Do I have to become a Nurse Practitioner to work in a private OB/GYN office?
Asked by morenadulce87
I'm currently working on my pre-requisites to apply to the BSN program, but I'm wondering if I absolutely HAVE to be a Nurse Practitioner in order to work in an obstetrics and gynecology office? I don't want to work in a hospital setting and I know that I want OB/GYN to be my specialty. Can someone please help???

Best Answer:
RNs educated through a BSN program are primarily prepared to work as a hospital nurse. Physicians and mid-level health care providers in Women's health care will sometimes have one or more RN on the office staff to assist primarily with patient phone calls, and in some cases help with patient education. It should be understood that, in general, most RNs employed in an office setting will make significantly less than their hospital based counterparts. Usually, the people assisting the health care providers in the treatment rooms at Women's health clinics are medical assistants. It does not make fiscal sense to pay an RN salary (the average RN in the US makes $54,000 a year, though office RNs are closer to $41,000 a year) when you can pay a medical assistant $22,000 to $28,000 to do the same job. RNs who work in hospital obstetrics are usually called Labor and Delivery nurses or L&D. Nurse practitioners are called Women's Health Nurse Practitioners if they work with primarily GYN and uncomplicated ante/postpartum care. Midwifes see obstetric patients throughout the process and perform deliveries.
RN, Ph.D., CFNP
Answered by US_DR_JD

You can be an OB-GYN nurse (RN) but to "practice GYN medicine to need to be an GYN NP. GYN NPs usually do not deliever babies however, nurse-midwives do that.
Answered by Diane A

No. My OBGYN office hires LPN's, RN's as well as advance practice nurses and certified nurse midwives.
Answered by vtmary22

if you want to attend to your own patients as a practice you do but if you are working as a regular RN assisting the docs then no. you might want to see if there ae specific state laws about that but in my experience being pregannt ai have never heard of that. A majority of the nurses on a hospital L&D floor are RNs and are not nurse practitioners. Do you want to be a midwife? having your ARNP helps because then you'd be able to write scrips and stuff. My midwife was also a nurse practitioner but she had her own private practice nad consulted with docs at a hospital
Answered by Daffy

No. Being an RN should work just fine. Good luck.
Answered by sdn90036

You can be a certified OB nurse without being a practitioner.
Answered by MHnurseC