(1) Any person seeking to be examined shall present to the secretary, at least forty-five days before the commencement of the examination, a written application on a form or forms provided by the secretary setting forth under affidavit such information as the secretary may require and proof the candidate has received a high school degree or its equivalent; that the candidate is twenty-one years of age or older; that the candidate has received a certificate or diploma from a midwifery program accredited by the secretary and licensed under chapter 28C.10 RCW, when applicable, or a certificate or diploma in a foreign institution on midwifery of equal requirements conferring the full right to practice midwifery in the country in which it was issued. The diploma must bear the seal of the institution from which the applicant was graduated. Foreign candidates must present with the application a translation of the foreign certificate or diploma made by and under the seal of the consulate of the country in which the certificate or diploma was issued.

     (2) The candidate shall meet the following conditions:

     (a) Obtaining a minimum period of midwifery training for at least three years including the study of the basic nursing skills that the department shall prescribe by rule. However, if the applicant is a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse under chapter 18.79 RCW, or has had previous nursing education or practical midwifery experience, the required period of training may be reduced depending upon the extent of the candidate's qualifications as determined under rules adopted by the department. In no case shall the training be reduced to a period of less than two years.

     (b) Meeting minimum educational requirements which shall include studying obstetrics; neonatal pediatrics; basic sciences; female reproductive anatomy and physiology; behavioral sciences; childbirth education; community care; obstetrical pharmacology; epidemiology; gynecology; family planning; genetics; embryology; neonatology; the medical and legal aspects of midwifery; nutrition during pregnancy and lactation; breast feeding; nursing skills, including but not limited to injections, administering intravenous fluids, catheterization, and aseptic technique; and such other requirements prescribed by rule.

     (c) For a student midwife during training, undertaking the care of not less than fifty women in each of the prenatal, intrapartum, and early postpartum periods, but the same women need not be seen through all three periods. A student midwife may be issued a permit upon the satisfactory completion of the requirements in (a), (b), and (c) of this subsection and the satisfactory completion of the licensure examination required by RCW 18.50.060. The permit permits the student midwife to practice under the supervision of a midwife licensed under this chapter, a physician or a certified nurse-midwife licensed under the authority of chapter 18.79 RCW. The permit shall expire within one year of issuance and may be extended as provided by rule.

     (d) Observing an additional fifty women in the intrapartum period before the candidate qualifies for a license.

     (3) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2) of this section, the department shall adopt rules to provide credit toward the educational requirements for licensure before July 1, 1988, of nonlicensed midwives, including rules to provide:

     (a) Credit toward licensure for documented deliveries;

     (b) The substitution of relevant experience for classroom time; and

     (c) That experienced lay midwives may sit for the licensing examination without completing the required coursework.

     The training required under this section shall include training in either hospitals or alternative birth settings or both with particular emphasis on learning the ability to differentiate between low-risk and high-risk pregnancies.

[1994 sp.s. c 9 § 705; 1991 c 3 § 106; 1987 c 467 § 3; 1986 c 299 § 24; 1981 c 53 § 6; 1917 c 160 § 2; RRS § 10175.]

NOTES:

     Severability -- Headings and captions not law -- Effective date -- 1994 sp.s. c 9: See RCW 18.79.900 through 18.79.902.

     Severability -- Effective date -- 1986 c 299: See RCW 28C.10.900 and 28C.10.902.

     Effective date -- 1981 c 53: See note following RCW 18.50.005.