L&D nurse want to be cnm (maybe??)

[orgo geek]

So...today was my second day on L&D and saw two deliveries. this is my first hospital job and when i was in school i fell in love with ob and thought "this is it...i want to work in L&d. this is where i was meant to be". so yesterday i didn't see any deliveries, just laboring patients. today as i witnessed my the first delivery, i found myself looking at the ob md's and thinking "THAT'S what I want to be doing" not keeping record of the delivery, but actually performing the delivery. I want to be directing this mom on pushing and then catching that baby.....

is this a normal thought at this stage?

i this thought just a phase?

or should I not wait....i mean I kind of wanted to become a cnm eventually (maybe) but after that i am like should i just go straight through as far as education instead of taking a break first and then going going back to become a cnm.

any and all comments welcome

[adpiRN]

I think you should get a few years of L&D nursing experience before even applying for CNM school.

It'll make you a much better midwife.

I work in L&D and a couple girls I work with are in school for CNM and they all have 4-5 years L&D experience.

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

Most CNM programs require some nursing experience before applying to school. Usually this is 1-2 years, but personally, I wouldn't have felt like I had enough experience with just that (but that's just me).

[serenity729]

I feel the same way, so I don't think it's "abnormal." I too want to be the one working with the mother and participating in the decision-making. It's my plan to go back to school and become a CNM. I'm going to wait a few years before doing this because I know so little, and L&D in a hospital can be a great place to learn. I feel like I need to know what goes in hospitals and with OB/GYNs as much as I can because as a new grad I know so little! Unfortunately I have to do things I'd rather not do - like support policies and interventions that aren't evidenced-based practice and not in the interest of mom and baby - in order to get to a place where I can offer women something more.