Upcoming male CNM student seeking perspective

[MaineMan88]

Hi All,

I am planning on attending Vanderbilt in the Fall as a pre-specialty student for the CNM/FNP degree. What makes me different than most midwifery students is that I am male. I started my college career with the goal of becoming an athletic trainer for a professional football and or baseball team, but through certain courses, shadowing experiences, research, and study abroad experiences, I realized that my calling is in working with babies, women, and their families in the holistic lens. Isn't life ironic sometimes?

However, Vanderbilt isn't cheap. Although I had considered this before, the cost of the program recently became much more real when I signed off for my loans. This is my concern: pursuing the dual-degree at Vandy will cost me an extra 2 semesters of tuition, living expenses, etc. Since there are so few male midwifes out there, I'm not confident in the demand. I do not want to end up in a situation where I borrow an extra $50k in loans, but cannot get hired for a position that will allow me to utilize my NMW certification. Let me be clear: my heart is in midwifery. But at this point in my life, I have to be realistic about such significant financial decisions.

I would appreciate some perspective. Am I better off to only pursue the family specialty, or should I go for the dual-degree and have faith that there are employers and patients out there who know that good care is not dependent on one's sex?

Thanks!

Nate

[midwife228]

Hi Nate,

I also say "go for it"! One of my best instructors in Midwifery School was a male CNM. I also know many nurses who worked with him when he was doing clinical midwifery and they all said he was great. (Actually, parteiranaqua, we may be talking about the same person??)

[MaineMan88]

Hey All,

Thanks so much for the encouraging words. I am a few weeks into the program--well, the prespecialty RN year--and although I won't start actual midwifery content until next year, I can already tell that I'm in an amazing environment where my gender really will not be much of an issue. I appreciate your support while my confidence was wavering this summer!

[ERNURSEDAD]

MaineMan,

Congratulations! You are likely knee deep in reading, case studies, writing papers, and learning a plethora of new material as you've started your graduate program. I am one of the ONE PERCENT of nurse-midwives who are men. I have been a CNM since 1994 and have enjoyed a fruitful career in midwifery, have attended over 1,000 births, have enjoyed MANY facets of working in women's health: from practicing as a midwife in a private suburban practice as well as an inner city "ghetto" hospital; from running a a midwifery practice to managing an entire obstetric unit in a hospital; from teaching and precepting nurse practitioner and midwifery students to now being full-time faculty for nursing students; as well as having been Vice President of Medical Services and the Associate Medical Director for a large women's health/reproductive services organization where I oversaw the clinical operations of 12 health centers and all the healthcare providers and clinical personnel. I have been compensated well, however, the non-tangible rewards have "compensated" me even more. I continue maintain a part-time hospital based practice as a CNM to "keep my hands in it" (I'm finishing a night shift as I type this...things are peaceful at the moment).

To address the gender issue...does it exist? Sure. Has it been a huge barrier for me? No. Even tonight, a muslim woman asked if she could have a woman perform her lady partsl exam. Of course. Are there midwives who think what we/they do is women's work? Yep. And that's ok. Bottom line? We all have a place. It's more about how you carry yourself and your demeanor with the women you care for. I maintain that a man in midwifery aint gonna last long if he aint got what it takes. I'll even go to what some might call the arrogant place and say that we've got to go the EXTRA mile because of our gender.

You have picked an excellent program. I have worked with and have hired Vandy grads...and they're well prepared. A little "stuck" on their school...LOL...but excellent nurse-midwives! I also think you are INCREDIBLY wise to do the dual degree (CNM/FNP). I myself am planning to do a post-Master's FNP program. With all of the retail pharmacy based clinics popping up all over the country (they all use primarily FNP's) as well as many FQHC's, public health clinics, Planned Parenthood's, private practices, etc, etc, etc. You're doing it right. Further...this will be a great marketing tool for a potential employer. Not ONLY are you a CNM, but also a primary care provider who can manage women's primary care needs as well...CACHING!

It sounds like you've thought things through. If the loans are out of control, consider working in an underserved area that does loan repayment. I had a Vandy grad midwife that I hired back in '99 into my practice do that...she's still in that practice...loans all paid 'cuz it was an underserved area and our clinic site was part of the department of public health.

All the best to you. Feel free to contact me off list: [email protected]

Darryn, CNM in Chicago

[ggoodman]

As a student nurse who will be finishing the RN portion in a year, I have seriously been considering this career track and this thread was awesome to find. I know it's old but thanks for posting. I hope your studies are going well if you are not yet finished.

[Ohm108, MSN, NP, CNM]

Hi everyone. I know that this thread is old but wanted to add my information here as well since there are so few male identified midwives around in general. If there are other men (or women) that are in the process of apply to midwifery school who have questions about the process or what it is like as a student midwife. Please feel free to reach out.