Nurse-Midwife Goal. Where to start?

Boomer MS, RN · Jan 25, 2017

Hello all,
I live in Oregon and graduate with my RN this June. I entered nursing school with the goal of becoming a Nurse-Midwife. I kept an open mind during school, just to see if anything else jumped out at me. Turns out, midwifery is completely my passion. OHSU offers an amazing nurse-midwife program and it's pretty tough to get into.
I currently work in a small town south of Portland as a CNA in the ICU. The hospital I work for has a pretty prestigious critical care internship (CCI) program you can apply for as a new grad. The CCI is basically an accelerated ICU program and you come out 6 months later as a bada** ICU nurse. The catch is, you sign a contract to stay with the hospital for 2 years full time.
My question is.... If I want to get into the masters midwifery program do you think I should just jump straight into L&D for the experience? Or do you think they would value some critical care background, making me "well-rounded"?
Thanks in advance for your help guys. :)

I am one of those who feels strongly that an Advanced Practice Nurse should have a minimum of three years practicing as an RN before moving into the advanced practice/provider role. Having said that, the ICU is whole different ball of wax from L&D. I don't mean to be cynical, but six months in any excellent training program does not make you bada**. If anything, it is humbling. After the time and training the hospital has invested in you, I would hope you would want to stay at least two years. If you're not serious about the ICU, I would also hope you'd not waste anyone's time as there are others who would covet such a training program opportunity. The decision is yours, but I would advise that if you are that sure of your goal to be a CNM then try to get into L&D after graduation. The reality is new grads today often have to start out in an area other than their first choice.

Sometimes good luck can come your way, and all will fall into place. OHSU is a prestigious institution, but there are other excellent programs to investigate also. Pass those boards first!

Sconner6 · Jan 25, 2017

I know that 6 months isn't all I need to become an excellent nurse. I just like that you get fast-tracked and have the opportunity to learn a lot, right out of the gate. I think the two years in ICU would be incredibly beneficial and I would learn a lot that would serve me well in my future career.

Thank you for your advice.

klone, MSN, RN · Jan 25, 2017

Sounds like you already have your mind made up?

My my opinion is that if your ultimate goal is to be a CNM, you should work towards becoming a bada$$ L&D nurse, and leave the ICU training program for someone who wants to be in the ICU.

A lot of admissions counselors would question one's dedication to women's health if an applicant indicated that they haven't even tried to get a job in women's health as an RN. If you want to be a well-rounded CNM, you should look into getting an RN job in high risk antepartum/L&D, something most CNMs have a dearth of experience in.

Sconner6 · Jan 25, 2017

Thank you so much for your response. I was worried I wouldn't be taken seriously in L&D if I pursued something different first. I think I just needed some reassurance. Thanks:)

AliNajaCat · Jan 25, 2017

Thank you so much for your response. I was worried I wouldn't be taken seriously in L&D if I pursued something different first. I think I just needed some reassurance. Thanks:)

You won't, that's the point. You want to be in L&D, show them that's your overriding focus.

A story. Awhile back, through some really bad management decisions, a lot of nurses were let go from our small hospital and the remaining spots were open to the house on seniority-- a more senior nurse could "bump" a more junior one to a lower position (in any unit); that nurse could bump someone more junior, and so on and so on, until people dropped out of the bottom and had no job. By this arcane process, I, the critical care staff development person, acquired three OB/L&D nurses to turn into ICU nurses if they wanted to stay employed.

They were miserable- they'd been mother/baby people for between 6-18 years. ICU with sick adults scared them and they hated it. We all did our best, but two of them quit after a few weeks, and the third stayed long enough to get some practice in critical care....and then left for a high-risk OB job in the city.