UK Midwife Married US Citizen

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Hi there. I was advised to repost this in this forum to see if I got some more advice.

I got married this year to my American husband and I have my green card now (woop!) and will be moving over next year.

I have a UK BSc Midwifery and 5 years of post grad experience in the UK. But unfortunately no nursing degree (as with most UK midwives nowadays).

I want to be able to have the option to work all over the US and despite being a community midwife for 18 months, attending home births etc, I do not wish to do this in the US. I wish to be in the hospital like I am currently.

Am I right in thinking that my only option is to go back to school (looks like 15 months) to complete an accelerated nursing program and then do the NCLEX. Become a L&D nurse and then perhaps go on to become a CNM in the future?

There is not other way around it? I could probably pass the NCLEX with a few months of study and reading and I would want to just go into L&D nursing. In the UK from my understanding our role is a cross over of L&D RN and CNM.

It's just frustrating to have to do 15 months of expensive education to only do the same job as I do now.

I understand that a nursing qualification would be useful as it's always good to learn more broadly and I will be receiving double the salary I do at home. I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

Any advice would be gratefully received! If there is anyone that has been in a similar position and made the move with similar qualifications I'd love to hear your story.

Thank you so much!

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

Yes, you will have to go to school to get an RN degree. If your Bachelor's degree is recognized here in the US, you will be able to do a 12-15 month accelerated BSN program. If it's not recognized, you will have to go the longer route, and either get a traditional BSN (4 years) or an associate's degree in nursing (lesser degree, but still takes 3-4 years). That is the only way you will be eligible to take the NCLEX.

If you wish to practice in the hospital setting, your only option for midwifery is a CNM degree. The other option is to skip nursing school and go right into a direct entry CNM program. There are a lot of programs where people go from no nursing experience at all to advance practice nurse. Normally I think those programs are a bad idea, but since you've been practicing as a nurse in the UK anyway, that might be a good option for you.

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Thank you for your reply. You confirm what I thought.

Despite the difficulties with the US healthcare system, I am looking forward to being properly remunerated for the level of responsibility that we have! It's an issue in the UK that we are loosing nurses and midwives by the bucket load because the pay doesn't reflect the whole lot of stress and responsibility that we have. I love working in a healthcare system knowing that there isn't a financial incentive to offer different tests/treatments and the NHS will treat you, no matter who you are.

However, our healthcare isn't going to keep up unless we pay and respect those that work on the frontline. I think it was Richard Branson that said "If you look after your staff, they'll look after your customers. It's that simple".

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Specializes in OB.

There is one other option---you could become a certified midwife (CM). This is a newer credential than the CNM credential, and currently only recognized in a handful of states---they are licensed in NY, NJ, RI, ME, and "authorized by permit" to practice in DE and MO. In a nutshell, in the states where the credential is recognized, you are considered interchangeable with a CNM---CMs work in hospitals, write prescriptions, order labs, etc. You just don't have to have a nursing background. In (most) states, where the CM credential does not exist, you would not be able to work. There are only a couple of programs where you can study to be a CM, one is in Philly, one is in NYC. The vast majority of CMs that I've known work in NYC. Since you mentioned that you want to work "all over the U.S.," this option may not appeal to you, but I thought I'd throw it out there. Here is the American Midwifery Certification Board website's explanation of the various credentials for more info: Why AMCB Certification.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
I think it was Richard Branson that said "If you look after your staff, they'll look after your customers. It's that simple".

That is a philosophy that I completely embrace.

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Specializes in OB.
Thank you for your reply. You confirm what I thought.

Despite the difficulties with the US healthcare system, I am looking forward to being properly remunerated for the level of responsibility that we have! It's an issue in the UK that we are loosing nurses and midwives by the bucket load because the pay doesn't reflect the whole lot of stress and responsibility that we have. I love working in a healthcare system knowing that there isn't a financial incentive to offer different tests/treatments and the NHS will treat you, no matter who you are.

However, our healthcare isn't going to keep up unless we pay and respect those that work on the frontline. I think it was Richard Branson that said "If you look after your staff, they'll look after your customers. It's that simple".

I got connected with some British midwives on Facebook and was FLOORED to learn what they earn. I don't know you support yourself on that salary unless you have a partner who makes way more than you do. I understand that the health care system there is stretched to the max, but as you say, you can't expect people to stay where they're treated so poorly for the incredibly important work they do.

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Specializes in NICU.

I absolutely 100% agree with the above with the salary- I am a US trained RN but I have a UK husband and got my UK RN license a few years ago. I think it's terrible...but funnily enough, if you look at the UK nursing forum on this site, there's actually pushback against this idea. Every so often someone asks about salary in the UK and how people afford to live and some of the folks get defensive about it... Nurses and midwives are the backbone of the NHS and they absolutely deserve to be paid for what they are worth. Even moreso now that they've started cutting the student bursaries...

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Specializes in Midwife.

Hey! Vimmie Just wondered if you are now working in US as a Midwife??

I am in the middle of moving over to the US (MN) - (I am a direct entry midwife in UK qualified since 2010 and currently working as a Postnatal Ward Manager in a London Hospital). I am keen to stay in the midwifery field and am aware of the challenges I may face here in US so was wondering if there was a way for me to still work as a midwife...

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Hi S1mm1!

I'm doing the accelerated nursing masters and then a midwifery clinical doctorate so will end up being a CNM in 2022! Can't wait to be a CNM. It's fascinating seeing the similarities and differences between UK and US maternity care. Both have got their own challenges but I'm excited by the increased scope of practice here in the US. I miss my colleagues in the UK though and I find that obstetric model of care is a lot more prominent in the US. Hopefully in the future there will be more CNMs compared to OBs and the midwifery model of care will be more accepted.

That's great you are going to MN! Me and my husband are thinking of moving there after I graduate. ?

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Specializes in Midwife.

Hey Vimmie thank you for your message

Im still unsure what the requirements are for me to practice as midwife in MN - it is all confusing

Is doing the accelerated nursing masters and then the doctorate the correct pathway?

I wish the process was the same as UK!! that way we would not have to retrain

Also what is the process with the NMC pin -

thank you for your time

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Don't worry- it is super confusing!

So prior to like 2000 or so all UK nurses were 'general' trained. My aunt for example as part of her nursing did every large specialty (maternity, pads, adult, mental health). So it is easy for those nurses to qualify as RNs in the US.

But because our direct entry course is so specialized in maternity we don't have the broad scope that US RNs do. Adult trained UK nurses are the only ones that have the scope to take the NCLEX (the exam that you need to take to be a US RN). But often adult trained UK nurses are deficient in maternity and pediatrics.

There is no bachelors prepared midwives. All certified midwives or CNMs have to have do a masters. Certified midwives are only licensed in ~5 east coasts states so you need to be a nurse first if you want to practice as a hospital midwife in Minnesota (then take a masters or doctorate to be a CNM).

The scope of practice of a CNM is so much larger though (teenagers- post menopausal) you do well women gynae clinics and you'd have full prescriptive authority. It's kinda like a UK version of a RM/junior SHO/GP (that specializes in women's health).

Anyway- I'm still learning how it works! But yeh that's my plan accelerated nursing masters for 18 months and then a two year midwifery doctorate. Then back to work!

Re. NMC pin- my move to the US is permanent so this year I was due to revalidate but didn't. Just took myself off the register from the end of this month.

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Specializes in Midwife.

thanks so much for your message it makes more sense now!

I have two young children so going bk to uni at the mo is going to be hard at but I guess this is route I should take when I am ready

if you dont mind me asking how much does the accelerated course (18 months) cost and how do I find out which Uni's in MN do the course - is it a matter of "google it" - also is it practice based like part uni part placement like UK

thanks for your time I am really trying to see what the best way for me to work in MN will be either maintain my midwifery (which I am very passionate about) or go into a completely different field/ job

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