nja06

exactly! me too that is why I wanted to give you full transparency. Honestly every single student I know had issues with clinical whether they were in my program or not. GU does have the placement team which helps immensely and did end up doing all the heavy lifting for me even though they stressed me out and didn't communicate well at times. I remember when I decided to go to GU I traveled to DC because I thought living there would make it easier for them to ensure clinical placement for me but they told me, don't worry it will be easy no matter where you are and so I went back to Cali. I did live in the LA area but it was before my clinical time. I think its better if you're staying in one area that they find things because they'll have a lot of time to plan in advance. it was harder for me with all the moving. When I lived in Cali I never had to move, just long commutes. When I came back to Florida I didn't have to leave the state but I would rent an airbnb and stay for my shifts for a few days and then go home. Several of my cohort hate to leave their state to get experience but they were willing to do whatever it takes at that point. Ugh its hard but where there is a will there is a way! I think the stipend was 1200/month.

Thank you! I thought it wouldn't have been a problem to find placement because I literally moved to Cali from Florida and was surrounded by midwives but they said Cali and Florida are notoriously difficult. At this point, I'm not sure where isn't difficult but they figured it out.During my first clinical semester I had to travel to 3 different sites driving 2.5 hours each way to one of them. I worked as a traveler for 3 assignments and then switched to a per diem staff but then I decided to move back to Florida for more support and was only supposed to be out a year but it ended up being longer due to covid. a lot of my classmates were able to work per diem till the end because they stayed in the same vicinity but I moved 9 times in my first year and that made everything quite difficult. I was on call consecutively 24/7 for over 3 months in my final term so working was no longer possible for me. I feel like I could have managed a light job in my 6th term but I felt like I didn't have time to get hired. Thankfully I had the privilege to be able to skip work but I wish I didn't because I wouldn't have had to borrow so much money. I think people find a way to do the things they need to do so it would def be possible to figure out some work if that is what your life will require. I didn't want to work too hard and then fail because I thought there is no point of doing this if I don't succeed. The first and the 5th term were the hardest for me personally and the fifth took my complete attention to get through.

I graduated from Georgetown in November 2020 with a class of about 10. I chose it based on the dual degree and the clinical placement team. Clinical placement was a real pain although they always came through even if it was the last minute or at a distance greater than 100 miles. They do provide a small stipend to offset the costs of having to be somewhere else if that is necessary. I never had to find any place myself even though I made many suggestions which were turned down for reasons I did not always understand. From what I learned from the team and from other students clinical placement is a national concern. I would say it was my greatest challenge of school and I often felt angry that I was permitted this opportunity to earn this title without the proper clinical placement to obtain it (atleast it was always a struggle where they told me they didn't have anything till the last minute) but it did all work out in the end. Covid added another layer of difficulty and I had to sit out from mid March to the end of August and graduate months after expected but they seem to have everything back on track now. During the final rotation I had some problems with a new clinical site where I feel like my opinion was devalued over the opinion of the clinical site which was never used before and that was a painful experience but I persisted and can look back and know now knowing that the problems made me a stronger person and midwife. I felt the classes were of a high caliber as the professors were fair and knowledgeable and the standards were high. I felt prepared to handle the real world when I got to clinical. I think the Georgetown reputation goes far although I felt they rested on their laurels heavily and should not be charging as much as they do. Sometimes I wish I went somewhere else that would have been a better financial decision but I no longer have regret because I've finished and am proud to have finally achieved my dreams. I think any program is going to be what you make of it. Unlike nursing school where you have to fight amongst a group to get clinical experience and don't really learn to be a nurse before actually working as a nurse, graduate school offers the opportunity to really work as a midwife before becoming licensed and that was an important and nice difference for me. I had a friend who went to Cincinnati and I don't think he had the rigor in his program as Georgetown did. That was just my sense but I could be wrong. Let me know if you have any other questions! and Congrats on your admission!

Many congratulations on getting into school! I've met MANY great midwives from Frontier-you know it was the founding Midwifery school in the country. The cooky ones probably had more to do with individual personality than program experience. Thank you so much-I'm so excited to begin! I think staying in the NICU was a great idea and good thing you got birth experience by attending more deliveries. I think your ICU and neonatal skills will serve you very well!

Of course! I'm happy to be a source of information and encouragement anytime! I've only recently graduated and am about to begin my first job as a CNM at a private practice which delivers within a hospital but offers real midwifery care and birth center vibes if the client desires. As a labor nurse I worked in several environments from small community hospitals where you had to be a jack of all trades to large units with separate expert teams for everything. In school I worked in a birthing center for my last rotation and out of hospital is another world of it's own, but it really helped me hone my support skills and increased my level of confidence to be autonomous. I went to Georgetown and my peers and I seem to have had a high standard compared to some other programs I have encountered. If I could go back and go somewhere else that cost less money or was at a brick and mortar location with built in clinical experience I probably would but it is what it is. I often felt it was a bad financial decision to go to GU, but I thought of it as an investment and I know now that I have an education which will carry me far and it is worth it to me. I've known many midwives that came from Frontier and I've seen mixed results. Some were amazing and others a bit cooky. Yale, Emory, Jefferson, Duke, UCSF all make great midwives. Cinncinatti seemed to have lower standards than I was held too. That is all I really know about the climate in that aspect.

I've seen males be very successful in labor and as midwives although seldomly. I say follow your dreams and you'll get there if you're passionate enough!

CNMS are the only midwives that can work in every state and every setting (out of hospital and within hospital). You have to get a separate license for your state and different states have different salaries depending on cost of living and job requirements. Finding a job should not be too difficult if you are willing to relocate.

I don't think it is necessary, but it could help you got a lot of the fundamental exposure, knowledge, and skills started before you began as a student midwife. Because you have been in NICU I'm sure you have had some exposure to birth work already and that will serve you. Keep in mind some labor nurses have difficulty to undo some of their training when switching roles to the provider. There were a few students in my class that were nurses in other fields before and all of them struggled with a greater learning curve but ultimately were very successful except for the home health one who I felt was out of touch because she did not have acute care nursing experience. If you are still unsure if you want to invest in midwifery L&D could be a good place to start and sometimes even the end, but if you're sure you want to be a midwife then personally I would jump right in.

have been out since March for Georgetown. Was supposed to graduate in August with a min of 600 hours. I have 550+. Our school is trying to generate virtual experiences for us, but Im having an identity crisis because this is not enough. Being a student that was almost finished was my whole life. I hope we can get back soon

I hope so too! Thank you so much! I was thinking of showing up and asking if there was anything that can be done. If they turn me away again, good riddance!

not yet I hate waiting around!

Thank you! I thought getting it written in my contract and discussing it during the interview would be enough, but it should have been covered again before I signed. I thought I was covering all my bases, but I only found out about orientation at like 3pm on the Friday before it started. Tough lesson learned but that is life!

I had a kid come in and say his heart was beeping. rate was over 200. he was pale and diaphoretic, I did some vagal maneuvers and it went down to 160ish. diagnoses with WPW came next!

I'm sorry this happened to you.Traveling is rough sometimes.

no, you were not the only one that said that, even though the way you said it was not in the nicest way which is unlike the way anyone else wrote to me. I am a rather new traveler and did not anticipate that this would be a problem. If I did I would have triple checked if this was okay. I wish my agency would have asked about orientation before I moved across country. If it was a normal class day I probably could have missed, but I did have an exam and I thought I covered my bum from the beginning by talking to the manager, and having it written in my contract. I totally understand your point and wasn't expecting them to throw out the requirement, but it would have taken an hour or less to fill me in so I felt that that was extreme after all I'd done. I had already attended a day of orientation. I didn't realize a traveler would be canceled for being late. You are right in it isn't what I wanted to hear. I was looking for advice and support; I wasn't really looking to be kicked when I am down.