(First and Last Name)
4 March 2010
English I, 2nd
Career Research Paper
Nurse-Midwife
I never thought about working as a nurse-midwife until my older sister became pregnant. She had complications that made me realize I wanted to help women in her situation. Also, I loved the idea of having the chance to work with babies. Before I knew what a nurse-midwife was, I thought of being a nurse that worked in neonatal care at the hospital. I told my mother what I wanted to do and she told me what a nurse-midwife did; that’s when I decided I wanted to be a nurse-midwife. I thought I knew a nurse-midwife worked for long hours and couldn’t change when they worked. I found that I was wrong and they can change the hours they work at any time. I searched many resources to find information about nurse-midwifes, in order to decide if becoming a nurse-midwife is the best career for me.
To obtain information about nurse-midwives, I used three resources: the Internet, a book, and a personal interview with Kari Weise. When I searched the Internet I obtained the best information from an online database called Career Cruising. Although, I found many other websites with information, they repeated information I already knew. The book I read on nurse-midwives was Careers in Health Care by Rachel Epstein. Most of this information I had already found using the Internet. Also, I wouldn’t have been able to use the information I obtained from the book because it had been published in 1989. Overall, the best information I had was from the Internet and my personal interview with my cousin, Kari.
To become a nurse-midwife I will need a well-rounded education. I will need to be licensed by my state of employment; the requirements to acquire a license vary by state. Although, certified nurse-midwives are the only midwives eligible for licensure in every state (Education and Training for Midwives).
Certified nurse-midwives are registered nurses that fulfilled an additional program in midwifery. For admittance to a midwifery program a bachelor’s degree is required and this program will last one to two years and may lead to a certificate or a master’s degree (Education and Training for Midwives).
Some states may offer a license to nurse-midwives without the requirement of being a certified nurse-midwife.
There are many perks working as a nurse-midwife; they may earn between $43,410 and $92,940 (Earnings).
Employers may offer flexible schedules, bonuses and educational benefits, and childcare. There are many benefits of midwifery care too; including: full family involvement, no separation of mother and baby after birth, respect for women and their individuality, beliefs, and choices, low rate of cesarean sections, and a personal relationship between the parents and care provider (Benefits of Midwifery Care).
The actual job includes many duties and responsibilities. A nurse-midwife must evaluate patients’ conditions and test results, breast exams, pap smears, assist women with labor and childbirth, and provide neonatal care-if needed (Nurse Midwife).
Nurse-midwives mainly work in hospitals, patients’ homes, clinics, public health departments, and few own a private practice.
There are a great amount of advantages of being a nurse-midwife, but there are nearly as many disadvantages. The advantages include: supporting post natal mothers, short contracts, and being self-employed (Advantages and Disadvantages of being a Midwife).
I would also be able to work with newborns, which I would very much enjoy, and I could have increased earnings. Disadvantages of a nurse-midwife would be: occasional difficult parents, distressed parents and families over ill babies or the rare death of a baby, last minute cancellations of the job, sleep deprivation, long hours, and loneliness caused by long periods away from my own family and friends.
My personal interview with Kari Weise gave me a large amount of information on what it is like to be a nurse-midwife. She explained the hardest part of her job was, “Having the motivation to stay on my feet at 3 in the morning with the thought an another night that I missed reading my son a bed-time story.” She told me it’s hard to be away from the family for long periods of time; she also said that if I decide I follow in this career I would need a lot of training.
In conclusion, after the research I have found on becoming a nurse-midwife I have decided it is probably not the best job for me. I may decide to pursue another career that includes working with children. Although, I thought this was a great career for me; I couldn’t stand the fact I would have to be away from my family for long periods of time. I also wouldn’t be able to motivate myself to work on only a few hours of sleep. With that, I think I may research other careers to find what would better suit me.