Certified Nurse Midwife - Masters degree or more?

Specialties CNM

Published

What are the degree requirements to be a CNM in the near future (2015)? Will you now need a Doctorate degree like with Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants. Or is it still just a Masters degree? I always wanted to be a midwife, but have taken so long to get my BSN that I don't know if another degree is possible this late in my stage (age 44) and definitely not sure about TWO more advanced degrees.

Specializes in Rehab/LTC.

Mind if I ask through what school? Was it online or on campus?

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Specializes in ER.

I went to Wayne STate University in Michigan. It is in class. I passed my comprehensive exam on Tuesday :)

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Specializes in Rehab/LTC.

Congratulations!

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Specializes in ER.

Thanks so much. Ill be able to take boards mid August. I already got a job offer thankfully.

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Specializes in Rehab/LTC.

How wonderful for the job offer! That gives hope to the rest of us! Best of luck on the boards. If I may ask, how do you plan to repay the student loan? (if there was one!) Monthly payment from paycheck? Serving in underserved area? Loan repayment program?

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Specializes in ER.

Thank you. I will have a student loan to pay off . I'll have total 60 grand total from bachelors and masters. My minimum payment will be 600 dollars a month unfortunately. The hospital I will be working at did not qualify as a hospital for an undeserved area, even though it's in downtown Detroit! Trust me, it is undeserved lol. There is no loan repayment. Boo. Thankfully I almost doubled my salary from RN to CNM :)

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Specializes in Rehab/LTC.

Ouch! $600 a month. But, you are making almost double the salary, and doing what you love. So, guess it is all good! Congratulations again!

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I am a DNP CNM student at Baylor and I wouldn't recommend pursing a doctorate degree unless you want to go into policy. I highly doubt the degree required to practice will ever be the DNP. If I could do it again, I would have paid about half of the money and spent 2/3 of the time and gotten my masters. BUT I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and I'm going to stick it out here at Baylor. I hope my 2 cents helps!

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Specializes in Rehab/LTC.

Your 2 cents are worth more than that! Thanks for your thoughts.

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Congratulations to you, arabianeyez83! Please share your thoughts on Wayne States CNM program. Particularly, how prepared did you or do you feel to help mothers/couples who desire to birth in alternative hospital settings?

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Specializes in Emergency, ICU.
Georgetown University - which charges $80000 for an 18-month program! And they don't require experience in L&D - but $1,650 per credit? Get real![/quote']

That's insane! Ridiculously insane! Wow. Don't go there.

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http://www.midwife.org/ACNM/files/ccLibraryFiles/Filename/000000002731/Practice%20Doctorate%20in%20Midwifery%20Sept%202011.pdf

The ACNM has no plans to change the entry into practice degree for CNMs to a doctorate. They do support midwives that choose to pursue doctoral degrees including the DNP but don't feel there is any reason to mandate a change in education requirements. Too bad people haven't realized this for other APNs.

With all the hype about EBP in DNP programs, you would think that would have looked for evidence that a change in degree requirements was necessary. NPs and all other APNs have been providing high quality care without a doctorate as the entry-to-practice for decades and there is no information to suggest that the master's prepared APN model way inadequate.

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