Call shifts and commuting distance

[HealthEnthusiast]

Hi everyone,

I am a new CNM and new mom considering a move to a medium sized city for a full time CNM position with 48-72 hours of hospital call per week, in a practice that has about 30 deliveries per month. At that caseload, I foresee being able to leave the hospital at times, and ideally sleeping at home when there are no admitted L&D patients.

The city has very limited rental options in the immediate area of town where the hospital is. However, there are a ton of rental options in a growing area about 20 minutes away (by car, per Google Maps). I am concerned that this may be too far. As a new midwife I would probably feel most at ease staying in a call room in the hospital, but as a new mom I would like to be able to sleep as much as possible at home with my newborn. Of course I will confirm with the back-up physician his expectations, but I also hoped to gain some insight from experienced midwives here.

What do you all believe is a reasonable door to door commute for an on call midwife sleeping at home?

Thanks in advance!

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

I'd ask your supervisor what the expectation is. Since your specialty takes so much call, I'm sure there's a policy or at least a general guideline. There may also be specific EMTALA-style federal/state regulations (i.e. arriving within an hour of being called).