conflicting continuing PA route
I am currently in my second gap year after graduating with a B.S. in Biology and have been preparing to apply to PA school but have recently wondered if it would be worth it to try and go the Nurse-Midwife (CNM) route..
I am conflicted because I really like the concept of the PA profession and have a strong interest in practicing as a PA, but also have a strong interest in working closely with pregnancies in terms of management and birth itself.
PAs are currently a minority in L&D with limited responsibilities whereas CNMs dominate that field. I am also generally interested in pre and post natal care which is definitely an option as a PA, but it will not be as involved as the CNM role.
Pursuing a CNM would mean I would most likely need to look into joint BSN-CNM programs or accelerated nursing programs since you need to a nursing degree and to be a RN to apply to traditional CNM programs. This would add even more time to the current path I'm on and I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Overall I've become very stressed over this lol and am conflicted on how strongly I feel about the involvement and what my passion truly is. I would still enjoy working with women and managing women's health as a PA but will I want that involvement only a different certification would provide me with?