Nurse Midwives

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Educate patients and family members regarding prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, newborn, or interconception care.
• Perform physical examinations by taking vital signs, checking neurological reflexes, examining breasts, or performing pelvic examinations.
• Consult with or refer patients to appropriate specialists when conditions exceed the scope of practice or expertise.
• Document findings of physical examinations.
• Monitor fetal development by listening to fetal heartbeat, taking external uterine measurements, identifying fetal position, or estimating fetal size and weight.
• 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.
• Initiate emergency interventions to stabilize patients.
• Instruct student nurse midwives, medical students, or residents on the birthing process.
• 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.
• Manage newborn care during the first weeks of life.
• 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.
• Instruct student nurse midwives, medical students, or residents on the birthing process.
• Document patients' health histories, symptoms, physical conditions, or other diagnostic information.
• Provide primary health care, including pregnancy and childbirth, to women.
• Perform physical examinations by taking vital signs, checking neurological reflexes, examining breasts, or performing pelvic examinations.
• Establish practice guidelines for specialty areas such as primary health care of women, care of the childbearing family, and newborn care.
• Plan, provide, or evaluate educational programs for nursing staff, health care teams, or the community.
• Provide prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, or newborn care to patients.
• Prescribe medications as permitted by state regulations.
• Consult with or refer patients to appropriate specialists when conditions exceed the scope of practice or expertise.
• 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.
• Develop and implement individualized plans for health care management.
• Write information in medical records or provide narrative summaries to communicate patient information to other health care providers.

Skills

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

Abilities

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

Knowledge

• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• 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.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• 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.
• 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.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• 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.
• 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.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• 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.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• 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.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• 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.
• 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.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Education

Education

Master's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

×

Education and Training Opportunities

• Seattle University
  900 Broadway, Seattle WA 98122-4340
  School Type

  Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above

  Admissions
  School Size

  5,000 - 9,999

  Financial Aid 206-296-6000
  Other Degrees Offered

  Undergraduate degree or certificate offering,Graduate degree or certificate offering
  Website

  http://www.seattleu.edu/
  Program Name
  Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery
  Length
  More than 4 years
  Award Level
  Master's degree, Postbaccalaureate certificate, Post-master's certificate, Doctor's degree - professional practice
  Save

  ---

Close

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