which path to choose

[sitmon]

Hi all. I'm looking for any and all advise you can provide. I'll try to succinctly provide the necessary background info. Please bear with my longwindedness. I have quite the complicated situation.

I'm currently living in rural Japan as the non-active half of a military couple. While I have a degree in biological sciences, this does not translate into job opportunities in this isolated location. I'm told to get used to it as my partner has many years of service left. After all, I can make babies while I'm here! sigh

So, I thought long and hard about what to do with myself given my new "career" as military spouse, traveling around the world, living in rural areas and different countries, and creating a pretty terrible employment record with all the moves. I finally decided I wanted to be a midwife. It would combine my scientific background with some of the volunteering I did for women's health and a passion for healthy living. I'm really excited about the prospect. I'm willing to leave my partner for as many years as necessary, move somewhere in the US or elsewhere in the world, and reunite afterward. He supports me in this especially since he'll be deployed much of the time, and he doesn't want me sitting here unemployed and wasting my potential while he's gone (and while he's here).

Now, we've just received notice that he'll be deploying months sooner than expected. It seems as I've missed most deadlines for fall starts which is what I'd prefer so as to minimize time spent apart. I know I'll be gone longer than he will, but I want to overlap it as much as possible. So, I'm scrambling right now just in case a school will consider me last minute for a fall term instead of the winter/spring/summer term I'd anticipated.

My undergrad GPA was pretty dismal, 2.4ish maybe? (but I passed!) although it was at a very highly respected university. My high school grades were very strong with lots of APs, and I do very well on standardized tests. In college, I realized the hard way that engineering wasn't for me, and my GPA shows that. In addition, I went through major depression and lack of focus during the entire 4 years. Years later, though, I'm sure I can apply myself, but my record does not speak highly of my abilities.

I'm currently taking an A&P course on the base where we lived. Both terms should be finished in a couple months. I think I have most of the other standard pre-reqs for non-nursing backgrounds already covered.

I'll be unable to take the GRE unless I take a special weekend trip to Tokyo (oh, darn :nuke:. I love that city, but it's far and expensive to get to), but I definitely won't be able to take the TEAS that some programs require.

I'm torn about which route to go as I expect to work in many states and countries as well as potentially on military bases. For midwifery, the US handles the profession so differently than much of the rest of the world which further complicates things.

So, with that background. Should I

1) go for an accelerated BSN, work wherever we'd be stationed when I'm done with that, then in a few years, possibly when we're stationed in the US again, go for a master's in midwifery?

2) attempt a direct entry midwifery program?

3) get an RN through another route (I'm not actually sure how to go about doing that. Is that through an ASN or a vocational school?) and later do an RN-MSN program?

4) get my midwifery degree in another country. I really want to live in New Zealand :nuke: Actually, I've mostly ruled that option out as it would make me less employable with the US and military despite making me more employable in the rest of the world. It's also done at the bachelor level, and I do want to have a master's for employability as well as for it qualifying me to teach for universities found on many US bases.

5) whatever's behind door #3

Thanks for making it through this and for any advice you can offer. I'm leaning toward option 1 as of today, but I've learned in his environment to never expect the same thing from tomorrow.