NCLEX Classes: Teaching?

As I mentioned in the other post, I'm currently starting a tutoring business for nursing students. Not doing NCLEX prep per-se, but more focusing on helping with classes and preparing/passing exit exams to graduate. I have a link to my website on my profile if you want to take a peek.

I agree that there is an opportunity to teach NCLEX prep. Although there is a lot of competition from a variety of NCLEX prep companies, I think there is such a high demand that there is still plenty of room in the market....if you find the right niche. And it sounds like you have a good idea already, emphasizing the "personal, local" angle to your business. The only possible problem is the amount of income you make would be limited by how much time you have to teach.

I do think students are becoming a little wary of Kaplan, and Kaplan is trying to adapt, though. They now offer a live, online review class. Not sure how long that's been around, I don't remember seeing it offered when I took NCLEX a few years back.

As for materials...honestly, I probably wouldn't pay to buy a "business in a box," especially if you are already an instructor. You can use any lesson plans you already have, as well as textbooks or NCLEX review books to guide you in the topics you should cover.

I do not work for a college, but have experience teaching in other venues so I like to write my own study guides and assignments, as well as the content I go over in my review sessions. But I always use a variety of nursing textbooks and NCLEX review books to write them. Also, I have not yet developed a test bank of NCLEX practice questions, so I use my favorite review book when I do them with my students. Also, I make all of my tutoring students buy that particular book to practice out of, and I basically recommend it to any student who asks me.

As for getting started...a great idea is to offer free 'teaser' reviews at local schools. And of course advertise your services before, during, and after the free review session It will get your name out there, and start to give you experience on what teaching NCLEX prep is like. Another option is to approach the schools and offer to teach an NCLEX prep course. I am currently working with a school that is paying me using Title 3 funds to do review sessions for their students trying to pass exit exams. So there are a lot of ways you could get started.

Hi,

I really like your comments. I am interested in starting a RN tutoring business focusing on miniority students. I been a assistant nursing professor for a number of years and love teaching. What would be the steps in starting this business?

Hi velmalws! I find that tutoring is still much needed by many nursing students. The biggest challenge is finding a format that pays you what you're worth as a tutor. Obviously, most nursing tutors don't do it only for the money, but we've got to eat too! And as you've probably guessed, the average nursing student has a cash flow problem. I would suggest focusing on business models and even products that help keep costs down for students while still earning enough to make it worth your time.

For example, offering small group tutoring would allow the students to pay less per person, while still giving you a reasonable hourly rate for an experienced specialty tutor (3 students x $20/hr = $60/hr). Other options include coordinating with local schools to offer optional review sessions, and charging students $5-10/student to attend. If most of the class decides to attend, then you'll do pretty well for a 1-2 hour review session. That's just some examples of how you can "think outside the box" to provide tutoring but still get paid enough. Even this model makes it tough (or impossible) for tutoring to be a full-time job, though, because it's still very time intensive and you're still going to be limited by what your local nursing students can afford to pay.

NCLEX and/or HESI review classes are also an option, and students are usually willing to pay a bit more for those.

I chose an online model for my tutoring business (you can see my website link if you go to my profile). When I do individual or small group tutoring, I use video conferencing software (which is cheap or free, depending on your needs, and easy to learn how to use) so I can be available to any nursing student in the world. That definitely opens up my tutoring market so it's easier to find students who are able to pay my rates.

But I also want to provide services that are more affordable, so I created and recorded an 8-week class teaching students the best ways to study and how to learn to think like a nurse. Now students can sign up and start anytime they want, and I can charge a lot less per student because I have to spend less of my time with each student (I still provide great customer service and unlimited email support for questions, so the class isn't completely automated and they still get a "personal touch").

I think my best advice before you proceed with a business like this is to answer two questions for yourself:
1) Are you doing this to earn money, or more as a public service?
2) If you are doing it to earn money, can you develop a business model that will actually earn money?

Question #2 is where most potential nursing tutors get stuck, so think about it carefully. Of course, if you decide that you want to offer tutoring more as a public service, then #2 isn't as important (although I DO find that some students are more committed if they pay, even if it's just a token amount). When you're answering #2, make sure to remember that tutoring is more than just the time you spend with the student...it's also any prep time you need, time spent creating worksheets, writing practice NCLEX questions, talking to students via phone or email in between tutoring sessions, advertising your services, scheduling your sessions, and travel time. You can see how something like $60/hr might SEEM like a lot for tutoring, but when you take into account all the time spent outside of the actual session then it's actually not that much

Hope that gives you some more ideas to think about as you work through this planning process. Feel free to ask me any questions or run any ideas by me...I love talking business, especially tutoring business!

I think you guys have great ideas. One of the reason on line programs don't have as much interest is because its self directed learning and well..., life gets in the way at home, and the student doesn't stick with it. Also, nothing beats immediate classroon feedback. I agree that people value what they pay for. If free was best, the Salvation Army and other discount places would never keep stock.