How to Become a Nurse Midwife
Being a nurse in the delivery room is a demanding and rewarding position. If you adore taking care of babies as much as you enjoy nursing, you could combine your interests and become a nurse midwife. Helping patients deliver babies and learn how to care for their newborns is an important duty that requires patience, education, and experience. Let's take a deeper look into how one becomes a nurse midwife.
Educational Requirements for Nurse Midwives
To get to the position of a nurse midwife, just like the position of nurse anesthetist and nurse practitioner, you will need to earn a master's degree. Traditional projects will require up to six years in education alone, but with accelerated courses of study, you could find yourself earning your degrees sooner and working faster. Once you have earned the correct qualifications, including a national certification exam, you could find yourself working in a hospital, birthing center, clinic, or a private practice.
Nurse Midwife Training
You must have specialized knowledge of and have personally assisted with deliveries and other midwife-related areas of nursing care. You must become thoroughly familiar with all aspects of birthing as well as pregnancy, and be able to carry out physical and pelvic assessments, postpartum care and other clinical practices. You should be able to assist relieve the patient of unnecessary stress and cultivate a birthing environment that is conducive to the health of the patient as well as the newborn.
Skills Needed for the Job
Being a midwife is a heavy duty job with serious consequences if you make mistakes. You will need to employ the following skills in the pursuit of your duties:
Adaptability
You will likely run into unexpected situations, and in such conditions you will need to be able to handle the event and not allow it to overwhelm either you or the patient.
Effective Communication
You will be in charge of explaining the entire treatment process to the parent and make them understand the reality of their condition and the steps that will be taken to treat them and the baby. For all this you need to possess effective communication skills which can be put to use at the time of delivery.
Keeping Calm
You will be dealing with a number of patients who are agitated or worried about their condition. You need to be prepared to handle such a situation in a calm and confident manner in order to defuse the situation. You will have to calm down not only the patient, but also any relative or friend who might be present in the delivery room while the birthing is in progress.
Inspiring Confidence
The patient will need to be able to trust you and your directions. This can be achieved by proving through your words and actions that you have the experience and sound judgment to help the patient. Cultivating a relationship with the patient and their loved ones is key to building trust and respect.
Being Soothing
You will need to be experienced in matters of therapy and counseling. These skills will be used not only for the duration of the birthing but before and after it as well. Postpartum care is a regular part of the job for midwifes in addition to providing relief for the patient from mental strain.
Responsibilities for Nurse Midwives
As a midwife, you will carry a lot of responsibilities on your shoulders daily, including:
- Diagnosing the problem that the patient might have and managing their treatment effectively.
- Educating the patient about the various aspects of their medical condition and what they need to do to alleviate the condition.
- Delivering babies and attending to the baby's needs immediately after the birthing takes place.
- Ordering and interpreting the results of the tests run on the patient.
- Prescribing treatment and medication for the patient during the course of the delivery and for postpartum stress relief.
- Assisting the doctor in carrying out effective treatment.
Are you interested in becoming a Certified Nurse Midwife? To get the educational background you need, consider ECPI University's Master of Science in Nursing degree program. Available completely online you can build on your existing nursing skills and develop the knowledge you need to perform these important duties. With an accelerated schedule you could find yourself earning your degree in as little as 18 months. Contact an admissions advisor today in order to find out more information about this exciting path and how it can fit into your future.
It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!
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