Scope Of Certification and Student Handbook
Scope of certification
Doulas are care professionals, not medical providers. CPDs provide emotional, physical, and educational support in the birth and postpartum years. Care is tailored to meet specific requests but does not include medical advice or performing medical procedures nor is it to act in place of a medical provider.
Certified Professional Doulas do not diagnose, treat, or intervene.
Allo Doula Academy requires that doulas working within this certification program follow this scope of practice along with the guidelines of the mission and vision statement of the company.
Students will be trained in the following topics:
The anatomy and physiology of birth and recovery
Common interventions
Comfort measures and advanced comfort measures for birth and postpartum
Feeding support
Appropriate communication with medical care providers and staff
Appropriate communication with clients
Newborn care
Postpartum mood disorders
The postpartum family
Healing for the postpartum mother
Infant Sleep Guidance
Sibling support and transitions
Whole family care
Bereavement and end-of-life support
Professionalism
Professional business practices
CPD Doulas Do:
Provide hands-on support
Provide evidence-based educational resources
Provide emotional support
Respect all medical professionals
Help the care team when appropriate
CPD Doulas Don’t:
Perform medical procedures
Give medical advice
Take the place of medical personnel
Diagnose, Treat, or Intervene
Scope of certification
CPD doulas are certified by the National Doula Certification Board (NDCB), and students/candidates must complete the following steps in order to apply for certification.
Successful completion of Training Program
Successful completion of Clinical Experience
Successful passing of the CPD Exam
Completed Professional Portfolio
Completed Certification Application
Requirements for Certification
Following successful completion of each of the fifteen-week class periods, the homework assignments, skills assessments, quizzes, tests, each of the additional assessment pieces listed in the ASSESSMENT TOOLS section of this document and the clinical rotation requirements, students will be considered candidates for Certification and can apply to the National Doula Certification Board to complete the steps to certification.
The following four steps need to be completed by the candidate:
CPD Certification Application
The candidate will submit a professional portfolio to the National Doula Certification Board. The expectations for the portfolio can requested from the board which uses a detailed rubric for evaluation. The Portfolio passing standard is 200/250 (80%).
The candidate will submit an hourly log, experiences checklist and a writeup detailing their clinical experience. The Clinical Director for the Academy holds a non-voting position on the National Doula Certification Board and provides oversight for the evaluation of the candidate’s clinical experience. The National Doula Certification Board holds the right to validate the hours log against the clinical site’s records of student rotation.
Register and take the CPD Certification Exam. This exam is separate from the training program.
Upon successful completion of the above steps and a passing mark of 80% or greater on The CPD Certification Exam, the National Doula Certification Board will issue the credential Certified Professional Doula. (See the Certification and Certificates section below).
Overview of the Training Program
The Certified Professional Doula Training Program is approximately a 200-hour synchronous course meant to be completed in 15 weeks with once weekly class sessions of four (4) hours and additional online lecture, question, and response postings. Approximately eighty (80) hours of coursework and homework will be completed outside of class sessions. Each student will complete a professional portfolio as a portion of a capstone project throughout the course. In addition to class time and in partnership with local hospitals, students will complete a clinical rotation of seventy-five (75) total hours.
Training Program Assessment Process
The assessment design for this course utilizes the integration of instruction and assessment in order to identify what students can do with their knowledge and skills in a specific domain, given real world scenarios. It seeks to balance between selected response and performance assessment.
Assessment tools include:
Skills assessment
Bloodborne pathogens and universal precautions testing
Quizzes and tests
Professional portfolio development
Classroom role play
Dynamic problem solving
Presentation assignments
Class participation
Clinical hours logs
Observational logs
Clinical experience write-up summary
Certification Exam
Upon successful completion of the above requirements, students will be eligible candidates to take the CPD Certification Exam. Please refer to the CPD Exam section of this handbook for further information.