Nurse Midwives

Diagnose and coordinate all aspects of the birthing process, either independently or as part of a healthcare team. May provide well-woman gynecological care. Must have specialized, graduate nursing education.

Most important skills

Active Listening
Speaking
Critical Thinking
Social Perceptiveness
Reading Comprehension
Active Learning
Monitoring
Writing

Key knowledge

Medicine and Dentistry
Psychology
Customer and Personal Service
English Language
Biology
Sociology and Anthropology
Therapy and Counseling
Education and Training

What the work involves

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.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Investigative, Conventional.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education: Master's Degree (81.3% of respondents)
Related experience: None (42.4%)
On-the-job training: Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (36.4%)
Preparation level: O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Licensing: Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.

Check before planning

Licensing for Nurse Midwives is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.

Limits

Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0

Work environment

How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).

Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
Condition	Level	Compared with other occupations	Most common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with others	Very high	Higher on contact with others than 93% of occupations compared	91% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others”
Dealing with the public	Very high	Higher on dealing with the public than 90% of occupations compared	73% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Teamwork	High	Higher on teamwork than 79% of occupations compared	69% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Freedom to make decisions	Very high	Higher on freedom to make decisions than 90% of occupations compared	67% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom”
Time pressure	Moderate	Lower on time pressure than 53% of occupations compared	48% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day”
Conflict situations	Very high	Higher on conflict situations than 91% of occupations compared	52% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people	Very high	Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 84% of occupations compared	44% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Consequence of error	Very high	Higher on consequence of error than 98% of occupations compared	78% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious”

Work-pressure profile

Time pressure: moderate
Conflict situations: very high
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
Consequence of error: very high

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions