Celebrating Certified Nurse Midwives…
Describe Your Role at VUMC as an APP and/or the type of patients you care for:
My main role as a CNM in the Department of OBGYN is as a Generalist 1, which is to say I am a midwife attending and am present for vaginal births that occur on Labor and Delivery with the resident physicians. Generalists 2 and 3 are physicians attendings with different responsibilities both in the OR and on the floor, and I am proud to say we all work as a high-functioning team. I participate in the education and obstetrical training of first-year Interns in the VUMC residency program. I provide guidance in decision making regarding the management of low and high-risk deliveries, suturing, obstetrical emergencies and identification of risk change and pathologies. The CNMs (Certified Nurse-Midwives) in our department work side by side with the interns for their entire first year on the service to give instruction and feedback on patient care. We deliver a census of 4500-5000 births per year, and we are ever-growing. Patients deliver at VUMC specifically for the high-risk care we provide to both mothers and babies who need acute or prolonged NICU care. The CNMs also manage a busy 8-bed triage unit and round on the postpartum unit. I also get the opportunity to educate graduate nursing students and Emergency Department Interns on the process and management of birth.
-Linda Johnson, CNM 
As a midwife at the Melrose practice, I care for patients in both the clinic and hospital setting. I see patients in clinic for routine/problem gyn visits and all prenatal/postpartum care. I then care for those patients at the hospital with concerns in triage, labor management and deliveries.
-Hannah Diaz, CNM
My name is Heather Sevcik, I'm a certified nurse-midwife and the current clinical director at Vanderbilt Birth Center. I've been in the birth world for 16 years and a certified nurse-midwife for almost 12 years. I oversee clinical operations at Vanderbilt Birth Center and, together with an incredible team, care for individuals & families as they walk through pregnancy, birth, & postpartum. I also provide routine gynecologic care, including annual exams, family planning & birth control, STI testing, and care for common gynecologic complaints.
-Heather Sevcik, CNM
What is my favorite part about being in the Advanced Practice CNM? What does it mean to me to be an APP?
It is the aspect of organic humanity that brought me to the midwifery profession. Because midwives are with women at such a crucial time in their lives, we have a singular opportunity to effect healthcare and individuals, not just by promoting healing but by providing safety, guidance, active listening, expectation setting, affirmation, and the sharing of medical knowledge in a culture of mistruths, science denial, and social media. Midwives have an opportunity to empower women in the clinical setting by treating illness, of course, but as a midwife I also see the potential to soothe fear, promote autonomy, encourage improved decision-making about health and sexual safety, and bolster self-esteem around the transition to motherhood. I also love the specific challenge of caring for two patients: mom and baby. No other specialization needs to balance the decision-making of caring for two patients at once, and it provides its own unique set of challenges and counseling.
The fields of obstetrics and midwifery are ever-changing. That’s what keeps it alive and interesting to me. More and more patients are being educated to the value of midwifery care in the United States, even in the high-risk setting, and are requesting that midwives be either involved or solely responsible for their pregnancies. That translates into midwives seeking more education and knowledge about disease processes from autoimmune illnesses to diabetes. We have a greater and more necessary opportunity to educate women to be healthier and have longer longevity to be with their children.
I also am drawn to the profession of midwifery because the roles of midwives can be as diverse as midwives themselves. The opportunities within the profession are never-ending. Whether a midwife wants to first assist in the OR, perform colposcopy in the office, be the Dean of a nursing school, do global health in high-need, underserved areas with an NGO, specialize in ultrasonography, or thrive in a graduate teaching setting, there is always a new direction one can take. The diversity of the profession is astounding. The most influential people in my life have been fellow midwives. I am forever amazed by what they do and how they serve women throughout the world every day, from the hospitals of Germany to the birth centers of Iceland to the sub-Saharan villages of Nigeria. Midwifery is a profession I am proud to be part of, and the interplay of teaching others and learning more each day is a gift.
-Linda Johnson, CNM 