RNChrista

I'd love to work at Holy Family, but I cant move. Anyway, I contacted the BON and talked to 2 different people. They were absolutley clueless. First, they insisted that you had to be a nurse to be a midwife. After I explained the different types of midwives, they told me there were no midwives that were not CNMs in my state (not true, there are plenty) and then they asked why anyone would not want to be a nurse before becoming a midwife. They finally said it probably wouldn't be a good idea because I'd be practicing nursing independently and would be held to a higher standard. I asked it I could provide doula services at home before going to a hospital. After I explained what a doula was, she said "why would anyone want to pay for that when just any person could do that" I explained the benefits of doulas and she told me that there were no nurses in MI that provide doula service. Of course I informed her that plenty do. It was really a frusterating conversation because they had no idea what I was talking about.

So, if someone decides to not renew their nursing license...what happens if they want to practice again? they have to go to school again? Take the boards again?

No, I'm not from Illinois, but non nurse midwifery is illegal there so that would make sense.

Even if Im functioning in the role of a doula though, Im wondering if my RN license will hold me reliable since I'd be working with a unlicensed midwife, kwim? If homebirth mw were licensed in my state, it'd probably be different Im guessing.

Thanks for the responses! I'll check with the BON.

Hi. I'm just wondering if anyone knows if there would be legal problems with this. I would love to be a birth assistant or apprentice/student midwife. We have no CNMs around here doing homebirths so it would be with a direct entry midwife. She's done many births and I am confident in her skills. Non nurse midwives are considered alegal in my state...they're not illegal but they're also not regulated by the state. There is no licensure available for them (although they may choose to become a certified professional midwife) My concern is my RN license. Since I technically would be the only licensed person at the birth would she be considered to be working under my license? Would I be held accountable for anything she does? And could I be accused of practicing medicine without a license as a assistant or student? What constitutes that anyway? If Im just providing labor support and FHTs I could not be accused of practicing medicine without a license, right? How about catching babies? Thanks for any help!