any advice ?

[stephaniebrynn]

hi everyone :)

i'm 20 yrs old and now know what i want to do with my life. obviously being on the CNM forum, i want to become a certified nurse-midwife. i have so many questions and am not sure of everything that i need to accomplish in order to be a CNM. i've done research online but every site ends up being different and saying differently than the others. i am certain this is what i want to do, and know that schooling will be long and plenty stressful, but i know i am up for it! i have no prior college experience, and i haven't decided which school to attend, but i would like to have a better understanding of what i need to do and which path i need to take. i also need to definitely look into scholarships, grants, and/or financial aid. so if you have any advice there also, that would help a lot! i know i need to be a registered nurse, and have a bachelors in nursing, or bachelors of science in nursing? does it matter which, or what do you prefer or which do you have your bachelors in? what are all of the duties of nurse mid-wiving? anything would help, thanks so much!

[TLAandy]

It depends on which track you want to take. Either Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) or Certified Midwife (CM). The education routes to these are all different so, you would need to decide (with research) which appeals to you the most. Just a little background information on each:

A person with the credential CNM, CM or CPM has earned a nationally recognized credential.

CNMs are required to have a nursing background.

Neither CMs nor CPMs are required to have a nursing background.

CNMs and CMs practice primarily in hospitals.

CPMs practice primarily in out-of-hospital settings.

CNMs are licensed in all 50 states. Legal recognition has not yet been extended to CMs and

CPMs in all 50 states.

But do research online!! Type in some of the titles and find out what options are out there. Don't do one over the other because more people think it is a good idea. There is a ton of information out there. I recommend you start at http://www.midwife.org/ It is a great resource.