Making a Career Change - Recommendations on Types of Experience to Seek?

[poppysmom]

hi all!

i originally posted this in the speciality tab, but i think that was the wrong place (newbie mistake :)). i have felt a calling to midwifery since i started learning more about the birth process, birthing options, and norms in the us while pregnant with my daughter last year. i want to devote my life to empowering women with the knowledge and support to have the best pregnancies and births possible.

i will be applying to 2011 accelerate bsn or direct-entry bsn/ms programs, and am interested in hearing your advice on what i can do to make my nursing application stronger. i am currently a cpa, and work in the finance department of an international human rights ngo. my undergrad gpa is 3.74, and i am working towards a 4.0 in my prereqs. i work full-time, and my husband has a very consuming job that requires much of his time in the evenings and on the weekends, so as a new mom, i have not had much time to pursue opportunities to gain birth or other relevant nursing experience. i also admittedly have a serious lack of volunteering or community involvement in the recent past, something that i unfortunately can't do much about at this point. i do have some recent civic involvement, consisting mostly of work on the obama campaign, and i am currently getting involved with doing some volunteer fundraising for a local birth center. i also have some international volunteer teaching experience within the last 10 years, though nothing in the medical field. i am currently in the process of becoming a doula, and hope to become certified in the next few months. once certified, i plan to volunteer with a local hospital, or find couples who could not otherwise afford a doula.

was/is anyone else in the same position of making a major career change, and how did your application process go?

thanks for any input you may have.

[Intern67]

I would advise you to get your CNA certificate and put in some time working as a Nurse Assistant. (The starting wages for CNAs makes it practically a volunteer position so it's right up your alley!) You might not get to work in the area you desire, but it will still be helpful.

All the programs in my state require a CNA cert before you can do clinicals so you might need one in any case. Either way, it will give you some valuable experience in healthcare right alongside nurses. Nothing gives you a better idea of what an RN does than getting yelled at by one!