Where to go?

[CCMed]

Hi, my name is Caitlin. I am 22, I have 2 kids and I am aspiring to be a midwife. Because I haven’t gone through nursing, I won’t be a CNM, but a CM which is legal to practice in my state for home birth. I had a doula with my youngest and she is going through the same school (almost finished) and I haven’t started just yet as I’m saving to get the money together for the initial down payment.
I would love to eventually switch over and go through med-school so I can become an OBGYN. Obviously, my route is not typical. I am also wanting to become a lactation consultant as I’ve been nursing for the last four years (2 years with my 4 year old, almost 2 with my 1.5 year old) and it’s something I’m passionate about. Going through this midwife program will give me all of my pre-req courses. I just am battling whether I should go through the midwife first or if skipping that plan and going through med-school first would be a better idea?
I will be working with pre-ceptors and everything through the midwife college, so that will give me the hands on experience and recommends for med-school I believe which would help a ton. What’s are your thoughts?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Ultimax]

I am an NP and Nursing credits do not satisfy pre-requisite requirements for medical schools, including Microbiology, Organic Chemistry, Statistics. You will need to retake them, including Physics, Biochemistry, Genetics, and others. Your graduate GPA does not count toward undergraduate GPA, so be aware of that. The MCAT will make or break your application, so make sure you dedicate your time to study for it. Your experience with patient interaction will help, but wont be sufficient if your GPA and MCAT are not competitive. If you graduate as a midwife, you will likely need 2-3 years to be ready to apply to med school. Best of luck!

 

[CCMed]

Thank you for your input. I will absolutely take that into consideration

 

[Cornfed101]

Clinical work experience is always valuable, but it seems like a waste of time/money to start one program as a means to get into another. This is especially true for the reasons @Ultimax mentioned.

Only 1 LOR from a preceptor would be useful for medical school admissions. Medical schools typically ask for 2 science faculty LORs and 1 non-science. Most DO schools require a LOR from an MD/DO.

What are your motivations for becoming an OBGYN instead of a midwife?

 

[CCMed]

Clinical work experience is always valuable, but it seems like a waste of time/money to start one program as a means to get into another. This is especially true for the reasons @Ultimax mentioned.

Only 1 LOR from a preceptor would be useful for medical school admissions. Medical schools typically ask for 2 science faculty LORs and 1 non-science. Most DO schools require a LOR from an MD/DO.

What are your motivations for becoming an OBGYN instead of a midwife?

I feel like I will be limited to what I can do. Here in Mississippi, I will be limited to home births verses if I become an OBGYN I can work at a broader spectrum. I’m more on the natural side of things, which is why midwife would be a good consideration for me, but I’ve also been under the care of an OBGYN who’s just as natural minded but as I said, he can work on a broader spectrum.
Also, I feel like with medicine, the possibilities are endless. I’d like to get into OBGYN so I can do the research and be a part of changing the face of medicine. Help them find resolutions to problems in the birthing world. Another huge reason is because I’ve been in the hands of some terrible OB’s, that really don’t care about the wellbeing of their patient or that patients child in my area. I want to add myself to that and be a great doctor and advocate for women and the rights to their care. I want to give them a doctor who does.

 

[Cornfed101]

I feel like I will be limited to what I can do. Here in Mississippi, I will be limited to home births verses if I become an OBGYN I can work at a broader spectrum. I’m more on the natural side of things, which is why midwife would be a good consideration for me, but I’ve also been under the care of an OBGYN who’s just as natural minded but as I said, he can work on a broader spectrum.
Also, I feel like with medicine, the possibilities are endless. I’d like to get into OBGYN so I can do the research and be a part of changing the face of medicine. Help them find resolutions to problems in the birthing world. Another huge reason is because I’ve been in the hands of some terrible OB’s, that really don’t care about the wellbeing of their patient or that patients child in my area. I want to add myself to that and be a great doctor and advocate for women and the rights to their care. I want to give them a doctor who does.

Do you have a bachelor's degree or have you taken any classes at a 4-year university or community college? I would recommend switching now and getting your classes and prereqs done there.

 

[CCMed]

Do you have a bachelor's degree or have you taken any classes at a 4-year university or community college? I would recommend switching now and getting your classes and prereqs done there.

I’m technically in my sophomore year of community college but I started for accounting and business management. I actually got a job at a loan company as a loan officer and realized it’s not for me, so now I’m basically having to start over because everything I took was related to that field so no sciences. Not that finance is hard, I just don’t have a passion for it and I dreaded going to that job because it bored me. I ended up switching jobs in July, I now am the Internet Sales Manager for a dealership. After this thread, I did sign up to change my path and start pre-reqs for pre-med so that’ll start in March.