Elizabeth Sharp

Last updated

Elizabeth Sager Sharp CNM, DrPH, FAAN, FACNM, (December 16, 1933 - February 7, 2016) was an American nurse and midwife who specialized in maternal and newborn health. In 1999, she received the American College of Nurse-Midwives' Hattie Hemschemeyer Award. [1]

Contents

Sharp started to work as a midwife at Holland City Hospital in Holland, Michigan. [2] She continued her nurse training at Yale University, graduating in 1959. [2] [3] She was taught by Ernestine Wiedenbach. [2] She also worked with Ruth Lubic. [2] Sharp received a doctorate in public health from Johns Hopkins University. [2] [4]

Sharp set up the Yale Young Mothers program to support teenage mothers. [3] She believed that midwifery services must include family planning. [3]

In 1970 Sharp moved to Georgia. [4] She was one of the founders of the midwife service at Grady Memorial Hospital (the Emory University Nurse-Midwifery Service). [3] [4] In the 1970s Sharp set up a graduate midwifery training program, the Emory University Nurse-Midwifery Program, at Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University. [1] [3] She was also one of the founders of the Graduate School of Public Health at Emory. [1] [2]

Sharp was president of the American College of Nurse-Midwives between 1973 and 1975. [3] She is said to have "the credit for [setting up] midwifery in Georgia”. [4]

After her death at the age of 82, a scholarship was set up in her name at Emory University. [3] Her role in the history of midwifery and nursing has been studied. [4] [5]

Publications

Related Research Articles

Midwifery Pregnancy and childbirth-related profession

Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period, in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many countries, midwifery is a medical profession. A professional in midwifery is known as a midwife.

Nursing and Midwifery Council

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the regulator for nursing and midwifery professions in the UK. The NMC maintains a register of all nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses and nursing associates eligible to practise within the UK. It sets and reviews standards for their education, training, conduct and performance. The NMC also investigates allegations of impaired fitness to practise.

Grady Memorial Hospital Public hospital in Atlanta, Georgia

Grady Memorial Hospital, frequently referred to as Grady Hospital or simply Grady, is the public hospital for the city of Atlanta. It is the tenth-largest public hospital in the United States, and one of the busiest Level I trauma centers in the country. Historical segregation of its hospital units meant that it was also called "The Gradys," a name that still surfaces among elderly Atlanta residents, especially African-Americans. It is the flagship of the Grady Health System.

Ina May Gaskin American midwife

Ina May Gaskin is an American midwife who has been described as "the mother of authentic midwifery." She helped found the self-sustaining community, The Farm, with her husband Stephen Gaskin in 1971 where she markedly launched her career in midwifery. She is known for the Gaskin Maneuver, has written several books on midwifery and childbirth, and continues to educate society through lectures and conferences and spread her message of natural, old-age inspired, fearless childbirth.

Certified Nurse‐Midwife Advanced practice nurse who provides mid-level nursing and midwifery care

In the United States, a Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) is a nurse midwife who exceeds the International Confederation of Midwives essential competencies for a midwife and is also an advanced practice registered nurse, having completed registered nursing and midwifery education leading to practice as a nurse midwife and credentialing as a Certified Nurse-Midwife. CNMs provide care of women across their lifespan, including pregnancy and the postpartum period, and well woman care and birth control. Certified Nurse-Midwives are exceptionally recognized by the International Confederation of Midwives as a type of midwife in the U.S.

Frontier Nursing Service American rural healthcare service

The Frontier Nursing Service was founded in 1925 by Mary Breckinridge and provides healthcare services to rural, underserved populations and educates nurse-midwives.

Mary Carson Breckinridge Founder of the American FNS (1881–1965)

Mary Carson Breckinridge was an American nurse midwife and the founder of the Frontier Nursing Service (FNS), which provided comprehensive family medical care to the mountain people of rural Kentucky. FNS served remote and impoverished areas off the road and rail system but accessible by horseback. She modeled her services on European practices and sought to professionalize American nurse-midwives to practice autonomously in homes and decentralized clinics. Although Breckinridge's work demonstrated efficacy by dramatically reducing infant and maternal mortality in Appalachia, at a comparatively low cost, her model of nurse-midwifery never took root in the United States.

Women in medicine Women licensed to practice medicine

The presence of women in medicine, particularly in the practicing fields of surgery and as physicians, has been traced to the earliest of human history. Women have historically had lower participation levels in medical fields compared to men with occupancy rates varying by race, socioeconomic status, and geography.

Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing is the nursing school of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. The school awards the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Master of Nursing (MN), Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD). The school is named after Nell Hodgson Woodruff, wife of long-time president of The Coca-Cola Company Robert W. Woodruff. Mrs. Woodruff left nursing school when she married, but she supported nursing causes throughout her life.

Nursing Health care profession

Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. They also take on vital roles of education, assessing situations, as support. Nurses may be differentiated from other health care providers by their approach to patient care, training, and scope of practice. Nurses practice in many specialties with differing levels of prescription authority. Nurses comprise the largest component of most healthcare environments; but there is evidence of international shortages of qualified nurses. Many nurses provide care within the ordering scope of physicians, and this traditional role has shaped the public image of nurses as care providers. Nurse practitioners are nurses with a graduate degree in advanced practice nursing. They are however permitted by most jurisdictions to practice independently in a variety of settings. Since the postwar period, nurse education has undergone a process of diversification towards advanced and specialized credentials, and many of the traditional regulations and provider roles are changing.

Ruth Watson Lubic, CNM, EdD, FAAN, FACNM, is an American nurse-midwife and applied anthropologist who pioneered the role of nurse-midwives as primary care providers for women, particularly in maternity care. Lubic is considered to be one of the leaders of the nurse-midwifery movement in the United States.

Midwives in the United States assist childbearing women during pregnancy, labor and birth, and the postpartum period. Some midwives also provide primary care for women including well-woman exams, health promotion, and disease prevention, family planning options, and care for common gynecological concerns. Before the turn of the 20th century, traditional midwives were informally trained and helped deliver almost all births. Today, midwives are professionals who must undergo formal training. Midwives in the United States formed the Midwifery Education, Regulation, and Association task force to establish a framework for midwifery.

Mary Francis Hill Coley was an American lay midwife who ran a successful business providing a range of birth services and who starred in a critically acclaimed documentary film used to train midwives and doctors. Her competence projected an image of black midwives as the face of an internationally esteemed medical profession, while working within the context of deep social and economic inequality in health care provided to African Americans. Her life story and work exist in the context of Southern granny midwives who served birthing women outside of hospitals.

Midwife Medical professional who practices obstetrics as a health science

A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery.

Ronnie Lichtman American midwife, educator and womens health advocate

Ronnie Sue Lichtman, is a midwife, educator, writer and advocate for women's health. She has published widely for both lay and professional audiences. The Chair of the Midwifery Education Program at The State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center in New York City, she earned a Ph.D. in sociomedical sciences from Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and her MS in Maternity Nursing with a specialization in midwifery from Columbia University School of Nursing. She previously directed the midwifery programs at Columbia University and Stony Brook University.

Nurse midwife

A nurse midwife is both a nurse and a midwife, having completed nursing and midwifery education leading to practice as a nurse midwife and sometimes credentialed in the specialty. Nurse midwives provide care of women across the lifespan, including during pregnancy and the postpartum period, and well woman care and birth control.

Eunice Katherine Macdonald "Kitty" Ernst was an American nurse midwife and leader in the nurse-midwife movement in the United States.

American College of Nurse Midwives

The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) is a professional association in the United States, formed in 1955, that represents certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) and certified midwives (CMs). Dating back to 1929, ACNM is the leading example for excellence in midwifery education and practice in the United States and has a special interest in promoting global health in developing countries. "Our members are primary care providers for women throughout the lifespan, with a special emphasis on pregnancy, childbirth, and gynecologic and reproductive health. ACNM reviews research, administers and promotes continuing education programs, and works with organizations, state and federal agencies, and members of Congress to advance the well-being of women and infants through the practice of midwifery."

Peggy Vidot

Peggy Antoinette Vidot is a Seychellois nurse and midwife. Since 3 November 2020, she serves as the Minister of Health.

Elizabeth Mary Chiarella AM is an Australian academic who specialises in issues relating to nursing, midwifery and the law. She is Professor Emerita at the University of Sydney, Australia and has been at the forefront of many regulatory changes to nursing practice and the nursing workforce and midwifery. These include the introduction of nurse practitioners into Australia, the move from a state based to a national regulatory system and, for midwifery, the introduction of the world's first Doctor of Midwifery and the establishment of the framework for state funded home birth midwifery in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. She is a nurse and midwife, who specialised initially in anaesthetic nursing and later in palliative care.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Elizabeth Sharp remembered as national midwifery leader". Emory News Center. 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Elizabeth Sharp '59: 90 Outstanding Yale Nurses Recipient". Yale School of Nursing. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Statement on the Death of ACNM Past-President Elizabeth Sharp". American College of Nurse-Midwives. 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Thrower, Eileen J. B. (2018). "Oral Histories of Nurse-Midwives in Georgia,1970-1989: Blazing Trails, Building Fences, Raising Towers" (PDF). Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health. 63 (6): 693–699. doi:10.1111/jmwh.12744. PMID   29803201. S2CID   44062295 . Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  5. "Talking History 2021 Webinars". American Association for the History of Nursing. 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  6. Long, W.; Sharp, E. (1982). "RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PROFESSIONS: From the Viewpoint of the Physician and Nurse‐Midwife in a Tertiary Center". Journal of Nurse-Midwifery. 27 (4): 14–24. doi:10.1016/0091-2182(82)90165-3. PMID   6921239 . Retrieved 16 February 2021.