school, nurse, midwife, midwifery, CNM

[AshleyAnn123]

If I get an RN degree, and a bachelors level midwifery degree, is there a school that will offer me a way to mesh the 2 together to become a certified Nurse midwife? or would i have to take a completely seperate RN-CNM bridge course? I am absolutely possative that these are the two degrees that i want to pursue, but how can I mesh them to make a more sensable degree?

[AgentBeast, BSN, RN]

Nurse Midwife is a Masters Level Degree (MSN)

[redbeads]

If there is such a thing as a bachelor's level midwife degree, I've never heard of it here in the U.S. There are some CNM programs that allow you to go from an Associates' degree in Nursing to a Masters' in Nursing...just takes a little longer than if you were going from a Bachelor's to a Master's.

If you haven't started out yet, I would recommend getting your BSN first.

[elkpark]

Nurse midwifery in the US is a graduate degree program (MSN for a long time, now discussion of advanced practice programs possibly becoming doctoral programs). There is no way that you can "mesh" basic RN licensure and a lay midwifery baccalaureate degree to become a CNM -- you would have to complete an MSN with a concentration in nurse midwifery. There are no alternate routes.

If you want to pursue a career as a lay midwife, that's an entirely different discussion.

[JENmoore]

Hi Ashley,

I agress with elk park - "Nurse midwifery in the US is a graduate degree program". I don't think you would be able to combine a bachelors level midwifery degree and an RN degree. But this website might help with some of your questions about nursing education- http://www.medicalandnursing-training.com/. You also might consider calling a few nursing schools to see if you can get an actual person on the phone who can give you a more concrete answer.

I hope that helps!

-Janice

[BonnieSc]

There are definitely a few programs that offer a bachelor's degree in midwifery in the US. But the professions just have a different knowledge base and theory of practice; someone with an MSN in nurse-midwifery couldn't necessarily practice as a certified professional midwife any more than a CPM could practice as a CNM.

I have known a few RNs who have gotten education as non-nurse midwives and gone on to practice as such, but they don't practice as nurses.

Some RN-MSN bridge programs would give you a certain amount of credit from a midwifery program, or at least it would help you get in--check out the Frontier program.

[BluegrassRN]

Okay, I'm just curious. Why have you started 5 threads regarding how to become a CNM? The information that has been provided in each thread is virtually identical. Ultimately you must have your masters (in the US) to work as a CNM.

You can:

Get your associates and then enter a BSN completion program, then a Masters program

You can get your associates and then enter an RN-MSN program.

You can get your BSN and then enter a masters program.

How difficult is this concept?

If you want to work as a certified midwife, those positions vary in each state. Generally they only work either at home or in birth centers. They are not even legal in some states. A few states allow them to bill insurance, most do not. You just attend a lay-midwifery program for this. Something like Ancient Arts midwifery. Or you study on your own. An apprenticeship with another midwife is typical, and can last several years.

Why are you so confused about this?

[redbeads]

There are definitely a few programs that offer a bachelor's degree in midwifery in the US. But the professions just have a different knowledge base and theory of practice; someone with an MSN in nurse-midwifery couldn't necessarily practice as a certified professional midwife any more than a CPM could practice as a CNM.

I have known a few RNs who have gotten education as non-nurse midwives and gone on to practice as such, but they don't practice as nurses.

Some RN-MSN bridge programs would give you a certain amount of credit from a midwifery program, or at least it would help you get in--check out the Frontier program.

Wendy79, I'm just curious....where are these programs that offer a bachelor's degree in midwifery? Could you provide us with the names of these schools?

[BonnieSc]

Wendy79, I'm just curious....where are these programs that offer a bachelor's degree in midwifery? Could you provide us with the names of these schools?

Not all of these programs provide the bachelor's degree, but some do:

MEAC Accredited Schools

[redbeads]

Wendy 79, thanks for the link...looks interesting. I did not know about these schools, but then I never really looked, since I was interested only in the CNM degree. It is nice to know what's out there.