pcat518

Do I actually have to get my BSN though? I'm gathering from the other posters that I don't, really. The program I'm hoping to go to now (I have a meeting with admissions next week to go over all my transcripts and find out what might transfer, and to get a tour) is a diploma program, so not an ADN or a BSN. But yes, I do already have a Bachelor's. And the cool thing about this program is that it's a hospital nursing program, so great clinicals, but it's affiliated with a local university and has the option to continue for an extra year after the diploma to get a BSN. So if I decide to go that route, the option is there. I also realized that because I already have a BA, I don't actually need to do the bridge program at Frontier. They'll consider me with just a diploma in nursing if I include a portfolio of relevant education and work experience with my application. How competitive that would make me is another issue entirely (which is why I'd be glad to have the BSB option) but I like knowing I could skip the bridge year if they accepted me with whatever experience I can get myself between now and then. I already have doula and lactation experience.

I'm planning to begin nursing school soon and then continue on to an MSN program in midwifery (hopefully Frontier). In the time between now and when I'm applying to grad school and looking for my first nursing job--which would ideally be in L&D or a birth center, though I'm aware I may have to take what I can get as a new grad--I'd like to keep a foot in the birth world. This could be volunteer experience, education, etc., and I'm looking for ideas. I'm trained as a birth doula have I'm partway towards being DONA certified, but I just had a baby 3 weeks ago so doula work is out for awhile (and once I begin nursing school, it would be out anyway). But I'm thinking along those lines. I'm also in the process of qualifying for my IBCLC exam and hope to be ready to test by the time I begin nursing school so I'll have that. I'm in PA and the PA Midwives Alliance has a midwife assistant training program that I was thinking would be useful for some basic skills and education and to have on my resume, but it seems more like it's for the LM/CPM route so I'm not sure if it would even matter to anyone who'd be looking at my resume for grad school. Are there opportunities I'm not thinking of? I want things to have on my resume, but I also really just want to keep learning and participating in birth work in some form so I don't forget my end goal and why I'm putting myself through this.

Thanks, everyone! My top choice now is actually a diploma program--far superior to the local ADN, apparently.

I want to become a CNM and I plan to continue my education with as few breaks as possible until I have achieved that goal. I currently have a non-nursing bachelors in the humanities so I'm starting from scratch. I'm 26 years old. In the interest of saving time and money, I have considered getting an ADN and then either doing an ADN-MSN midwifery bridge (like Frontier, for example) or doing an RN-BSN and then applying to grad school for midwifery. I know it's harder to get an RN job with an ADN instead of a BSN and I get why. And I know I'll need at least a bit of work experience before grad school, most likely, so getting the ADN vs. BSN would create an extra challenge getting that job. But would I still be making a career mistake getting the ADN instead of BSN if my ultimate goal is not to stop at nurse but to continue on with my education until I'm a certified nurse-midwife? I'm not wanting to take "shortcuts," but I'm an adult with a child and half my family's income, so I'm understandably eager to streamline my education process as much as it makes sense to. But I don't want to waste anymore time or money making poor educational decisions so I need input here. Been there done that several years ago, which is why I'm here now. Help?