Advice?

[rac1, ASN, BSN, RN]

Hi - I am not even in nursing school yet, but I'm hopeful for entrance this year.

That said, I am a 38 year old mother of 5 and wife to an Army officer. We move a lot. I started out years ago studying to be a midwife (homebirth). I had all my babies at home, and over time I really believe it became my calling to be a midwife. That said, homebirth midwifery education is very hard to accomplish when you are an Army wife. We get stationed in places where midwives are 4 hours away in the big cities, and only travel to in my home area for births, which makes it impossible to be a good student and a good mother. I refused to let my 5 kids grow up with me gone randomly for 24 hours at a time, and put my dreams and goals on hold. I have taken classes here and there over the years, and recently my husband got an amazing offer to go back to school to get his PhD through the Army. We are not stationed in a large city with great options for childcare (our family. Although our youngest is 5 now..), and great options for furthering my own education. Instead of continuing on with homebirth midwifery, I am opting to go to nursing school because it is more beneficial for me to having a degree in nursing in any state, whereas if I was a CPM, and we get stationed someplace where homebirth midwifery is still illegal it will be a pain. That said, nursing really is right up my ally, and it is funny to see how this all played out over the years with me taking classes here and there for what I thought was homebirth midwifery...and with us eventually being stationed where it is perfect for me to get into nursing. Anyway, my heart is for birth. It always has been, and always will be. While I can see that nursing is something I am very interested in and compatible with, I still know that midwifery is it

for me.

So....now that ya'll know my life story - I would really love to understand how to go about getting the best education on my way to my CNM education. What increases my chances of getting accepted (for my masters)? Is there a way to specialize as a student nurse/new nurse? What education options are going to help me? I taught childbirth education classes for years, but am no longer certified. I also was a trained doula and have attended many births, not to mention the years I attended birth as a student midwife. Any thoughts, ideas or advice for me? If you made it this far (are your eyes bleeding?!) - thanks for being interested!

[LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM]

So....now that ya'll know my life story - I would really love to understand how to go about getting the best education on my way to my CNM education. What increases my chances of getting accepted (for my masters)? Is there a way to specialize as a student nurse/new nurse? What education options are going to help me? I taught childbirth education classes for years, but am no longer certified. I also was a trained doula and have attended many births, not to mention the years I attended birth as a student midwife. Any thoughts, ideas or advice for me? If you made it this far (are your eyes bleeding?!) - thanks for being interested!

Hello and welcome.

Midwifery Education Programs - ACNM

These are the 39 midwifery programs currently operated in the U.S. and recognized by ACNM. Many are completely or partially distance, so they may suit your needs better. You can look into all of them for more info.

In terms of what increases your chances of getting accepted to a program, it's not terribly hard as long as you have a good undergrad GPA. You already have doula training and CBE experience, which is a nice plus, and as long as you make it clear you are now interested in being a nurse-midwife, your prior CPM education should be seen as an asset as well, or at least not a negative thing. Some schools may require you to take the GRE, so if the school you're interested in requires it, you'd obviously want to do as well as you can.

There is no way to "specialize" as a new nurse, everyone comes out with the same generalist license. You can certainly try to get experience as a student on an L&D or postpartum unit as a tech, or a volunteer or something. Some nursing schools give you a real preceptorship in your last semester in a unit of your preference (although mine didn't!) so if you have that option, you could request L&D or something else women's health-related.

You can also try to network with as many midwives as you can in the meantime. But mainly, I would take it one step at a time. Focus on getting into nursing school, then getting through it, and then see where you are. Some people are really convinced about their passion only to find out by the end of nursing school that it's not what they thought, and that their interests lie elsewhere. I will just caution you that being a CNM involves more than just birth. We care for women throughout the lifespan and that is very much reiterated throughout your CNM education. If you still want to pursue becoming a CNM, focus on getting some nursing experience and getting into midwifery school. You have a long road ahead of you, but I'm sure you realize that. Good luck!

[rac1, ASN, BSN, RN]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I appreciate all of your input. I do realize that being a CNM involves more than just birth and I am very interested in caring for women in general. I have looked at many of the programs that offer a CNM/DNP combination, as this is what interests me the most. While I realize I have a long trek before I am there, my BSN program is concurrent with nursing school, so it is just 2 years away once I begin (and while that is TWO years, I know it'll sneak up fast!).

Again, thanks for your time!