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Nurse Midwives Occupation Detailed Description

Nurse Midwives career

General Job Description and Education/Training Levels for Nurse Midwives

The main tasks and work activities of Nurse Midwives are to provide health and wellness advice to patients, program participants, or caregivers, care for women during pregnancy and childbirth, record patient medical histories, measure the physical or physiological attributes of patients. In general, for the Nurse Midwives, social Perceptiveness, critical Thinking, speaking, active Listening and other 14 skills are required.
Nurse Midwives Job Description
EducationMost of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Related ExperienceExtensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Job TrainingEmployees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
ExampleThese occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include pharmacists, lawyers, astronomers, biologists, clergy, neurologists, and veterinarians.
The following chart shows the education/training levels for Nurse Midwives jobs.
Less than a High School Diploma
0.00%
High School Diploma (or the equivalent)
0.00%
Post-Secondary Certificate
2.70%
Some College Courses
0.00%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)
0.00%
Bachelor's Degree and Above
97.30%

Tasks and Work Activities of Nurse Midwives

  • Educate patients and family members regarding prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, newborn, or interconception care.
  • Provide prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, or newborn care to patients.
  • Document patients' health histories, symptoms, physical conditions, or other diagnostic information.
  • Monitor fetal development by listening to fetal heartbeat, taking external uterine measurements, identifying fetal position, or estimating fetal size and weight.
  • 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.
  • Develop and implement individualized plans for health care management.
  • Document findings of physical examinations.
  • Explain procedures to patients, family members, staff members or others.
  • Initiate emergency interventions to stabilize patients.
  • Manage newborn care during the first weeks of life.
  • Provide primary health care, including pregnancy and childbirth, to women.
  • Order and interpret diagnostic or laboratory tests.
  • Prescribe medications as permitted by state regulations.
  • Provide patients with direct family planning services, such as inserting intrauterine devices, dispensing oral contraceptives, and fitting cervical barriers, including cervical caps or diaphragms.
  • Write information in medical records or provide narrative summaries to communicate patient information to other health care providers.
  • Conduct clinical research on topics such as maternal or infant health care, contraceptive methods, breastfeeding, and gynecological care.
  • Establish practice guidelines for specialty areas such as primary health care of women, care of the childbearing family, and newborn care.
  • 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.
  • Assisting and Caring for OthersProviding personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
  • Documenting/Recording InformationEntering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Getting InformationObserving, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Making Decisions and Solving ProblemsAnalyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Updating and Using Relevant KnowledgeKeeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsDeveloping constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesProviding information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Performing for or Working Directly with the PublicPerforming for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and EventsIdentifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Interpreting the Meaning of Information for OthersTranslating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
  • Provide health and wellness advice to patients, program participants, or caregivers.
  • Care for women during pregnancy and childbirth.
  • Record patient medical histories.
  • Measure the physical or physiological attributes of patients.
  • Examine patients to assess general physical condition.
  • Test patient nervous system functioning.
  • Refer patients to other healthcare practitioners or health resources.
  • Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.
  • Develop medical treatment plans.
  • Explain medical procedures or test results to patients or family members.
  • Treat medical emergencies.
  • Administer basic health care or medical treatments.
  • Order medical diagnostic or clinical tests.
  • Analyze test data or images to inform diagnosis or treatment.
  • Prescribe medications.
  • Prepare reports summarizing patient diagnostic or care activities.
  • Inform medical professionals regarding patient conditions and care.
  • Conduct research to increase knowledge about medical issues.
  • Establish nursing policies or standards.
  • Maintain medical or professional knowledge.

Skills and Abilities for Nurse Midwives

  • Social PerceptivenessBeing aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Critical ThinkingUsing logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • SpeakingTalking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Active ListeningGiving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Active LearningUnderstanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • MonitoringMonitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Service OrientationActively looking for ways to help people.
  • Reading ComprehensionUnderstanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Judgment and Decision MakingConsidering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Complex Problem SolvingIdentifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • WritingCommunicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • CoordinationAdjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Learning StrategiesSelecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  • InstructingTeaching others how to do something.
  • Time ManagementManaging one's own time and the time of others.
  • Systems AnalysisDetermining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
  • ScienceUsing scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
  • Deductive ReasoningThe ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Problem SensitivityThe ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
  • Oral ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Written ComprehensionThe ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Oral ComprehensionThe ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Inductive ReasoningThe ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Speech ClarityThe ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Written ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Speech RecognitionThe ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Near VisionThe ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Information OrderingThe ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Selective AttentionThe ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Category FlexibilityThe ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Finger DexterityThe ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • OriginalityThe ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Arm-Hand SteadinessThe ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Fluency of IdeasThe ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Time SharingThe ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
  • Perceptual SpeedThe ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
  • Flexibility of ClosureThe ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Surgical clamps or clips or forceps or accessoriese.g. Allis clamps
  • Infant scalese.g. Baby scales
  • Resuscitation masks or accessoriese.g. Bag valve mask BVM resuscitators
  • Blood collection syringese.g. Blood drawing syringes
  • Medical aspiration or irrigation syringese.g. Bulb syringes
  • Colposcopes or vaginoscopes or accessoriese.g. Colposcopes
  • Floor grade forceps or hemostatse.g. Curved forceps
  • Floor grade forceps or hemostatse.g. Curved hemostats
  • Surgical needle holders for general usee.g. Curved needle holders
  • Electronic medical thermometerse.g. Digital medical thermometers
  • Surgical scissorse.g. Episiotomy scissors
  • Vacuum blood collection tubes or containerse.g. Evacuated blood collection containers
  • Fetal or gynecological ultrasound or echo unitse.g. Fetal doppler units
  • Acute care fetal or maternal monitoring units or accessoriese.g. Fetal heart rate monitors
  • Medical syringe with needlee.g. Hypodermic syringes
  • Medical oxygen masks or partse.g. Infant oxygen masks
  • Clinical incubators or infant warmerse.g. Infant warmers
  • Intravenous tubing with catheter administration kitse.g. Intravenous IV administration equipment
  • Lancetse.g. Lancets
  • Notebook computerse.g. Laptop computers
  • Medicine and DentistryKnowledge 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.
  • PsychologyKnowledge 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.
  • English LanguageKnowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Customer and Personal ServiceKnowledge 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.
  • BiologyKnowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
  • Therapy and CounselingKnowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
  • Sociology and AnthropologyKnowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
  • Education and TrainingKnowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.