Am I Stupid? Are my goals realistic?

mtymom · May 6, 2005

I am a college student i will be applying to my universities nursing program in the upcoming fall. My future plans when it comes to being a nurse is to be a nurse Midwife, i want to work at home on my own time delivering babies and counseling mothers to-be and so forth, This has always been one of my passions, yet another one of my passions is theatre... While completing my pre reqs for the nursing program i have been pursuing a BS in theatre with teachers certification, This degree is just to fulfill my passion and also supply me with something to fall back on. But if i were to conclude them together i thought about: teaching theatre full time at a local highschool and in the mean time in between time care for my mothers to be. This all seems so realistic to me and i would actually be living the ideal life. However whenever i tell people this they look at me like im crazy.. and tell me i am doing too much!! or Youll be in school forever!! Is there something i just dont see, are my future goals not realistic?

Don't let anyone tell you what to do. If that is what you want to do then go for it, everyone else can just but out. I am assuming that you are not married and don't have any children. I you did then my answer would be a lot different. If you are single then what you do with your time and your life is your business. Good luck in your studies :nurse:

SarasotaRN2b · May 6, 2005

I don't think that you are stupid, but maybe a little unrealistic. I can't see your having a full time teaching job and helping delivering babies...I'm sure you know that babies come at all times of the day, and I'm sure that the mothers that you want to help will want you there as much as possible. Now for your finishing your degree and maybe doing this on the side, would be more reasonable.

Good luck with your decision,

Kris

lady_jezebel · May 6, 2005

I am a college student i will be applying to my universities nursing program in the upcoming fall. My future plans when it comes to being a nurse is to be a nurse Midwife, i want to work at home on my own time delivering babies and counseling mothers to-be and so forth, This has always been one of my passions, yet another one of my passions is theatre... While completing my pre reqs for the nursing program i have been pursuing a BS in theatre with teachers certification, This degree is just to fulfill my passion and also supply me with something to fall back on. But if i were to conclude them together i thought about: teaching theatre full time at a local highschool and in the mean time in between time care for my mothers to be. This all seems so realistic to me and i would actually be living the ideal life. However whenever i tell people this they look at me like im crazy.. and tell me i am doing too much!! or Youll be in school forever!! Is there something i just dont see, are my future goals not realistic?

First of all, teaching "full-time" takes up way more than 40hrs/wk. Just ask any teacher. Secondly, establishing a midwifery practice also requires that you put more than 40hrs/wk of time in. You would also need to be available on-call, in case your women go into labor!

You CAN do both, but you may have to cut back on one for a while in order to establish the other. Many nurses have multiple interests/career pursuits. After you delve into the actual work involved in your goals however, you may find that there are more realistic ways to satisfy both interests -- it will likely evolve into some combination that you can't forsee right now. So in essence I'm saying "pursue both", but remain flexible/creative in your approach to how both will be realized in a few years.

Lilac · May 6, 2005

I am a college student i will be applying to my universities nursing program in the upcoming fall. My future plans when it comes to being a nurse is to be a nurse Midwife, i want to work at home on my own time delivering babies and counseling mothers to-be and so forth, This has always been one of my passions, yet another one of my passions is theatre... While completing my pre reqs for the nursing program i have been pursuing a BS in theatre with teachers certification, This degree is just to fulfill my passion and also supply me with something to fall back on. But if i were to conclude them together i thought about: teaching theatre full time at a local highschool and in the mean time in between time care for my mothers to be. This all seems so realistic to me and i would actually be living the ideal life. However whenever i tell people this they look at me like im crazy.. and tell me i am doing too much!! or Youll be in school forever!! Is there something i just dont see, are my future goals not realistic?

Hi Chocolateeyes,

I have a friend who is a midwife, and years back I volunteered to be her assistant for awhile, as I was considering midwifery myself.I had also considered being a teacher, and took some introductory classes in education a few years back, along with volunteering in several classrooms.

Midwifery is a very demanding occupation, and if you pursue it, all other choices must come second. You can't schedule when babies are born, or when a mom may need to consult with you about something, the way you can schedule other activities.While you can schedule your client's monthly prenatal checks, things can and do come up at other times, and babies, of course, set their own schedules insofar as when they choose to be born (and that is not always in the middle of night)

Also, it depends on what kind of midwifery practice you plan to have, and where you plan to live.Will you work alone, or partner with another midwife? Are you planning a hospital practice, or a homebirth practice? My friend has a homebirth practice. She is able to pursue some other activities, and actually runs a couple of other businesses from home. But she has reduced the number of midwifery clients that she sees to only a few per year so she can do this. And she is self-employed, which gives her the ability to work her other pursuits around her midwifery.Her duties as a midwife are always paramount, though.She carries a pager with her everywhere, and is on call twenty four hours a day.Her business associates and the clientel of her other pursuits know that if she gets a midwifery call, whatever they are doing at the moment will be put on hold so she can consult with the mom to be.

My friend lives in a state that allows her to have a home practice. Not all states permit this (and for many the cost of insurance, or the lack of insurance for homebirth midwives makes it prohibitive). Many states will not allow certified nurse midwives to practice in a homebirth setting at all.

Midwives that work in affiliation with a hospital or clinic often work in shifts. I doubt that you would find many clinics or hospitals ammenable to you having another full time job.

Teaching, also, is very, very hard work. Teachers work well beyond the time they are in the classroom. There are always new lesson plans to be drawn up, homework to correct, and student files to care for. Plus you must attend staff meetings, teacher in-service training sessions, and parent teacher conferences.It's not unusual for a teacher to go home and spend hours on paperwork at night.

Honestly, having had a little experience in both areas, I don't see how you could successfully combine a midwifery career and teach in a high school full time.It would be wiser to keep one as your primary goal, and the other as a hobby. Perhaps you cold consider becoming a midwife, and offer private acting classes on the side, or volunteer with your community theater group.That way, you would be able to utilize your education to the full, but not shortchange your clients or burn yourself out.

Good luck:)

chocolate_eyes585 · May 11, 2005

I want to thank you guys so much, getting other perspectives of this plan really helps. I definitly will try and pursue both, but as you said it would be wiser to have one as a primary goal... my primary goal would be a Nurse Midwife. Theatre and dance are just my hobbies. That probably was my problem, i couldnt choose between the two but now that i can decipher between my desired career and my hobbie, planning my future seems way more clear. I mostly want to thank "Lilac" you were definitly the person fit to answer this question. I am considering the other angle you proposed; Becoming a midwife and offering private classes on the side... that sounds way more pursuable.

Yet one thing is true that some of my friends have said; " I will be in school for a while!!" But thats all a risk i am willing to take.

If anyone has any more information or other ideas to help me put these two careers together PLEASE let me know.

chocolate_eyes585 · May 11, 2005

you guys are the bomb!!! I love this site