Afraid to share I’m in Midwifery School—Anyone else face this?

Hey everyone,

I’m currently in a nurse-midwifery program and have been a registered nurse for about a year. I got my BSN at the end of 2023.

I went into nursing with the goal of becoming a midwife. The plan was never to be a RN only.

At my hospital, I’ve heard a lot of criticism about nurses who go straight into midwifery after just a year or two of nursing experience.

Some coworkers say they don’t have “enough” bedside experience and act like this makes them less competent or unprepared. Because of this, I’m really afraid to tell anyone at work that I’m in midwifery school.

I haven’t met many midwives who took the same path as me, so I’m wondering—how common is this criticism? If you went into nursing specifically to become a midwife, did you face pushback? And for those already practicing, do you feel that years of general nursing experience really make a big difference in midwifery?

Would love to hear your experiences and advice!