frontier: Experience or No Experience

Specialties CNM

Published

So I am currently in nursing school (working towards my BSN) and I would like to get my master right out of nursing school because I don't want to waste time doing other things if I know that I want to pursue midwifery. I want to attend Frontier but the only way to get around working for a year as a nurse would be to become a doula, lactaction consultant, and/ or birth educator. However, pursuing either of those seems like extra work especially considering that is not what I want to do but I know that L&D positions are hard to come by as well. Is there anyone who could give me advice on what you did and how it has worked for you?

Thanks!

Simplyroses

95 Posts

So I am currently in nursing school (working towards my BSN) and I would like to get my master right out of nursing school because I don't want to waste time doing other things if I know that I want to pursue midwifery. I want to attend Frontier but the only way to get around working for a year as a nurse would be to become a doula, lactaction consultant, and/ or birth educator. However, pursuing either of those seems like extra work especially considering that is not what I want to do but I know that L&D positions are hard to come by as well. Is there anyone who could give me advice on what you did and how it has worked for you?

Thanks!

ANY experience working with women and neonates is valuable and would not be a waste of time. Going straight through is doable but your learning curve is greater. Employers do not always want to hire new grad midwives without any clinical experience.

You don't have to be an L&D nurse. You could do phone triage, postpartum, NICU, etc.

Then again, I may not be the person to ask. I have worked for 19 years in L&D, Maternity, Newborn, and NICU. Every family I have encountered has been an education for me, and now I am moving on to the advanced practice nurse role as a midwife. My classmates without experience have a greater learning curve, but they will make good midwives.

Consider your lifestyle, too. Where are you in your family plans? Do you plan for children and if so, do you have a partner who will be home with them at night while you attend deliveries? Many paths for many people. :)

blessed2617

4 Posts

You're right! I guess I never thought of it that way. I am just so excited to go into midwifery and I don't want anything to make it longer. As for lifestyle, it shouldn't be too much of a problem but later on when I do start a family I could see that as being a potential problem. That's part of why I want to get my degree and get a move on now that way when I do have a family, I'll be more used to rather than just getting out of school and still figuring things out. I guess I need to evaluate what I want my life to look like and act accordingly. Thanks for all you help!!

Specializes in Reproductive & Public Health.
You're right! I guess I never thought of it that way. I am just so excited to go into midwifery and I don't want anything to make it longer. As for lifestyle, it shouldn't be too much of a problem but later on when I do start a family I could see that as being a potential problem. That's part of why I want to get my degree and get a move on now that way when I do have a family, I'll be more used to rather than just getting out of school and still figuring things out. I guess I need to evaluate what I want my life to look like and act accordingly. Thanks for all you help!!

Well I am impressed with your ability to consider constructive feedback so readily. I would encourage you to really consider doula work. You are right that it is a HUGE time commitment, but the skills are invaluable and will serve you forever. Equally important, it will give you a chance to experience what it is really like to be in this field. Birth is great, but it is also tiresome, and emotionally draining, and the hours are terrible. And when it goes bad... it can go really, really bad. I wouldn't take on the debt of CNM school without first getting a sense of whether I could hack the lifestyle.

Specializes in Nurse-Midwife.

I once poo-poohed the idea that RN experience was necessary for becoming a midwife. And philosophically, I still believe midwives can be excellent midwives without nursing training.

But - now that I am an RN and in school to become a CNM, I see that my RN experience is PAID LEARNING. And that is awesome.

I also am really seeing that a nurse-midwife is an advance practice nurse - and programs to train nurse-midwives (and other advance practice nurses) are designed to build upon a nurse's experience and skill. The learning curve is VERY steep for those APRNs who do not have nursing experience.

Ideally - if there were going to be a direct-entry path to midwifery, I think it should include a residency - much like medical programs include residency.

For advance practice nurses who have nursing experience - the way the programs are set up make sense, because they have so much experience just with the culture and environment in health care. For the brand-newbie - it's not only knowledge and skill that's required - but it's knowing how to navigate in the system.

I think a tough situation is being a new APRN with no nursing experience. It's very hard to find a job (working as a nurse not only builds your resume, it also helps you make connections!) - and the learning all the unspoken subtleties of the system can be daunting/confusing/exhausting.

Working as a nurse is hard - particularly on days when the care provided to my patients is SO, SO far away from the midwifery model of care. But I do see value in the experiences I am getting. And I'm getting paid. No one has paid me to go to school yet, so getting paid to learn is a big bonus.

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