No L&D experience - is CNM unrealistic?

[HHheart]

I began nursing school 15 years ago with the intention of going into L&D - I had no intention whatsoever of doing anything else. Well, wouldn't you know that when I was a new grad and needed to get to work, there were no L&D opportunities in my little town. I ended up in med-surg and eventually home health.... Now I am contemplating an advance practice degree, and would love to go for CNM. One more thing - I'm 43 and only have my ADN at this point. Would anyone else attempt this - or am I crazy?

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Nope - not crazy at all. Is there any chance you could now transfer to L&D to see if that is where you want to be. Might as well get started on your BSN too. Oh, btw, look in your area to see if there are any schools that do ADN to MSN bypassing some BSN classes. I wish I had done that.

[Selke]

Seconding Trauma's advice about finding a bridge program .... if there are no schools in your area that does a bridge program between ADN - MSN, Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing does a distance ADN - MSN bridge program. Frontier admits nurses without expertise in L&D nursing into their CNM program, BTW. I think most programs do, but experience in the area, no matter how little, helps you a LOT when you get into intrapartum.

If you are "too old" do return to school, then I might as well shoot myself as I'm older than you. Ask yourself, what else are you going to do with yourself and your time? Keep doing the same thing you're doing now until you retire, and be miserable? No way. I would have quit nursing and done something else if that was the case. Never wanted to be a nurse but a midwife, and med school was out of the question.

Just do it. You CAN do it. You are NOT too old. Repeat after me, "I am not too old to return to school ...." every day. You will NOT regret it. (But don't go to a school filled with students half your age; it might get you down like it did me.)

[beckinben, CNM]

No, it's not unrealistic. But if there is any way you could get some experience - even a year - it would help. Just my honest opinion. In my class, we had two graduate entry students with no nursing experience who ended up switching to WHCNP from the CNM tract because they didn't like doing deliveries once they actually started doing them. Now, if they had had experience with what labor and delivery is really like, maybe they would have gone straight into WHCNP. So I would say try to get the experience just to make sure that catching babies is what you really want to do.

And having said that, lots of midwives don't do intrapartum care at all. Heck, I had a CNM doing my perinatal home care with my kids - that would seem to be up your alley. :wink2:

[Baby Catcher, CNM]

Yes. It is unrealistic. Get some experience first. You'll be happy you did.

[Snugglibumkins]

i don't think it's unrealistic. i think you can pursue your dream by many different routes. is it possible to get a job on an l&d floor and work there while completing your bachelor's degree? that would give you a little bit of experience which may help things to come easier at school. or you could take a certificate class and do some work as a doula while you are working on your bsn classes. any bit of experience will help. good luck on your journey.