Masters in Midwifery with no nursing experience help!?

futureeastcoastNP · Mar 13, 2014

Suny Downstate, if I am not mistaken, takes students with no RN degree into their MIDWIFE program. Very different from a NURSE MIDWIFE.

A nurse midwife is a type of APRN and is recognized in all 50 states. You can work in the hospital, bill insurance, write prescriptions, order tests, etc.

A midwife is a non-nurse direct entry type program. They are NOT recognized as healthcare providers in all states, cannot usually bill insurance (must be self pay), cannot write prescriptions, cannot order labs, and usually cannot get hospital privileges (at home, self pay birth only). Sometimes they are sued for "practicing medicine without a license"

scarykarrey · Mar 13, 2014

If you're interested in nurse-midwifery, as opposed to becoming a Certified Professional Midwife, I know there are several direct-entry nurse-midwifery programs that have you complete an accelerated BSN program before beginning the midwifery curriculum. Yale's program is one of them. I would recommend bringing this up in the Certified Nurse Midwives board, as well, since the knowledgebase about programs is going to be a lot more in-depth there than it is in the general APRN section.

Good luck!

mamagui · Mar 15, 2014

To become a Certified Nurse Midwife, you will need to be an RN. You don't necessarily have to have a BSN for this title, as you can go to a community college and get an ADN. There are some schools that have an ADN-MSN program, but many will require you to already have a BS/BA in some other field, which it sounds like you are already about to have.

Philadelphia University | Midwifery Admissions Requirements

DNP Bachelor's & ADN to MSN+DNP (Bridge) Application Steps | Frontier Nursing University

CNMidwife2Be · Mar 15, 2014

\ said:

I'm a little more than halfway through undergrad studying Psychology and I just recently realized that midwifery is my calling. I know SUNY Downstate takes students with no nursing background but that's really limiting to only have one school option. Should I become an RN or do an accelerated BSN program? It's too late for me to transfer to nursing school, so I'll graduate in May 2015 with a BS in Psych. What's the best option for me?

Hi midwifetobe92!

I was in exactly your shoes several years ago. I was a French major and realized that I wanted to be a midwife. I didn't listen to my intuition right away though and it took me a couple years after college until I realized I just needed to follow my heart.

I completed the prereqs and then did an accelerated BSN - one year, incredibly intense and full of culture shock. Much of it felt irrelevant as an aspiring midwife, but two years after I now see the value in those experiences. I had no interest in working as a nurse and went directly into my program at Frontier Nursing U. It's the oldest midwifery program in the country and I'm very happy w it. I'll be graduating in late 2015. : )

I also nearly attended SUNY Downstates CNM program - another excellent option.

See my response above about the CM program. I nearly did that early on in the process but ruled it out bc I didn't want to be limited to 3 states.

Since you will have your BA by next Spring, Id encourage you to take the same route I did and do an accelerated BSN/RN when you finish college.They're all about a year and it goes by fast. It's super intense, but it's worth it.

Doing an ADN/RN is an option but more circuitous..it's only worth it if it's much cheaper than the ABSNs in your area. You'd then be limited to a smaller number of schools bc they don't all have an ADN- MSN in midwifery. Although frontier does, so that would be an option.

As far as selecting an ABSN goes, I'd recommend you look for a state school. Don't spend a ton of money. By the end, it's an expensive process and not worth spending a ton for a private nursing program when you're interest is really in midwifery. Are you in NY? I did my ABSN at a SUNY school and was quite happy w it (well, as happy as one can be in an accelerated nursing program..)

Are you able to start the science prerequisites now? Also, I'd encourage you to do a doula training (CAPPA or DONA are both good). And see if you can do some volunteer doula work - some hospitals have programs otherwise you could do it privately. This will not only give you valuable experience and exposure to birth it will also be a helpful addition on your résumé. Frontier, for example, accepts students w either a year of RN experience (any kind, not just L&D) or a year of mother-child health work (doula, childbirth educator, or lactation consultant/educator).

I hope this helps! Feel free to send more questions my way, here or PM. : )

CNMidwife2Be · Mar 15, 2014

Here's a list of ABSNs - it's from 2011, so it may not be up to date. http://www.aacn.nche.edu/leading-initiatives/education-resources/APLIST.PDF

Also here's a list of midwifery programs. The ones that say BA/BS to RN/CNM are masters entry programs which combine an accelerated year of nursing w the masters in nurse- midwifery. The benefit to these programs is that the process is streamlined, you don't need to apply to another program after nursing school. The major downside is that they tend to be extremely overpriced. Feel free to PM me about individual programs as I've looked into most of them.

http://www.midwife.org/Education-Programs-Directory

Lastly, check out this page: futuremidwives.org It's a new organization designed to connect aspiring/student midwives. : )

RachelEdelman · Apr 17, 2016

Hi there, I will be finishing my BA in May 2017 and already done the prereq for nursing. From your post, it looks like you recommend doing a second BA in one year. Don't you think that it is better to do a master entry program for midwifery? Why BSN if someone already have a BA? Just curious if there is something I need to know.

RachelEdelman · Apr 17, 2016

Oh, I just saw your notes about the entry programs being over priced...:)