The Steps To Becoming A Nurse Midwife When You Want A Career In Healthcare

If a career in the medical field working with pregnant women and infants sounds appealing to you, then you may want to obtain a nurse midwifery degree. Being a nurse midwife takes years of training because it's necessary to become a registered nurse first. Once you're a midwife, you can open your private practice, work with an OB-GYN clinic, or work in a hospital and spend your days helping expectant moms have healthy babies and safe deliveries. Here's a quick overview of the path to becoming a midwife.

Start With Becoming A Registered Nurse

You can become a registered nurse by attending a two-year or four-year program. The benefit of attending a two-year associate's degree program is that you can start work sooner and earn a good living so you can pay for further education. Some hospitals may reimburse education costs as part of your employee benefits package. If you choose a two-year program, you'll need to complete a four-year program and get a bachelor's degree in nursing before you can work on becoming a midwife. If you're already employed as a registered nurse, you can attend school part-time or full-time and take classes with your goal to eventually obtain your nurse midwifery degree.

While you won't have the same responsibilities as a nurse that you would as a midwife, you can still work around pregnant women and babies while working on your midwife degree. You could work in the labor and delivery ward of a hospital or work in an OB-GYN office as part of your daily job.

Obtain A Midwifery Degree

Different schools have different requirements for their midwife programs. Also, each state may have different requirements. Talk to different schools so you know exactly what you need to do to obtain your degree in the best time frame for you. Some schools may admit you with a bachelor's degree in nursing. Others may require a master's degree first. You'll also want to understand what you'll receive upon graduation as you may graduate with a master's degree or doctorate in nurse midwifery. In any case, in order to work as a midwife, you'll need to pass a certification examination in your state. In order to sit for the exam, you must have the required level of education and proper degree.

Working as a midwife can be a rewarding and exciting career, and you'll help many women through their pregnancies and help babies get off to a good start in life. The advanced training and degree you receive also make it possible for you to earn a good income while doing something you love.