MEADOW

The MEADOW program goal is to train nurse-midwives through trainee scholarships, stipends, curricular enhancement, and community-based training.

Full-time nurse-midwifery and dual midwifery/FNP* students from rural or underserved areas or populations historically under-represented in midwifery.

Full-time nurse-midwifery and dual midwifery/FNP * students who wish to work in rural or underserved areas or with medically underserved populations and/or individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP).

For more information about what sites qualify, please see the page titled,  HRSA’s website, along with their tool to  The designations most relevant are: primary care HPSA (health professional shortage area), PC MCTA (primary care maternity care target areas), and MUA/P (medically underserved area or population). 

Ten students will be selected as MEADOW trainees each fall in 2024, 2025, and 2026 (contingent on continued federal funding), and support will be provided to trainees for three semesters.

*Dual nurse-midwifery/FNP students can qualify for the grant during their nurse-midwifery clinical semesters.

Grant recipients, known as trainees, receive stipends during the three semesters of midwifery clinicals. This is the spring, summer and second fall semester of the specialty year for MSN students.

Stipends for trainees are approximately $4,000 per month, totaling about $56,000 over the course of three clinical semesters.

Small stipends are also provided to preceptors of the MEADOW trainees.

Trainees receive the same excellent coursework as all midwifery students to be able to provide person-centered, evidence-based care, including incorporation of social and structural determinants of health, culturally and linguistically appropriate care, and improve reproductive health care in the communities they serve.

Placement in rural or underserved areas or with underserved populations for clinical rotations

Coursework dedicated to advanced behavioral health to expand the trainee’s knowledge of treatment of mental health disorders (3-credit hour course; tuition is grant-funded)

Simulations focused on care in rural areas and with underserved populations – including telehealth and regional perinatal referral simulations

Exam fees to become a certified medical interpreter are paid by the grant (if applicable for the student)

Opportunities to learn about employment in rural and underserved areas and with underserved populations from providers working in these areas.

You can apply for the MEADOW grant in your first semester of midwifery-focused coursework (pre-specialty and MN students need to complete their nursing coursework prior to applying)

Aspiring trainees can use responses from their original VUSN application to apply, or write new essays

Yes! This grant is compatible with other grants and financial aid programs, including the National Health Service Corps, federal financial aid, and other HRSA scholarships