Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) Job Description Template

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Written by Danielle Roques, BSN, RN Content Writer, IntelyCare
A certified nurse midwife (CNM) assists with the birth of a child.

Certified nurse midwives (CNMs) care for mothers and infants during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. These specialized nurses are credentialed by the American Midwifery Certification Board and require additional training and certification in addition to traditional labor and delivery RN qualifications. If you’ve ever had to fill a CNM job vacancy, you know that finding employees with the necessary compassion and clinical expertise can be a frustrating and time consuming process.

This CNM job description sample, complete with tips on how to best appeal to prospective candidates, can help your organization recruit a high-quality employee. We outline the duties, skills, and licensure expectations of certified nurse midwives so that your hiring team can choose the best candidate for the job.

Looking for more hiring resources? Get ideas for your job description by seeing out how other organizations talk about their CNM positions, and the incentives they’re offering, in our latest job postings. When you’re ready to start interviewing candidates, get prepped with these focused nurse midwife interview questions.

Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM)

Tips: Start your CNM job description by giving prospective candidates insight into the role you’re hiring for. Clarify your facility’s location and the patient population you serve. Highlighting your company’s mission and showcasing healthcare awards or accolades can help make a good first impression to nurses interested in the position.

Template:

We’re looking for a certified nurse midwife to provide care for our patients at our downtown birthing center. We deliver more healthy infants than any other facility in the state and have been recognized as “Boston’s Best Place to Have a Baby” for five years in a row.

Our multidisciplinary team of obstetricians, therapists, and nursing professionals prides itself on delivering exceptional, evidence-based maternal care to every patient we serve. Strong applicants for this position will have at least five years of RN experience with a minimum of two years working in a CNM role.

Does this sound like a position you’d enjoy? Continue reading as we outline the qualifications, licensure, and degree requirements we’re looking for.

Benefits

Tips: Now that you’ve gotten the attention of potential applicants, take the opportunity to dive into your organization’s perks and benefits. Studies show that up to 80% of Americans prefer a strong benefits package over a higher salary. Showing off your company’s professional, financial, or lifestyle incentives may place your position at the top of a CNM’s list.

Template:

  • Competitive pay
  • $3,000 retention bonus after 2-year contract
  • 401(k) matching and access to our pension program
  • Health, dental, and vision benefits
  • FSA/HSA options
  • Paid vacation/holiday/family leave
  • Free continuing education (CE) courses
  • Tuition reimbursement up to $8,000 per year
  • Annual scrub and footwear stipend

Duties and Responsibilities

Tips: While CNMs primarily provide gestational care, they also assist non-childbearing patients address gynecological and reproductive health needs from adolescence through adulthood. These clinicians work in a variety of care settings, including acute care hospitals, women’s health clinics, telehealth triage departments, and birthing centers.

The expectations and responsibilities outlined in hospital CNM job descriptions may vary significantly from those in clinic or telehealth CNM postings. Be sure to specify unique duties of certified nurse midwives at your organization to help prospective candidates understand whether they have the skills your organization requires.

Template:

Certified nurse midwives at our facility are expected to perform the following duties:

  • Triage incoming patients according to condition severity
  • Perform prenatal and postnatal physical examinations and document findings in the electronic health record (EHR)
  • Collect maternal and infant vital signs (heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, pain, fetal heart tones, oxygen saturation, etc.) and notify the obstetrician with any abnormal findings
  • Administer oral and intravenous medications and monitor for adverse reactions
  • Assist during vaginal and cesarean deliveries
  • Provide emotional support to mothers and their family members
  • Review educational resources and follow-up appointment schedule prior to patient discharge

Compensation and Schedule

Tips: Switching jobs can be stressful. Outline the reasons why working at your facility is worth the effort.

Offering applicants a competitive salary is one way to recruit and maintain high-quality employees. Allowing for flexible scheduling is another way to entice nurses to apply. Be sure to review accurate hourly rates and weekly shift requirements to prevent any misunderstandings down the line.

Template:

  • Starting salary at $95,000, with adjustments made for relevant education and experience level
  • Full time employment at 36 hours a week
  • Day or night shift positions available for 12-hour shifts (7a-7p or 7p-7a)
  • On-call evening shifts required (four 8-hour blocks per month)
  • Overtime, night-shift, and holiday pay available
  • Bi-weekly or weekly pay periods

CNM Qualifications and Skills

Tips: In this section of your CNM job description, you’ll want to list your organization’s certified nurse midwife education requirements, certifications, and licensure expectations.

Some jobs are open to new CNMs, while others require years of clinical practice. Be sure to clarify the experience level you’re looking for.

It’s important to differentiate which qualifications are required and which are preferred to optimize your applicant pool (which you can explore in greater detail during the interview process).Outlining beneficial skills and behavioral characteristics can also help nurse candidates better understand the type of clinician you’re looking for.

Template:

Required Qualifications:

  • RN license (BSN candidates favored)
  • American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB) CNM credential
  • Minimum 2 years of experience working as a CNM
  • BLS, ACLS, PALS, and NRP certified
  • Critical thinking skills in high-stress environments
  • Working knowledge of electronic health record (EHR) technology
  • Strong interpersonal communication skills

Preferred Qualifications:

  • At least 5 years of bedside RN experience (labor and delivery, postpartum care, prenatal care, or other relevant department)
  • Trained in AWHONN basic, intermediate, and advanced fetal monitoring
  • Labor and delivery nurse certification (RNC-OB)
  • Previous experience in a unit leadership or charge-nurse role
  • Bilingual in English and Spanish

Call to Action

Tips: At the end of your job posting, be sure to provide information on how to submit an application. You’ve put valuable time and effort into crafting your CNM job description — don’t lose qualified nurses to technical difficulties or tedious online forms.

Including a “Click Here to Apply” or “Apply Now” button can help candidates get straight to work on their application. Allow candidates to upload their cover letters and resumes directly to the online application to make the whole process quicker and easier.

Template:

Think you have what it takes to join our team? Take the next step in your professional nursing career by clicking “Apply Now.” Thank you for your interest — we look forward to hearing from you!

Hire CNMs From the Nation’s Largest Nursing Network

Now that you’ve written a great CNM job description, you’re well on your way to attracting top-tier applicants. Want to fill your vacant position quickly but not sure how? Listing your job posting on our nationwide job board can help you reach over 1 million qualified and caring nursing professionals who are looking for work.