Best way to become a CNM>>>>>>>>>>>

MickeymomRN · Feb 27, 2002

I am not an expert on this subject but I do relate to your situation.

I am a mother of 4 and an ADN. Since I was a little girl I was fascinated with the medical field. At first I thought I wanted to be a pediatrician but now I know where my heart is. I've been an RN since 1996. And I've worked in L&D since 1993. I love it! I've had the dream to continue on to get my CNM. I've done some research and as far as I remember reading (I don't read thoroughly all the websites and info I've gotten), CNM is a Master's degree. There's a lot of websites for midwifery. Have you looked at them?

I am now looking into going on and getting my BSN and MSN in midwifery. Now that I know what I have to do to get there, I wish that I just got my BSN. Why did I get my ADN? I had a 1 yo then and wanted to work right away to help support the family. I also already had my Associate's in Surgical Technology. All I had to take was 6 more classes to complete my ADN. I don't regret the experiences I have now under my belt. But I wish that I was ahead with my schooling.

I don't know if you can get the midwifery without a Master's degree. I've only looked into it from that way b/c I already am an RN. As far as a long distance program for RN, I don't think they have one for ADN programs. And then there's also the clinicals that you have to do that can't be done on the net.

Well, let me know what you think and find out there. I'm looking at all options too to get to where I want to go.

Glad to see someone else with "the dream".

Leilani

joyrochelle · Feb 27, 2002

Allo fellow midwife wannabe's....actually, i lied. I did wanna be, now I wanna be a WHNP, but enough about me. First and foremost, I guess it really depends on whether or not you wanna be CNM or a lay midwife, eh? the first requiring an RN, naturally, and the latter, not requiring one. There are programs that enable you to merge into a MSN program once you have completed your ADN and acquiring your license. ANd there are also certificate programs that you may complete either with or without your RN, again depending on what type of midwife you want to be. People state different things about the validity of MSN vs. certificate programs when studying midwifery, but as I have been in the similar predicament with nurse practitioner programs, i talked to a friend of mine who is a certificate prepared nurse midwife who swears that opportunities and salaries were never abbreviated due to her lack of a master's. I feel that if you wanna get your ADN, although you state that the locale is quite impractical to do anything other than a distance program, it should be one that you get plenty of hands on stuff. I feel that that clinical experience and lecture is integral to acquiring an ADN. hope that helped a bit....best of luck to you! Midwifery is an extraordinary field!

tobewithwoman · Feb 27, 2002

Dear Mickeymom,

What is a 'certificate prepared midwife'???? Sounds very interesting. Also I know only of CPM, CM and CNM for midwifery specifically, do you know of other ways etc or other qualifications for midwifery?

I need a valid and usable qualification that would allow me to work easily without the aggro of doors being shut in my face because it isn't recognized or acceptable etc............this was the main problem with the CPM course I was taking........I could go through all that training only to never get a job with it......

I can't go 'lay' midwifery, as my husband is military for one and therefore we won't be in a community setting for more than a short time, so you don't build the contacts and trust for one and plus I need to be 'legal' in my own eyes as such, if you know what I mean. Again that is no slander intended for lay midwife's, its just personal choice for me!!

What are the certificate programs you are talking about that can be completed with or without RN.......are they like diploma's? And do they count in the REAL WORLD???!!!!!!

If I sound confused it is because I am, I am in a strange country for one and just want to be a MIDWIFE, particularly in less than 100 years of nursing quals that would only be my 'background' statistics and not my 'foremost'assets, the midwifery.

I am being trained by a wonderful CNM, with Masters and all the caboodle and she is fab but even she is frustated that midwifery isn't a specialised area that needs thorough schooling but NOT necessarily nursing, see I dont need to know how to set a broken leg is what I am getting at!!!!

What to do - can you contact me again ref the above stuff?? I would appreciate any help from anyone who can see where I am headed, and please I hope no-one thinks I am being rude about nursing etc as I am not, I have the utmost regard and respect for nurses - especially if that is YOUR desire and love!!!

Helen

Brownms46 · Feb 28, 2002

Dear tobewithwoman,

Here are some links that I hope may help you. They provide a wealth of information.

http://www.narm.org/cib.htm

http://www.oregonmidwifery.org/osmindex.htm

http://traditionalmidwife.com/

http://www.ancientartmidwifery.com/programbasics.shtml

http://www.themidwife.org/educationinfo.html

I wish you the best in reaching your goals:):

MickeymomRN · Feb 28, 2002

Here is an excellent website that I've been doing my own research from. It's http://www.midwife.org. They have a section on education for becoming a midwife. It's address directly is http://www.midwife.org/edu/students.cfm. It even has a list of schools and what you need to get into the program they offer.

Here are other sites that I have saved as my favorites on midwifery:

http://www.anacs.org

http://www.cfmidwifery.org

http://www.midwiferyzone.org

I do see that the midwifery profession is going thru some identity crisis within the medical field. Some see it as a problem and some do not. As far as not becoming an RN and going straight into midwifery, the only thing I see is that you will not be able to manage deliveries in a hospital setting. As you probably already know, obstetrics has the highest malpractice insurance premiums b/c it has the highest rate of lawsuits. I've known of some doctors who quit delivering babies due to the insurance cost. I do know it's outrageous. Sorry I don't have any exact figures. Also midwives are going thru hoops to get any payment for services. They are striving to become recognized as an advanced practitioner. If you don't get your RN, you will find that the MDs will just shake their heads when you ask for their help. They don't want to place themselves into a malpractice situation. And people are funny. They really rely on you to deliver a perfectly healthy, smart, undamaged baby to them. If anything's wrong they don't blame themselves, they look outward to whoever was there to care for them during the labour and delivery part. Sorry, I'm going off subject.

I understand that you don't want to study more than you need to but I've seen obstetrical pts. get really sick and knowing about all the other health problems that the human can have, it has helped me care for my pts better. I've seen midwives that totally focus on the pregnancy and send a pt home only to readmit that pt into ICU for an illness unrelated to pregnancy. (one pt. had to labour and deliver while in a coma. We didn't think that she'd live during or after)

As far as what the differences are in training, I defer you to the website above on http://www.midwifery.org. I think that it's the best site for explaining things. I can see that if the CNMs become more useful and accepted into the medical society, that the CMs and others will eventually become obsolete or underground. Personally, I would want to have a MD backup if I have a need. Working in L&D at all but one high level of care units (meaning that we took care of high risk pts.), I have seen all that can go wrong with the mother or baby. Even at the one low risk facility, I had babies and mothers in distress and no back up in house. These pts. were eventually shipped out to other hospitals but only after delivery. Once had to wait 40 minutes for anesthesia to arrive from home. I was so worried about the baby. Kept having severe decels.

Again, I am beating down the wrong path. Sorry. I hope that this helps. I understand that you don't have the time. All I can say is focus on today for tomorrow may not come. Keep God in your plans. If it's meant to be then He will help you. I started making my dreams come true almost 11 years ago and 3 kids later. Now that my last one is here and almost 3 yo, I'm ready to take the next step. Getting my ADN was a piece of cake b/c my heart was in it. I heard that getting my BSN will only be 18 months and if I do the RN-MSN track I can do it in 2 years. Take your dreams one step at a time. Remember how a baby learns how to walk. I'm sure they dream of running around but they have to learn to stand first ,etc.etc.

It sounds like you have a gut feeling about where you are at now. Go with it. Before you invest more money and time. This field is so unsure. One thing about these schools especially these small ones. They only want your money and make sure they are accredited. If you graduate from an unaccreditted school or program then you may not be recognized by some institutions or empoyers or even from state to state. Look up accreditation on the web. There are some schools that are accredited but not with the "right" one. That's how the schools get you to sign up. I unfortunately had a bad run in with 2 schools this past winter. And I have a coworker that went to an unaccredited school and lost a lot of money and if she wants to continue on with another school, she has to start over. All the credits she took won't transfer.

Boy, I don't even know if I covered what you asked. Let me know.

Leilani

JennyPoohZ · Feb 28, 2002

check out excelsior college

http://www.regents.edu they offer ADN thru distance learning