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Nurse Midwives

Diagnose and coordinate all aspects of the birthing process, either independently or as part of a healthcare team. May provide well-woman gynecological care. Must have specialized, graduate nursing education.
  • Summary

  • Details

  • Work Activities

    • Provide patients with direct family planning services, such as inserting intrauterine devices, dispensing oral contraceptives, and fitting cervical barriers, including cervical caps or diaphragms.
    • Read current literature, talk with colleagues, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in midwifery.
    • Plan, provide, or evaluate educational programs for nursing staff, health care teams, or the community.
    • Instruct student nurse midwives, medical students, or residents on the birthing process.
    • Monitor fetal development by listening to fetal heartbeat, taking external uterine measurements, identifying fetal position, or estimating fetal size and weight.
    • Order and interpret diagnostic or laboratory tests.
    • Provide primary health care, including pregnancy and childbirth, to women.
    • Manage newborn care during the first weeks of life.
    • Document patients' health histories, symptoms, physical conditions, or other diagnostic information.
    • Conduct clinical research on topics such as maternal or infant health care, contraceptive methods, breastfeeding, and gynecological care.
    • Order and interpret diagnostic or laboratory tests.
    • Instruct student nurse midwives, medical students, or residents on the birthing process.
    • Document findings of physical examinations.
    • Consult with or refer patients to appropriate specialists when conditions exceed the scope of practice or expertise.
    • Monitor fetal development by listening to fetal heartbeat, taking external uterine measurements, identifying fetal position, or estimating fetal size and weight.
    • Initiate emergency interventions to stabilize patients.
    • Perform physical examinations by taking vital signs, checking neurological reflexes, examining breasts, or performing pelvic examinations.
    • Educate patients and family members regarding prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, newborn, or interconception care.
    • Plan, provide, or evaluate educational programs for nursing staff, health care teams, or the community.
    • Develop and implement individualized plans for health care management.
    • Consult with or refer patients to appropriate specialists when conditions exceed the scope of practice or expertise.
    • Provide prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, or newborn care to patients.
    • Establish practice guidelines for specialty areas such as primary health care of women, care of the childbearing family, and newborn care.
    • Perform physical examinations by taking vital signs, checking neurological reflexes, examining breasts, or performing pelvic examinations.
    • Write information in medical records or provide narrative summaries to communicate patient information to other health care providers.
    • Prescribe medications as permitted by state regulations.
    • Explain procedures to patients, family members, staff members or others.
    • Write information in medical records or provide narrative summaries to communicate patient information to other health care providers.

    Skills

    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.

    Abilities

    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    Knowledge

    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    Education

    Education
    Master's degree
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    No on-the-job training

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    145000/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    69.71/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    150
    Yearly Projected Openings
    10

    Personality

    Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Concern for Others
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Dependability
    • Integrity
    • Cooperation
    • Self Control

    Tools

    • Acute care fetal or maternal monitoring units
    • Blood collection syringes
    • Blood pressure cuff kits
    • Clinical incubators or infant warmers
    • Colposcopes or vaginoscopes
    • Electronic medical thermometers
    • Endoscopic hemostatic balloons or needles or tubes or accessories
    • Flow sensors or regulators or components
    • Infant scales
    • Intravenous tubing with catheter administration kits
    • Irrigation or suction handpieces or cannulas or tips or catheters
    • Lancets
    • Medical acoustic stethoscopes
    • Medical aspiration or irrigation syringes
    • Medical nasal cannulas
    • Medical oxygen masks or parts
    • Medical syringes with needle
    • Medical tape measures
    • Medical ultrasound or doppler or echocardiograph probes
    • Medical ultrasound or doppler or echocardiograph transducer accessories
    • Microscope slides
    • Notebook computers
    • Oxygen concentrators
    • Patient floor scales
    • Personal computers
    • Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
    • Reflex hammers or mallets
    • Resuscitation masks
    • Specimen collection container
    • Surgical clamps or clips or forceps
    • Surgical gloves
    • Surgical isolation or surgical masks
    • Surgical needle holders
    • Surgical scissors
    • Suturing kits or trays or packs or sets
    • Tourniquets
    • Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation units
    • Urinary catheterization kits
    • Vacuum blood collection tubes or containers
    • Vaginal exam speculas

    Technology

    • Medical software
    • Office suite software
    • Spreadsheet software