Adjunct faculty job

[proudnurse]

Hello, I am confused about how being an adjunct faculty member works in regards to how much you get to teach. So far I’m only teaching one course in the Summer quarter . It seems to me like whether I will get to teach is not guaranteed, we also have a lot of adjunct faculty. I was told there os nothing else available for me to teach as of now.  I don’t get how my job “hours” are not secure in the traditional sense of where you will work part time hours (adjunct) all the time guaranteed. Is this situation normal? Maybe I’m not understanding how all this works. Thanks!

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Adjunct is not part-time but rather per diem/ PRN if you want to think of it in terms of a hospital type schedule. So yes, your situation is normal. 

Especially if you only teach a specialty course (I see your bio says Psych). The broader your experience (MedSurg/ Critical Care) the more likely you are to get additional work. 

[MarkMyWords]

Yes, adjunct is like on/off teaching, no guarantee of future assignments or anything. Similar to contractual work, a hired hand...may last 1 semester or many years. It is not regular employment in that you are used when and where they need you, paid by the course.  For this reason, the wages are lower than full time educators with no benefits---unless you are part of a strong union at the college...not likely. Most adjuncts teach to supplement their other job or teach at 2 or more places and they enjoy the classes.

c

[Rnis, BSN, DNP, APRN, NP]

 I work with a few schools and I usually have offers from both.  Typically it is the less desirable hours/days as the full time staff gets first dibbs.  If they have decreased enrollment, they withdrawal the offer. That is the nature of Adjunct work. I have a full-time job and this is just money I put towards fun things....so I only take assignments that are mutually beneficial. 

[Dr. CP]

Our colleagues have already provided a lot of insight on how it works with adjunct faculty. What I can add is that with the pandemic, many of our clinical partners suspended our students' rotations indefinitely, affecting work for our clinical adjunct faculty. We have continued to use them as much as possible and gratefully, many chose to commit again when hospitals started inviting students back. I commend you though for wanting to work more considering the nursing faculty shortage across the country. Thanks for your contributions and I wish you the best.

[TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP]

As addressed by others, schools, colleges, and departments of nursing use adjunct positions the way they're intended to be used - to allow a department or school to bring in current practitioners in a field to teach in the classroom and/or supervise on-site learning.  Most nursing schools have a bevy of adjuncts which are used for supervising clinical rotations; some states require instructors with faculty rank to supervise lab sections as well.  Some schools will have an adjunct teach didactic sections, but if they're doing that they're possibly being auditioned for a non-tenure-track position.

Being able to teach multiple classes is one of the better ways to ensure consistently being picked up as an adjunct.  I gravitate towards teaching lab myself, either fundamental skills or health assessment, so when the program I first taught for only had 2 cohorts per year, there was always a class I could teach.  When they went up to 4 cohorts per year I could pick my favorite class and stick with it, which is when the second strategy to being consistently picked up came into play - I.e., be good at teaching a class other adjuncts don't want to teach, to the point that the program director/course coordinator will slot you in first.