a committee of CPMs in the community of the midwife under review. The disadvantage has always been that it can be challenging to recruit enough midwives, especially in areas with small numbers of midwives. The shift to virtual Complaint Review during the past three years revealed the benefits of drawing from a larger pool of midwives to evaluate competency and professional conduct.
NARM has developed a process to assemble and train CPMs from across the nation to serve on a standing national committee to provide consistent and professional Complaint Reviews. We anticipate this will improve the process to meet the needs of a growing community of CPMs.
If you are interested in participating in this committee, please apply here.
NARM Job Analysis 2023-2024
NARM follows a process every 6-8 years to survey CPMs about their practices. This survey is called the Job Analysis. The survey results guide NARM in determining the knowledge and skills needed for certification and becomes the blueprint for the NARM Examination. The next Job Analysis survey will be done in early 2024.
The Task Force has been working for several months to update the list of possible knowledge and skills that may have become part of the essential CPM activities in the past 6-8 years. Development of the survey is in process. CPMs please watch your email inboxes in early 2024 to participate in the survey!
Ask NARM: Does This Count as Peer Review?
One of the questions that NARM receives is, “Can this count as meeting my Peer Review requirement?” For some the definition is clear, but some find this to be confusing. According to the CIB:
Community Peer Review: Process utilized by midwives to confidentially discuss client cases in a professional forum, which includes support, feedback, follow-up, and learning objectives.
A minimum of three midwives should participate in a peer review session. This can be in person, at a workshop, or via Zoom. During the pandemic, some communities pivoted to having peer review via Zoom. This remains a viable option for many midwives due to logistical or geographical challenges and Community Peer Review done this way will be accepted to meet recertification requirements.
If you have more questions about Community Peer Review via Zoom, please contact rachel.foxtierney@narm.org.
NARM 2022 Annual Report Available
The annual report is a requirement of the National Commission on Certifying Agencies (NCCA), the organization that accredits NARM. The NARM CPM credential is evaluated yearly for adherence to the national standards for competency-based certification. This report gives a summary of NARM projects, the accountability process, and the NARM Applications report. Read more here.
eBlast emailed November 8, 2023