ODU, Shenandoah University To Offer Nurse Midwifery Program Old Dominion and Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va., have joined together to offer a specialization in nurse midwifery starting this fall. Students will complete the first year at ODU, and the midwifery program at Shenandoah will offer the second year of the curriculum. According to Laurel Garzon, associate professor of nursing at Old Dominion, there is a shortage of both nurse midwives and programs to train them. “Start-up costs are very high for midwife programs. It just makes sense to use the resources we have to make this available in underserved areas,” she said. “This program builds on our existing distance network and is a really good example of how two schools can use their best attributes to put together a needed program.” Old Dominion and Shenandoah courses will be offered at ODU’s Norfolk campus, and its Virginia Beach, Tri-Cities and Peninsula higher education centers, as well as its distance learning sites throughout the state. Students will attend classes at Shenandoah in two- and four-week blocks during each of the last three semesters of the program. The master of science degree in nursing will be awarded by ODU and a certificate of midwifery specialty will be awarded by Shenandoah. Graduates will be eligible to take the national midwifery certification examination.