Question Regarding Personal Statement

I just got accepted into nursing school and I DID mention midwifery in my statement, so there's one person's situation. I talked about how important a strong nursing education was to help me get to where I want to be.

I just got accepted to a HIGHLY competitive BSN program in which I had to write a personal statement in 100 words. I did mention my future goals in midwifery as well, and I feel that most undergraduate programs will find plans for post graduate school work as highly desirable.

BTW- you WILL be a nurse after finishing midwifery school, unless you are planning to be a direct entry midwife, and in which case why would you be going to nursing school at all? CNM= Certified NURSE Midwife

My background: I have been a nurse for 18 years. Eleven years in L&D/Maternity and 7 years NICU. Both specialties took about 2 years of full-time work to feel confident in my abilities/assessments.

My current situation: I work 2x12 hours a week in the NICU while I am a full-time student in a highly competitive CNM program. No-one else in my cohort is working.

Most employers do not want to hire RN's for part-time work just out of school. The reason for this is that it is costly to train and orient someone (which is usually at least 3-6 months full-time). The employers want a return on their investment, which usually translates into full-time night shift in the acute care hospital setting.

Midwifery school is awesome and challenging. My professional experience gives me a foundation that my fellow students lack, but they will be fabulous midwives once they have experience. School takes about 30-36 hours a week just for class/clinical. That does not include study time. If you do the math, I spend 54-60 hours a week working, in class, or in clinical on top of studying.

The only way I am able to actually work part-time is that I have seniority to get a part-time position, my employer is flexible with my days so I can go to school, and I am comfortable and confident in my skills at work. It would have been WAY too stressful to learn a new nursing job AND attend midwifery school to learn a new specialty at the same time.

My advice is to pursue your dreams, but be realistic about what your work/life balance can handle. Each new transition deserves your time and attention. Good luck in your goals!

I have a friend who was looking into nurse-midwifery when she got pregnant herself and decided to put that on hold. It seemed like she was saying there was a prerequisite time of L&D experience needed to enter CNM school (which she did; she was a Navy nurse for years and continued to work part-time after having babies and leaving the Navy). I don't know if that's a requirement everywhere--if it varies by state or if that was particular to the program she was looking at.

In any case, I wouldn't think a plan for higher education would be an issue w/ school at all. Like mamagui said, you will be practicing as a nurse--an advanced practice nurse. When looking for jobs though, I would keep mum. It costs a lot of $$$ to train a new RN, and they might think twice before hiring someone who has no intention of staying longer than necessary to get into grad school.

All the best to you though! I delivered 4 of my babies w/ CNM's and had WONDERFUL experiences!! :)