Nurse practitioner--obstetrics

[nurse327]

I'm a registered nurse from Canada. By May I'll have had two years experience, none of it being obstetrics. My ultimate goal is to be a nurse practitioner, and I've always been curious about obstetrics but i've so far had no way of obtaining experience in this department. If I can't find a job that will take me on to train me from scratch, what else can I do to at least gain some experience to figure out where I want to be and have the option to choose in the end? Does it make sense to do schooling for nurse-midwifery to broaden my horizons? I'm lost.

[IrishIzCPNP, MSN, RN, APRN, NP]

Many CNM programs won't consider you without a year or more of L&D experience. If you think you like OB...I would try and get a job in OB. You may also be able to job shadow just to see if it's what you think it is. In the US you aren't going to fine an NP in OB but an NP in women's health. So you may do prenatal appointments but you aren't doing deliveries. If you want to do deliveries...that's CNM.

[lot49]

Bumping this topic for myself. I have found a few CNM programs that don't require L&D experience, but I am wondering what does one do after earning a CNM if there are no job openings in the area? Is a CNM qualified or able to be hired as a Staff Nurse at a hospital or even an L & D?

I prefer getting a CNM and working as a midwife, but I won't pursue that if that would cut me out of other jobs, etc. I just don't think there are many CNM positions in my part of the country.