Am I going to be in school forever?

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Okay, here's the short version of my story. I'll be 26 in December and realized this year that i'm tired of putting off my dreams of being a nurse (specifically a CNM) until everyone else is taken care of (i.e. Son in school, Dh at his "dream job" etc etc). I already had a # of pre-reqs taken care of from my associates in business so I jumped in and by the end of 2009 I will have all of my pre-reqs taken care of for the 4 year university I want in to. (In my area if you have decent GPA you can get your BSN before your ADN due to the massive ADN wait lists).

My plan was to work a year out of school and then apply to a CNM master's program (specifically Frontier or University of Cincinnati) as CNM is really what I want to do. Then I see this at the top of your forum:

Per the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM) position statement, Mandatory Degree Requirements for Entry into Midwifery Practice, approved by the ACNM Board of Directors in March 2006, a graduate degree will be required for entry into practice by 2010.

I had heard about the requirement for DNP, but I had been hearing that it wasn't anything definite yet.

So according to this it looks like I'll need to get my BSN, then an MSN (that I can't actually use to practice) and then to go back again for a DNP. Um, that's over 7 1/2 years of school there! I'll be 34 years old and paying off student loans until I die! :eek: I understand how physicians can take out loans to cover eight years of schooling and residency and all when they know their going to be making serious money when they graduate, but I don't see how i'm going to be able to cover that unless the salary for a CNM rises due to the DNP.

Okay, that went off in a bit of a vent. My bottom line question is about the progression of my education. Am I really looking at BSN to MSN to DNP? Are there any programs offering a BSN to DNP similar to what they offer for ADN to MSN? I checked into frontier and it didn't seem that way.

Thanks for the info.

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Am I thinking wrong? A graduate degree is a MSN which is what most if not all CNM programs offer now. I know in the past that you could finish your CNM but would have to finish a few extra classes to actually have a MSN. Frontier used to be this way but now you get both CNM and MSN when you finish the program. Then doctorate degree is DNP.

So if my thinking is right you will need to get your masters but not continue on for your doctorate. For those people who are CNM's but did not finish the masters portion will have to do that by 2010. Does this make sense? If I am thinking wrong someone please correct me.

Have a great day.

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That would make me feel a lot better if that's what they mean! Thanks!

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Specializes in LDRP.

Peytonsmom,

A graduate degree is the MSN. A doctoral degree would be the DNP. So, go to U of cinn or Frontier.. pass your boards...get hired and start practicing. :>) Shannon

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

What my understanding is that the MSN is what you need to practice...meaning you can not just have your BSN and then take the classes to get your CNM without the extra classes for your MSN (I know an FNP who only has her ASN...)...I wrote UCSF back in April of this year because of the 2015 DNP scare....the woman I spoke to said that they are not expecting to move to a DNP program. Because currently there are no licensing boards that require the DNP for practice, all master’s prepared CNMs will be able to be licensed for the foreseeable future.

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