bebeleche

The quickest way to accomplish your goal is to do a fast track "bridge" NP program (there are many) which allows you to enter a master's program w/a non-nursing bachelor degree. You get your RN along the way and graduate in roughly 3 years prepared as an FNP. (Depending on where you are applying, you may even be able to bypass some of those 5 classes you lack or work them in once enrolled.) You then will be in a position to apply for a post-masters certificate in midwifery when you are ready. The only quicker way I can think of is to enter a "bridge" program at an institution that offers both specialties and complete them simultaneously/back to back. The downside of that option is if you plan to work a spell as an NP first, you may lose some midwifery skills? I am an FNP and (finally) am in a position to apply for my post-masters cert in midwifery at Frontier to start next year. I completed a 3-year fast track program and have been working in primary care for the past 6 years, raising my 2 small kids. Back when I applied to FNP school, I only had to take the Miller Analogy Test (way preferable to GRE) but I imagine each school would have it's own reqs. Good luck to you.

There are also several schools that offer a "bridge" program where if you have a bachelor's degree in any field, you can simply apply directly to a CNM/MSN program and get your RN license along the way. I am not sure, but I believe there are distance options for this as well. It may be worth your while to do it that way if you know you want to go directly into midwifery. Invest in a copy of Midwifery Today's "Paths to becoming a Midwife" and also explore the various education programs on the ACNM website.

I am looking into rural loan repayment sites. I have 2 interviews next week! Excited and nervous, after being out of general practice. Thanks for the tips! I attended a Fitzgerald review course about 5 years ago- Excellent!

I am an FNP currently working in college health, now making plans to go back to general family practice. I am looking for recommendations on an accessible, up-to-date resource- book, CDs, etc. that will help me brush up on peds, chronic dz management, etc. Moral suppport is also welcome.:nuke: Thanks.

My heart is swelling and my eyes are welling! Thanks so much :)

Wonderful response, Epiphany! Thanks so much! It's nice to hear that you LOVE being a midwife. Sometimes, I guess, I get caught up in too much negative thinking. But I agree that you can't let fears stand in the way of living one's life and fulfulling one's dreams. So glad you're doing it! Yes, I'd love to hear more also. . .

no one else has fears about this stuff? or just doesn't want to go there in this forum? since i first started this thread, i dicovered this quote: "when i dare to be powerful- to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether i am afraid." audre lorde 1934-1992 love it!

I have recently had to admit to myself that one reason I haven't pursued the CNM path yet, (even though I've been drawn to it w/varying degrees of obsession for the past 12 years), is that I haven't gotten past the fear aspect. Not fear of the birth process, which I know works and is safe most of the time, but fear of the responsibility. As a midwife attending births you have to have true skills, no BS-ing about it. The mom and the baby are in your hands. And you have to be so strong-to hang in there for moms during long, long labors and severe pain-- to cope without sleep. And what about bad outcomes? fetal demises? Lawsuits? Not to mention, having to take emotional energy and physical presence away from your own family. I know responsibilty. I am an FNP. I have 2 small kids. I don't shy away from it. But, midwifery is a lifestyle, not just a job. How I wish I was content in my good job doing college health (sigh. . .) How do you folks get past these fears to live your calling?

You are probably right that care of pregnant women with uncontrolled DM or HTN are outside the midwife's scope, however, that does not mean you won't ever have to deal w/ them. There are many places in the US and elsewhere that you may be the sole provider. If they don't have you, they have nobody. Not every pregnant women w/ a chronic disease has access to an OB/GYN, sadly. When I was a new FNP completing my NHSC scholarship committment in Rural, USA, I provided prenatal care to high risk patients all the time. Was I comfortable with it? No, especially not at first. Was I practicing outside my scope? Perhaps. Did the patients have anywhere else to go? Oftentimes, no. These are poor women with no resources, no insurance, who don't speak English or have transporation or many of a myriad of other barriers to care. Ahhh (deep sigh). That was actually one of the reasons I chose to leave the job. I do like my license. But you see where I'm going with this. It behooves us as clinicians to gain as many skills and as much knowledge as we can, cuz we never know when we'll need it.

Thanks Travduck. I also went into nursing because I wanted to become a CNM. At the time I was fairly young and had a sense that I needed both more maturity/life experience and also a greater sense of the pregnant woman as a whole person beyond the reproductive aspect. I really felt it important to understand all the body systems and get general experience first, then specialize from there. I ended up becoming a FNP for those reasons. The experience is great. I know as a midwife I could care for pregnant patients w/ diabetes, hypetension and other health problems, not to mention the babies. The sick patient is the well patient at different times in life. For me, it was important to be very holistically minded in that way. The only disadvantage is that I am still waiting for the right time to go back to school and in some ways have gotten side-tracked. I have to remind myself that it's about the journey.

I do like being an FNP. At the moment, I work in college health (which works well w/my family life for now), but when I was fulfilling my NHSC obligation in a rural setting, I was doing full-scope FP- a lot of OB and women's health and not just low-risk. In areas with few medical providers, people take what they can get. Not safe, but a reality- which is one reason I'm no longer there. I like my license :) I did/do like providing OB care, which I why I wanna go for the CNM. In that setting I would see the moms for thier prenatal/postpartum and be the provider for their babies, but I wish I could have attended the deliveries as well. I need to wait a few more years before I can pursue my dream, however, because I have babies at home myself. Good luck.

There are jobs out there where you can use both. Don't get discouraged by what others say. The National Health Service Corps has a scholarship and a loan repayment plan if you plan to work in an area of great medical need. As Bree124 said, there are very rural areas where service as a "family nurse-midwife" is highly valued. I am an FNP and plan to go back for my CNM and hope to start my own practice someday where I can care for pregnant women, their babies and their partners. I like a family-centered model that centers around the woman. These are just some examples. Follow your heart.

I'd like some opium care:wink2:

Indian Health Service:)

That is an important question and one with 2 camps. Depending on who you ask, some say- Yes, it's totally necesary. Others say not at all, and it could even be a detriment. There are many threads in this forum that discuss the question in more detail. I think it probably comes out in the wash in the end.