Midwifery schools

SunflowerDoula · Jan 26, 2009

I considered looking into SB's program for non-nurses with a BS in another field, but I came under the impression from viewing the website that you must be an RN in order to qualify for admission. Is that true?

wannabmidwife · Feb 1, 2009

I saw an earlier post asking if their were graduaes of other programs than Frontier - I graduated from SUNY Stony Brook (2000). Any other SB graduates on the site?

How was your experience at SUNY? Do you feel that you were prepared when you graduated? I'm looking for a distance ed program and I see that this one is shorter than Frontier. What'd you think of it? Thanks in advance.

midwife228 · Feb 22, 2009

I believe it is necessary to be an RN before entering Stony Brook's program but will try to find out for sure. I had been a L&D nurse for many years before going back to school so I never looked into this specific situation. There is a midwifery program in New York that does not require a nursing degree; until recently it was the only program of its type but there may be more by now; the students finish as CM's - certified midwives.

As for Stony Brook/Frontier: At the time I went to school SB was shorter for me because the Masters' Degree was included in the program where it was in addition to the Frontier program; has that changed? I also think that you may not need a Bachelors Degree to go to Frontier and become certified as a midwife - unless you want the Masters' Degree. I would probably suggest that you check in your area and see if the Masters Degree is preferred.

I have been out of the SB program for several years now so perhaps the situation is different now than I found it. A lot depends on your Faculty Advisor; ours was usually quite nonresponsive; I got very little feedback on papers, etc. Fortunately, I had an excellent preceptor who filled in a lot of the gaps, and several of us in our study group were L&D nurses with lots of experience so we worked together a lot to make up for the lack of advisement. I do know that other students in my class had very different, and definitely better, experiences than I did because they had a different advisor.

I hope this is helpful. Sorry I haven't been online for awhile but I plan to be on this site more often and hope to have more conversation with you as you make your school decisions. Good luck!

CNM2B · Feb 22, 2009

I just wanted to jump in about Frontier. You do earn a Master's degree when you attend the Frontier program. To be certiifed as a CNM, you now must have a master's degree (those rules are established by the ACNM). You don't have to have a BSN to start the program--they offer a one-year bridge program for nurses with an ADN, but you must be an RN in order to apply and you have to have at least one year of experience as a nurse (doesn't matter what kind of experience).

The program for those entering with a BSN takes about 2 years (maybe a bit longer) if you go full-time...and I think about 3 years if you go part time. The bridge would add an extra year.

Just an FYI....