UK Midwife moving to US seeks advice!! Please help

Dear Belinda-wales and SiennaGreen,

Thank you both very much for your comments, I'm finding this process a bit of a minefield and pretty confusing ! But, your comments confirm what I have been thinking, that CNM is the way to go. I think I would find working as a CPM too limiting, and would feel on the fringe of things and my practice potentially exposed and vulnerable. Because midwifery is so mainstream here in the UK, I am not willing to have my US practice limited to the sidelines, I want to be able to practice in a variety of settings if I wish and be recognised as a legitimate health care professional. I think the CNM qualification is most likely to meet those criteria.

So, I think I will have to just grin and bear it - and do another 3 years of study. It will not be all bad because I may well end up with a masters at the end of it all. I am interested in comments on my options, from my research it There seems to be a number of ways to do this (there may be more):

i. BSN accelerated (15 months) (Shennandoah University - total fee cost $20K approx) then MSN in Midwifery distance education (16-20 months) (Philadelphia U, Cinncinatti U, Stony Brook, Frontier U). Acceptance to accelerated BSN will probably require pre-requisites of Human Anatomy (8 credits) and statistics which I don't have and which will take 2 semesters to attain.

ii. MSN at University of Virginia (24 months and total fee cost of about 24K) then post-master course in Midwifery at Shenandoah U (12 months). Acceptance to MSN at UVa will probably require pre-requisites of Human Anatomy (8 credits) and statistics which will take 2 semesters to attain.

iii. RN in nursing (5 semesters at community college - cost of fees? But less than above, ?10k total) then MSN in Midwifery via distance education (16-20 months) (Philadelphia U, Cinncinatti U, Stony Brook, Frontier U).

In answer to questions: My husband is a US citizen so I will be able to get a green card. We may be able to get some discounts on courses because of my husband's teaching post in Lexington.

Thank you and best wishes with your midwifery ambitions too...

Just a quick question. I already have a BS in Midwifery (direct entry), and need an RN in order to enrol for a Masters in Midwifery at Philadelphia, Frontier etc to achieve the CNM qualification.

Is it okay just to get an RN at a Community College, or do people recommend getting a BSN instead? Comments/thoughts much appreciated.