CNM from Doctorate? From Bachelors with no RN

xoemmylouox, ASN, RN · Oct 6, 2016

You cannot be a nurse without attending some sort of "nursing" school. I don't know why one would invest all of those years to be a dentist, to turn around and have to take a bunch of other classes to become a nurse. I'm not even sure some states would allow this (you must work at the highest level of license held). I would do some soul searching and really decide before getting into any serious debt. Job shadow, interview people, etc.

smachado · Oct 6, 2016

I am in school right now, but Im not accepted into a nursing major and with the system of my university it would be even harder for me to get into nursing now that I am accepted into the school as another major. I may finish this bachelors, take a bridge accelerated program from bachelors to RN and become a midwife. My other option is go to medical/ dental school or go to grad school get my RN and be a NP.... Im not sure which would best suit me. I worry that Id get sued as a CNM because it seems everyone is suing someone now days and I worry ill have no family time being on call 24/7 all the time... Like what happens if you are sick when someone goes into labor. What happens if you get called because there is an emergency and you've been out at a family gathering and you are drunk and cant drive? CNM lifestyle worries me and I think even shadowing I can't fully understand the lifestyle until I live it. Worried Ill live it and hate it

babyNP., APRN · Oct 6, 2016

You cannot be a nurse without attending some sort of "nursing" school. I don't know why one would invest all of those years to be a dentist, to turn around and have to take a bunch of other classes to become a nurse. I'm not even sure some states would allow this (you must work at the highest level of license held). I would do some soul searching and really decide before getting into any serious debt. Job shadow, interview people, etc.

Scopes of practice for a dentist and a CNM are completely different. Why wouldn't a state allow you to have a license in each? One is not higher than the other and the ability to extract a tooth doesn't mean anything for a CNM for a woman that is in labor versus a dentist delivering a pregnant dentist patient, that doesn't even make sense.

To the OP, it just sounds like you need to do a lot more reading about people's daily experiences and shadow folks on the job and ask them what everything is really like. No job (even outside of healthcare) is sue-proof. Anyone can sue you for anything. They may not win, but they can certainly sue you for anything they want, even in a fast-food job.

To answer a couple of your questions, if you get sick and are the person on-call for that, most groups have a back-up to the person that is at the hospital because emergencies do happen. If you're one of these folks that are on-call or are the back up person, you'll know it in advance and you won't be able to drink alcohol that day period. This is no different from any other doctor that is on call.

You're right that you can't fully understand the role until you live it, but you can get close by shadowing and doing a lot of reading.

queenanneslace, ADN, MSN, APRN, CNM · Oct 8, 2016

There are multiple pathways to becoming a certified nurse midwife.

A good place to review these options is on the ACNM website.

You might want to get some more experience in the respective fields that interest you, maybe by shadowing a dentist or a midwife. Or by working in a dental office or in a labor and delivery unit as an aide. It sounds like you need to decide what really interests you. Your decision will be easier once you understand the realities of the job.

The biggest difference that I can think of right off the bat is that dentists generally work daytime M-F hours. Midwives work 24/7, holidays, weekends, etc. If you know you'd rather be sleeping at 3:30am, midwifery might not be your dream job.