[snowfreeze]

I currently have 13 1/2 years nursing experience which covers med/surg, pre-hospital, ICU, CCU, Trauma, Neuro, flight, supervisor, geriatrics, dementia, LTC, community mental health and dementia behavior. I am planning to return to school for nurse educator and I received my application for the University Of Pittsburgh a few days ago. I currently have an Associate Degree from a community college. All the postings here are encouraging and quite helpful.

[CrissyRN23]

Hey All,

I am a recent BSN graduate, 23 years-old....I was working in a hospital for a little bit, on the Neonatal Intensive Care unit, but a teaching job opened and I looked into it. Its at a career school in my county, teaching LPNs. I love working with kids so leaving the hospital was difficult, but I was asked to teach maternal child health and pediatrics and also be the pediatric clinical instructor. This is a great opportunity and I jumped at the chance. I start on Jan. 23 and I am very nervous because I don't really have all that much experience as an RN and NONE as a teacher. Plus, most of my students are much, much older than me and I am afraid they won't respect me. Should I be worried?

[s and t]

Originally Posted by CrissyRN23

Hey All,

I am a recent BSN graduate, 23 years-old....I was working in a hospital for a little bit, on the Neonatal Intensive Care unit, but a teaching job opened and I looked into it. Its at a career school in my county, teaching LPNs. I love working with kids so leaving the hospital was difficult, but I was asked to teach maternal child health and pediatrics and also be the pediatric clinical instructor. This is a great opportunity and I jumped at the chance. I start on Jan. 23 and I am very nervous because I don't really have all that much experience as an RN and NONE as a teacher. Plus, most of my students are much, much older than me and I am afraid they won't respect me. Should I be worried?

Congratulations on your new teaching job !

I was in a similar situation a few years ago, no previous teaching experience, and so nervous I wanted to throw up. I was honest with the students at the outset and explained it was my first teaching position. I would just say if you come across something you cannot answer right then and there, tell your students you will get back to them. An instructor I worked with one time was always so worried she needed to be the "expert", she ended up alientating some of the students when she was not entirely sure of something.

Find a buddy instructor/mentor. They are worth their weight in gold. And when you are starting out, don't forget to TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF! Its easy to put the pressure on yourself when you are orientating to your new position. Rome wasn't built in a day!

The best of luck to you!

[blabs]

HELLO! INTERESTING INPUT. I'M NEW HERE.. I'M VERY MUCH INTERESTED IN BEING A NURSING EDUCATOR. I HAVE APPLIED FOR THE JOB AND THE DEAN WANTS ME TO DO A TEACHING DEMO. I DON'T HAVE A CLUE WHAT TOPIC TO DISCUSS, I WANT TO MAKE IT SIMPLE YET IMPRESSIVE. I DONT HAVE MUCH HOSPITAL EXPERIENCE AND DEFINITELY NO TEACHING EXPERIENCE AT ALL! WHAT CAN YOU ADVICE? THANKS AND MORE POWER.

[dayay01]

thank you so much vicky! i am a new nurse educator at southville international school here in the philippines. i graduated 1993 but i worked in offices and banks...i know its quite stupid of me....now it is my first time to teach...i love teaching and i always put my heart into it.....but considering this new task i get so scared. your tips really helped me a lot. god bless you!

[rhenmag9]

Thank you for the tips....its been 3 months since I started teaching 3rd year students...It is true that hand outs saves time and energy but some students are not that responsible for taking notes, they rely on the hand outs and most of the time photocopy the transparency...

[Xlink]

HI Vicky. I can quite relate to your write up. Informative and just what i need. I hope there are more insights here about how to prepare students more effectively for the NLEX. From where i came from, it would really be of great help. Kudos.

Originally Posted by VickyRN

Welcome to the wonderful and rewarding field of nursing education! We certainly need you and this next generation of nurses needs you!

My best advice for you is to make sure you have a mentor or preceptor at the school. Make sure that your mentor is someone you can trust, someone with integrity. (Unfortunately, horizontal violence is alive and well among nursing faculty, so choose your confidants and friends wisely. Stay out of interpersonal conflicts and politics.)

Hopefully the instructors who preceded you left copies of their lecture notes, etc. Some are more thorough than others. It is very difficult (but not impossible ) creating lectures purely from scratch.

Research your lecture material thoroughly, until it becomes part of you and you feel a passion for that subject. As you lecture, that enthusiasm will shine through and spark interest in the students. There is great virtue in simplicity (KISS, stay on target and to the point as possible). Less is more. Try not to drown the students with too much information. I know, I know. This is nearly impossible with ADN and BSN curricula, but try anyway Always let your students know what are the most important points of your lecture as you are lecturing.

I give out handouts. Caution: Don't give out too many (as I did my first year of teaching and "drowned" my students). Remember the axiom: Less is more. Simple handouts with the main points of your lecture save time--you will be able to get more bang for your buck, as time is very scarce with lecturing (SO MUCH information, so LITTLE TIME). Good handouts will enable the students to write less and concentrate on what you are saying more. I also encourage my students to use tape recorders. That way they aren't so frantic to catch my every word. If your nursing school has a web site, use it to your students' advantage. Post your lecture notes and study guides there. Your students will appreciate the convenience. I try to post my lecture notes early so the students have a chance to read my notes ahead of time.

Integrate pertinent NCLEX-type questions as you lecture. Especially after more important subjects are covered, throw out a question or two. This helps the students process the material better, and also helps with their test-taking skills.

If a study guide is included with your text book, refer to it often and have the students use it (don't recreate the wheel). If not, create a simple one yourself. The students really appreciate having them.

Writing exam questions is an art. It takes time to develop this skill. Nursing test questions are modeled after the NCLEX and are "higher order." Most teachers and students (!) aren't accustomed to this type of testing at first. Instead of a simple knowledge question, you are requiring your students to think critically (analyze, evaluate, prioritize), which is so essential to safe nursing practice. All nursing textbooks come with a test bank. I would use these questions first. After awhile, you will learn to create your own. Caution: make sure you choose your test questions BEFORE you lecture, so that your lecture will include this material!

Hope this little bit of advice helps. Any other more "seasoned" veterans feel free to post here. I welcome your input.

[bevll]

As an educator in a small rural hospital, i am stretched to the limit trying to do annual mandatory inservices and departmental specific inservices. Has anyone used self study modules? Are they effective? I need some feedback. Educators, Please help me. bevll

[sirI]

Originally Posted by bevll

As an educator in a small rural hospital, i am stretched to the limit trying to do annual mandatory inservices and departmental specific inservices. Has anyone used self study modules? Are they effective? I need some feedback. Educators, Please help me. bevll

I use this method all the time. The inspectors told us that as long as you had documentation of inservice, self study modules were acceptable. And, I go to my employees and seek their input on different articles/modules of study. Even have them provide some of them to take off some of my workload.

[Hutchy]

Originally Posted by Debbiecm

I most certainly appreciate the tips for new nurse educators. I hope that I will be provided with some teaching aids and some sort of outline of what is expected of the students. I'm a little nervous about the starting from scratch. I loved my Maternity Text. I wish I could use that..........I guess I have no idea what I'm getting into.
Debbie

Hoo, boy! You got that right! BUT if you will keep your sense of humor you'll probably be all right. For me what works best is being human with the students. I let them see I'm not infallible and I let them see that I know a WHOLE lot more than they do, but that I'm willing to share. For most, this makes them my willing slaves.

Everything I know about teaching I learned form my students. I can always improve on what has gone before. I enjoy teaching so much, and that shows, too. Now if only I could convince some others I could name to take the same attitude!