Doula Training?

I have an opportunity to participate in a training course that would give me all the classroom time necessary to become a DONA certified doula.  This may seem a little out of left field for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that I wimped out and got an epidural in my own birth, however I have interest in doing this for other reasons.  I am trying to decide if it makes sense to give up an entire weekend plus almost $700 to embark on this and my gut keeps telling me it is.

First, I dream of being a labor and delivery, postpartum or fertility nurse.  I know these preferences may change as I go to nursing school and participate in the clinicals in all the different areas of the hospital, but for now these are the areas where I have so much interest and passion that I cannot get enough exposure or information.  It seems like doula training would be a mini-fast track into that world.  Even if it did come in a different "flavor" than the normal nursing curriculum would.

I also would think that having this training could only be helpful to my future patients.  I have no intention of ever changing a patient's true wishes when it comes to her birth plan, but if someone came in on my shift who was a lot like me (just wanting to experience labor and see how my body managed it), I think I could be more supportive to those women and offer them tips and tricks that would allow them to better attain whatever goal they had.  The hospital I delivered in was very "natural childbirth friendly" so I never really felt pressured to get an epidural from the staff, but I also didn't feel any real support or guidance from the doctors or nurses that could help me.  If I hadn't hired a doula of my own I would have been hooked up to an IV and an epidural 4 hours after I arrived, but with my doula, I experienced real, raw active labor (with water broken) for almost 12 hours before getting an epidural and starting to talk c-section.  I know I couldn't have done it without her, but I'm so proud of myself for doing it.  I wonder if I could help women who didn't have doulas make it just slightly longer in the process.

Another big reason that I think this could be an interesting use of time and money is that I do have a minor underlying fear that I might not have the guts to be a nurse.  I have a tendency to panic in situations where I have no idea what to do.  Now, with that being said, if I DO know what to do, I can be remarkably calm, so I think as I gain the knowledge that is necessary to be in this role, I should be able to calmly, confidently and effectively perform.  The problem is, there really isn't a good way to do a "trial run".  I can't shadow a nurse today and know if I would be able to handle it, because today, I don't have the skills, so of course I wouldn't' feel comfortable.  On the other hand, by the time I obtain the skills and training, there is no longer any value in the trial run because I have already spent the years in school, the money on classes and left my full time job to pursue this dream.  If I find out then that I don't have what it takes, then I'm kind of screwed.  Enter the mini-trial-run.  The thought assisting a laboring woman in the hospital is not all that intimidating because you're surrounded by so many medical professionals who know exactly what to do, but the thought of assisting that woman in her home before she goes to the hospital is slightly more concerning.  Doulas, by definition, are not medical professionals and do not perform medical tests or procedures, but the laboring woman is looking to the doula to help guide her through the process.

Finally, I just think it might be a fascinating class and I can't imagine that learning more about anything related to the body would be a bad idea at this point.  So, now I just need to decide how to convince my husband that he needs to be on his own with the 2 year old for the entire weekend and I need to spend all this money on this class that won't actually go towards my nursing degree...it's still a tough decision.