[brian]

This month's survey Question:

Do you think of "Nursing Education" as a nursing specialty?

Please take a minute to take answer our survey and please feel free to reply to this topic to post any comments that you may have on the topic.

[llg]

I am curious as to why some people are votine "no." To me it seems obvious that knowing how to teach something is different than knowing how to it. Some people are good at one and not-so-good at the other.

What am I missing?

llg

[dbotz]

Originally Posted by brian

This month's survey Question:

Do you think of "Nursing Education" as a nursing specialty?

Please take a minute to take answer our survey and please feel free to reply to this topic to post any comments that you may have on the topic.

Nursing Education is a specialty as it requires more than just a nursing degree. It requires education as a nurse and as an educator to do a good job. Not all nurses are good educators, just as not all educators are nurses.

Education is needed to learn about test development, learning styles, evaluation, teaching techniques, etc. These are not topics that are taught in nursing school. These are skills that require additional education and training.

[kaufmlin]

Hi. My name is Linda and I have been an RN for 27 years. I have worked in a wide variety of nursing specialties over the years and this has made my career quite interesting and fun. In response at to whether Nursing Education is a specialty, I believe it is. Each person has their own talents. Some, like my husband, love to get up in front of large and small groups and educate on various topics. These individuals are prepared, allow the group to ask questions and respond to their questions, they don't drone on and on but keep the subject moving fluently, have visual aids,etc. They know their topic well. There are good nurse educators and some who are not so good, but they try.....just like in each nurse specialty, you have some nurses who are very competent and others who still are learning and not as sharp as others in their area of work. Some nurses would feel uncomfortable being a nurse educator due to fear of speaking in front of groups, and not having developed this area of nursing for themselves. Some just flatout do not want to teach nursing groups and prefer to be educated by someone else. Being a nurse educator is a special gift. Yes, I believe it is a specialty!

[missmercy]

Originally Posted by dbotz

Nursing Education is a specialty as it requires more than just a nursing degree. It requires education as a nurse and as an educator to do a good job. Not all nurses are good educators, just as not all educators are nurses.

Education is needed to learn about test development, learning styles, evaluation, teaching techniques, etc. These are not topics that are taught in nursing school. These are skills that require additional education and training.

Very well said!!

[Wintrsday]

I voted "no" that nursing educators are not specialists and let me tell you why, most of those who are hired to be nursing educators (I am talking about those who teach staff nurses in the hospital setting) have no specialized training whatsoever. The nurse on our unit who is a nursing educator got the position solely on the fact that no one else applied. The same can be said of other units in our hospital, there are no certification programs required, no special classes or training, only that they have a BSN. For the two nurses who teach clinicals for the college, no special liscensing or training were required, again only a BSN. One is a nurse I have great respect for and am very happy to have teach our next generation of nurses, she is knowledgable, caring and gives great care to our patients. The other I have very little respect for, I hate to follow as the nurse after her, she does not give good care, and she is teaching the next generation of RN's?

[liza tamkin]

Each nurse must be able to provide sound rational for the nursing care that they provide(evidence based nursing) and each nurse must have a sound practical and theoretical base to work from. A Nursing educator is any one who can pull theory and practice together to enable others to give care which is more evidence based. As our experience grows we become more confident to share our knowledge and theory base with others. I think that it is necessary to have someone to take the lead when it comes to training and deveolopment because they can do a learning needs assessment and link up people to the right courses to try to prevent huge gaps in theoretical/ practical knowledge.

[CindyJRN]

I voted yes. While I agree with Wintrsday that some educators are just hired for the position because it is there, I believe some nurse educators do go the extra mile to become qualified or take continuing education themselves. I went back for CE to get my "Train-the-trainer" certificate in order to teach CNAs (a few years ago). A lot of preparation was done on how to teach adults. A Nurse needs to just have more than LPN or RN behind the name in order to be an effective teacher. I can't say enough about the wonderful Nurse Educator at my hospital. She is accessible on a daily basis if we need her!!!

[llg]

Originally Posted by Wintrsday

I voted "no" that nursing educators are not specialists and let me tell you why, most of those who are hired to be nursing educators (I am talking about those who teach staff nurses in the hospital setting) have no specialized training whatsoever. The nurse on our unit who is a nursing educator got the position solely on the fact that no one else applied. The same can be said of other units in our hospital, there are no certification programs required, no special classes or training, only that they have a BSN. For the two nurses who teach clinicals for the college, no special liscensing or training were required, again only a BSN. One is a nurse I have great respect for and am very happy to have teach our next generation of nurses, she is knowledgable, caring and gives great care to our patients. The other I have very little respect for, I hate to follow as the nurse after her, she does not give good care, and she is teaching the next generation of RN's?

Thanks for explaining your "no" vote ... but I think there is a flaw in your logic. Just because the nurses you know who happen to be educators have not received the extra training they SHOULD have for their role, doesn't mean the specialty doesn't exist. (Though perhaps they have received received more education than you know through on-the-job training programs.)

As others have pointed out, there is additional knowledge and skills required of a nurse educator. You have to know how to teach as well as how to nurse. There are specialty organizations and an official certification exam for staff development.

It's a shame that some employers are willing to hire unqualified people and/or don't provide staff with the additional education needed to fulfill educational roles. But that doesn't mean it isn't a specialty -- and shouldn't be respected as such.

llg

[VickyRN]

Yes, definitely. Although patient teaching is expected of all nurses, and most experienced nurses precept others new to the field, nursing education in and of itself is a specialty and should be recognized as such. Many Masters in Nursing programs are now offering a Nurse Educator concentration. The NLN will be offering a certification (in 2005) for nurse educators. We are facing a critical shortage of nurse educators and desperately need others to join our ranks.