By Sarah Morgan Johnson
Tami Wade, MSN (MSN 2024), has spent most of her nursing career in labor and delivery, and she’s always felt a pull toward nurse-midwifery. Wade was thrilled when the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing announced the return of its Master of Science in Nursing Nurse-Midwifery Pathway and in August 2024, she was one of five students in the first graduating cohort.
“The positive impact that nurse-midwives make on the quality of women’s health care is research proven. Bringing back nurse-midwifery education to Alabama can help improve our population's maternal and infant mortality rates by putting more certified nurse-midwives into the workforce. I am proud to be part of this new beginning,” Wade said.
Wade said she was “blown away” by the support and mentorship she received from the School’s faculty. As a former nurse educator, Wade knows first-hand the pivotal role mentorship plays in student success. After earning her master's in nursing education, she taught for three years at Bevill State Community College. In 2016, Wade started working at UAB Hospital as a staff RN and later became an Adjunct Clinical Instructor for the UAB School of Nursing. Her time as a student gave Wade a deeper appreciation for UAB and the School.
“The faculty of the Nurse-Midwifery Pathway have been dedicated to the success of the students since before the program even started. They showed us they were not only interested in having a top-quality program, but also in making sure the students felt supported and heard,” Wade said. “They genuinely care for us and our success. They have been our biggest cheerleaders from the beginning.”
Wade also received educational support through the School’s Advanced Nursing Education Workforce grant. ANEW works to improve primary care access and services in rural and medically underserved populations in Alabama by creating a pipeline of nurse practitioners with advanced training in opioid use disorder prevention and integrated behavioral care.
She notes that while earning her degree was challenging at times, the encouragement she received along the way encouraged her to keep going.
“The School feels like home. I feel like they're my family now, and I know I’m exactly where I need to be,” Wade said.
After taking her board exams in October, Wade hopes to practice as a nurse-midwife in Walker County, Ala., where she lives.The School’s MSN Nurse-Midwifery Pathway is one of the key initiatives of its Women and Children Health Initiative, which encompasses all the School’s maternal and child health focused work across its teaching, research and practice missions.
“The vision of WACHI is to achieve a future where women and children in Alabama are healthy and achieving their highest potential,” said WACHI Director, Professor and Chair of the Department of Acute, Chronic and Continuing Care Allison Shorten, PhD, FACM, FNAP, FAAN. "Our nurse-midwifery graduates are ready to make a difference, as we work together to improve the health of mothers and babies in our state."
