The road to perinatal nursing begins with a nursing degree and a few years of professional experience. It's preferable to have a baccalaureate degree, since perinatal nursing requires a master's degree in nursing, and most master's programs require a bachelor's degree. Each graduate program has its own requirements. For example, the University of California at San Francisco, seeks applicants with language skills, research and volunteer activities, involvement in professional organizations as well as a strong undergraduate GPA and excellent references. UCSF also requires a goal statement explaining why you want to study perinatal nursing and specifically your future nursing goals. For its Nurse Midwifery Master's program, which includes perinatal nursing, the University of Colorado School of Nursing requires an undergraduate baccalaureate degree, four letters of recommendation, some required coursework and a Colorado nursing license.
Perinatal nursing programs have their own specific course requirements, although all of them are aimed at providing you with the necessary skills and abilities to work with women and their families during and after pregnancy. The University of Illinois College of Nursing master's degree specializing in perinatal nursing requires 46 to 48 credit hours, including a thesis or a master's project. Core courses cover statistics, health systems, issues in advanced practice nursing, pharmacology and other areas. Specific to perinatal nursing are courses in woman's biology, pediatric/perinatal concepts and 12 credit hours of practical/clinical experience. At the University of New Mexico College of Nursing, the nurse-midwifery program is 55 credit hours taken over six consecutive semesters and 1,056 clinical hours. Courses cover the theoretical and practical with heavy emphasis on women's health during pregnancy and after childbirth.
After you have completed your master's degree in perinatal nursing, you will be eligible to apply for certification from the American Nurses' Credentialing Center, American Midwifery Certification Board, Pediatric Nursing Certification Board or the National Certification Corporation, or you can be certified as a nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist. The specific certification or multiple certifications you persue will depend on the specifics of your program.
Continuing education helps the perinatal nurse stay abreast of trends and techniques important to her work. Courses are offered at conferences, online, in hospitals and colleges and through podcasts. A majority of states requirement continuing education credits to maintain a nursing license. The hours spent taking certified continuing education courses can vary from 12 a year to 30 over two years. New York state requires three hours of study in infection control every four years and a one-time two hour course in child abuse. Nevada has a required bio-terrorism course all nurses must take. California simply requires 30 hours of continuing education credit for renewal.