MSN Nurse Educator

Kelly,

I attended Walden University online for my masters degree in nursing education. It was great, and you could always contact the instructors if you had questions. Hope this helps. I also did not have any problems with obtaining a job after graduation.

I have just been accepted into Uiversity of North Dakota's online MSN-Nurse Educator program and my advisor it very open to calls with any concerns or questions. To answer your question about teaching experience before graduation, I did something a little different. I went to a community college and found they needed someone to teach first-aid and safety, then I became BLS certified instructor and taught some more, and finally ended up teaching med/curg/ob clinicals for practical nursing students before attending grad school. As long a syou have a Bachelor's degree, they most likely will let you teach their "extra electives" courses. It's been real fun and it all counts as experience!

I have been a nurse for 38 years, started as an LPN went on for my ADN, then my BSN and a year ago obtained my MSN in Nursing Education through Grand Canyon University online. I have a tremendous amount of clinical experience and have practiced in ICU (am a CCRN), have been a Director of ICU, IMCU, and Dialysis for the past 2 years. Have practiced in diversified settings over the years Home Health IV Therapy (CRNI), Hospice, Subacute Coordinator, Radiology Special Procedures, Med-Surg Trauma Progressive Care Unit, Telemetry, etc. All through my career I have taught patients, new nurses, and lectured as an expert nurse in many subjects. I did an onsite practicum at the end of my MSN program with a local college. The Nursing Coordinator at the college requested I teach as an Adjunct, at the time I was too busy being a Director. I just recently left the stress of that position and set out to teach! I am becoming quite discouraged as everyone wants a Doctorate degree, or 3-5 years of experience! Well I am not interested in going back for a Doctorate degree to find they still want someone with 3-5 years of academic experience and can only work as an adjunct! I find it quite ridiculous that we hire and precept new grads of nursing and our colleges of nursing do not reciprocate. In a time with an unprecedented shortage of nurses predicted and the need for nursing faculty I find articles and blogs about Adjuncts as Sharecroppers as schools are saving money by only having a few fulltime faculty members and sourcing the rest out to adjuncts for low pay and no benefits shameful. I can only hope that as the Healthcare Reform hits there is some recognition of Academic Reform needs!

What state do you practice in Kelly?