The educational preparation and use of nurse-midwives working with other health team members has helped reduce the maternal and infant mortality and morbidity rate in Mississippi. The development of the program employed is described. (AG)

The article focuses on one nurse's experience in the nurse-midwife program at a large New York medical center. Terming the learning process a painful transition from academe to reality, the author discusses skills learned, conflicts with physicians' belief systems, rewards and frustrations, and the need for nurse-midwife identity. (Author/MS)