Neonatal NP vs. Midwifery

[davislove]

Hi everyone,

I am currently working towards my B.S in Anthropology as well as completing my nursing pre-reqs. Though graduation is still 2 years away, my goal is to become either a Neonatal NP or Certified Nurse Midwife. Since I will have my B.S in an area other than nursing, an accelerated degree program is probably my best option. I've been doing as much research as I can during my last few weeks of free time before school starts again but I am overwhelmed by everything that is out there (on the web). Since neonatal NP and CNM are both advanced practices, is my best route a Masters Entry Program and then post-masters certification in a specialty area? I am confused about Masters Entry Programs because many of them lead to clinical nurse leaders with no option to specialize in an another area. So what happens when you finish a masters entry program? Do you then apply for a second masters in an advanced practice? or is it better to do an accelerated BS/RN to then apply to regular masters program?

I am involved in a pre-health professional fraternity at my school (UCDAVIS) earning plenty of volunteer experience and I am interested to become a CNA possibly next summer to try and get the practical experience necessary for nursing, but I know its a far leap to go straight to masters without an RN or any previous nursing experience...

Sorry for the long post!!!! Any information/opinions would be much appreciated!

[Elle_Guerira]

It's really up to you if you would rather go thru the ABSN or MEPN route. Like you, I have a non-nursing degree as well, but chose to go for my ABSN instead of an MEPN so that I can rack up a couple of years of bedside nursing before committing myself towards my masters (I plan to pursue an advanced degree towards FNP/WHNP). Have you looked into UCSF's MEPN program? They do offer a plethora of specialties, including NNP & CNM.