Joyce Cameron Foster
"I believe in supporting, educating, motivating and empowering women to become active participants in their own health and wellbeing and in the health and well being of their families. I believe in the active participation and collaboration of families in the childbearing process. I believe in providing nurturing, sensitive, knowledgable, and skilled management of care at all times, but especially during the experience of labor and birth."
-Joyce Cameron Foster, Ph.D, CNM, NAP, FAAN, FACNM
The College of Nursing at the University of Utah first awarded diplomas in 1916, but it wasn't established until 1948. In 1964, just after recieving her masters in midwifery at Yale, Foster was recruited to direct the newly founded midwifery program at the U. She would go on to invoke many changes to the program and was massively influential to the study of midwifery all throughout Utah. In 1971 she became the chair of the certification commitee. In 1981 she received her PhD in health science from the UofU. She diligently worked in the college and became a tenured professor in 1992. Her work included founding the BirthCare HealthCare facility, established a birthing facility in Holladay, she authored the first Utah nurse-midwifery practice act in 1971, she wrote dozens of articles and papers and rewarded grants that totalled over 7 million dollars. She retired as a professor emeritus in 2001 and passed away in 2022.
What is a midwife?
According to the University of Utah's website on the College of Nursing-Midwifery, " A nurse midwife is a registered nurse who receives extra training from an accredited midwifery program and becomes board certified by the American College of Nurse Midwives." They are meant to provide specific care related to pregnancy and provide support to mothers. As registered nurses, they are also capable of providing other primary health care services to women including menopause care, health coaching, and routine exams.
College of Nursing-Midwifery Now
As of 2024 the University of Utah College of Nursing-Midwifery is 11th in the country for academics according to U.S. News and World Reports. Their mission is to "shape the future of health care to be equitable—allowing everyone to experience life and death to the fullest."
Courtesy of Archives West
Joyce Cameron Foster was dedicated to creating a family collaberation within the childbearing process. She went on to be active members or even founded organizations related to natal health. She founded the BirthCare HealthCare Association which provides OB/GYN and other primary care services to women. The Family Health Program that Foster helped spearhead helped nursing/midwifery students gain hands on experience under the guidance of certified nurses. Holy Cross Hospital and Hill Air Force Base Hospital were just two of the facilities that allowed nursing students to recieve this hands on experience. Foster taught didactic and clinical courses and attended all student deliveries at the University Medical Center. In a letter to the Director of Nursing Services, Joan Butler, Foster discusses the specifics surrounding the Family Health Program at Holy Cross Hospital. The collaboration of Holy Cross Hospital and the College of Nursing-Midwifery is emphasized. Foster believes that hands on experience is vital for producing the most capable nurses and midwives.
Works Cited
Marketing and Communication. “Remembering Joyce Cameron Foster.” College of Nursing | University of Utah Health, Apr. 2022, nursing.utah.edu/blog/2022/04/joyce-foster. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.
“Nurse Midwifery at the University of Utah - Faculty.” Utah.edu, 2024, library.med.utah.edu/nmw/faculty-joyce.html. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.
Who we are. College of Nursing | University of Utah Health. (2024, June 11). https://nursing.utah.edu/who-we-are
Written by Chloe Hendry Montoya
Edited by Liliano Robledo
Later edited by Pamalatera C. Fenn