WHNP vs nurse midwife

Specialties Ob/Gyn

Published

Hello! I'm currently in an associates nursing program. I want to be able to own my own practice so that means I must have my nurse practitioner (a friend is looking to open a OB/gyn-birthing center as a midwife) and I want to ask and consider being part of this.

I want to be a nurse practitioner so I was looking at women's health NP. But you can't deliver babies as an NP right?

And as a nurse midwife..you are not legally an NP right?

I live in the philly pa area and looking for the fast track to get my bsn and then move on to the WHNP/CNM. Every program I find is either one or the other and that will take 4-5 yrs and add that to my 1.5 to get my BSN then ill be in school forever!!!

I'm so confused looking the all these programs and certs.

I really want an online program but I'm not sure if that's possible?

Any help??

Thank you!!!!!

(I was looking into frontier and chamberlain)

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Sorry to add on but what if I just become a general NP? Is that possible? Then cert as a midwife? How do I go about doing that?

What if I become a WHNP, and then I decide I want to work in a regular hospital in a different department just for a new experience. Will they take you as an NP? Or as a MSN? How does that work?

Sorry I'm just confused!

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

You could get a degree as a WHNP and do prenatal care and well woman care. You could not catch/deliver babies. If you are a CNM, you can do everything that a WHNP can do, plus deliver babies. Both NPs and CNMs are advance practice nurses, but they have different certifying bodies. Both NPs and CNMs can have prescriptive authority. You can get your degree in one specialty, then go back and get a post-master's certificate in another specialty. If you get a master's degree with a specialization as a WHNP, a hospital is not going to hire you to work as an ANP. You're pretty limited to just women's health. It's like a hospital isn't going to hire a cardiologist to work in neurology, even though they both have an MD.

The only program I can speak to is Frontier. If you already have a BSN, their program is about 2 1/2 - 3 years long. If you're going into it as an ADN, add another year.

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Hey,

There are programs where you can become both a WHNP and CNM. Close to you, I know Upenn offers a WHNP/CNM program. Yale also offers. I think Frontier may as well. However, I'm not sure how long it would take starting from an ADN.

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Georgetown has an online combined whnp/cnm, full time looks like less than two years.

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I have read other posts that made it sound like get both a WHNP and a CNM is redundant. If you want an more general NP you could do FNP and then get your certification as a CNM after if you decide you really want to do L&D.

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HI,

A CNM can do absolutely everything a WHNP can do and more, a CNM can delivery babies and the scope of practice of a CNM covers newborns up until 1 months of age. A CNM performs newborn assessments and can also with advance training circumsize newborns. I have never hear of a WHNP having this scope of practice and will take additional certification in infants or family practice.

That being said a the legal issues with CNM is more. just having CNM after your name you is through the roof even if you do not work in a setting where you delivery babies. You should shadow both a CNM and WHNP and see where which scope of practice suits you more.

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