Meet Ann Darlington, CNM

Specialty: Nurse-Midwifery
Now living in: Seattle
How long on the board: Member since the beginning, in the early 80s; president of transitional BOD since January, 2007.

Current work place and position: I am a staff CNM in our 7-member nurse-midwifery practice, Midwifery and Women’s Health, a part of Puget Sound Neighborhood Health Centers. “PSNHC” is a consortium of community health centers offering medical and dental services to our region’s underserved at 16 sites throughout the Puget Sound region. My group provides OB/Gyn care at 5 of the clinics, and births at Group Health Central’s in-hospital birth center in Seattle.

Brief work history: I became CNM in ’81 (University of Utah) and worked at Virginia Mason Nurse-Midwifery Service from then until their OB lay-off in early 2002. (Our group was hired by PSNHC 10 minutes later.) I also serve as (unpaid) clinical faculty at UW, as a student preceptor and occasional guest lecturer. And for 3 years I have been a marathon guest lecturer for WSU’s FNP graduate students, teaching their program’s OB content (“OB for FNPS”) in a 2-day course.

Why you chose your specialty: Birth is a marvelous combination of an everyday event and a true miracle. Nurse-midwifery is never boring and the employment (and volunteer) opportunities are diverse and thus far, never-ending. In my younger days I was a political science major on track to be a lawyer when I realized I wanted something more direct and hands-on. I am woman-centered in my thinking about life, so midwifery keeps me immersed professionally in areas I care about personally. Access and choice in health care are Big Deals for me.

Why you volunteered for the BOD: At 1st I wanted to help create a statewide organization to empower NPs and their clients. The work we did then was a meld of my political and health care interests. We worked so hard and long to get full prescriptive authority for NPs! More recently, we weighed in on the medical malpractice scene, sounding “the voice of reason” that was missing in the debate. I remain committed to AUWS, and continue to volunteer as we re-energize our organization, by broadening our membership base through improved outreach and communication with NPs. Over the years we have built a mature, respected presence in Olympia and in state nursing circles, including WSNA, and I don’t want to lose our momentum. We must remain ready for The Next Big Political Thing (and there is always one just over the horizon). I agreed to be President of the BOD during our transition, to be sure it thrives throughout this “organizational revival” period (and because no one else on the BOD could take it on now.)

What you most care about regarding NPs: I care that we and our clients have the power to provide and to access our services, and that NPs can hold on to what makes us special (the “nurse part” of who we are) and be respected for our good work. “Respect” is politically defined in many ways, including fair compensation and unfettered opportunity within our scope of practice.

Your hopes for AUWS: I hope that AUWS can grow and expand our influence, within our NP practice world as well as in the world of state politics; that we stretch to more fully represent all NP specialties, geographic locations, and issues; and that we continue our work with other groups (nursing and other professions) to promote safe, accessible, affordable health care for all. I also want AUWS to rev up and maintain a vibrant, web-based NP referral system, accessible to NPs and consumers.