Hi All!
I am a RN with 3 years of experience in OB and have recently been hired at a for profit college with the vocational nursing program. I was originally hired for a per diem clinincal intructor position but during the process of being approved, a full time position opened up and it was offered to me and I decided to take it.
It had always been my long term goal to get my Masters degree in nursing and then start teaching, but I never expected to be hired while I was in the process of getting my MSN. I decided to take this job because it would 1) get me in the education field 2) it was a daytime position that would alow me more time with my family 3) there was virtually no change in how much money I made. It seemed like a no-brainer.
Now that I have been working there for about 8 weeks, I am beginning to wonder if I have made a terrible terrible mistake. They hired me knowing that I had no experience teaching, but yet gave me absolutely no training or orientation. I spend hours and hours of my own time making lectures and exams for areas of nursing that I have never worked in, thus I have very little idea of what I am talking about. After spending hours on my lectures, the DON came to me 5 minutes before starting my last lecture and informed me that I have had several complaints and my test scores are not good and that I needed to change my way of lecturing today. The other teacher keeps throwing me under the bus because I'm low man on the totem pole and don't know any better.
I'm used to working with a group of nurses that know how to work as a team and will help each other out. This is completely foreign to me and I feel so isolated and alone. My mother and aunt (both teachers) keep telling me that the first year is the hardest and it gets better, but I'm really having my doubts. I have been thinking of lookin at getting back into the hospital. Does anyone think I'm overreacting? Is this the norm and I just need to stick with it, or is this completly OK?
Also the students are pure evil. I feel like I am teaching a group of 7 year olds and not adults that are in college and paying money out of pocket to be there.
Signed,
Completly overwhelmed and bewildered.
p.s. I have also had to drop out of my Masters program because I cannot do both at the same time since I am spending so much of my own time on grading and lectures.