Advice for future Nursing Faculty

[LuBen]

Hello

I am a current nursing student in an ADN program. I always thought I wanted to work in Pediatrics or a NICU. Last term an instructor planted the idea of becoming nursing faculty in my head. I had never imagined that I would want to become a teacher, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that I really wanted to do it. I started to notice myself helping other students on things like the head to toe assessment, and studying for finals. I even noticed a change in the way I interacted with others in the clinical setting.

I have heard that there are RN to MSN programs and that is what I am planning on right now. Does anybody have any advice?

[dorimar, BSN, RN]

I didn't choose teaching because i always wanted to be a teacher. I chose to teach nursing because I was always a nurse, and started to see some bad practice in my beloved profession and wanted to have a positive impact. I believe that nursing educators need experience. I teach nursing because I really know nursing and have a vision of what my profession can be. So, I guess what I am saying is, get some experience, then if you love nursing and think you can teach it well, then consider teaching nursing.

[Annieb2]

I am a nurse with many years experience. I chose to teach nursing because I love to teach student nurses in the clinical and classroom setting. I would not be as effective in the classroom/clinical without my prior nursing experience. I think that is great that you are looking into teaching. My advise is to get nursing experience in the clinical setting.

[LuBen]

I agree with both of you 100%...I plan on getting experience while I am completing my masters. I am planning on it taking me awhile to finish. Teaching is a long term goal for me!

[JaneyW]

I had the same thoughts back in my ADN program and am now teaching. Yes, as the other posters said, first you need some experience. You also need to love nursing because I think that comes through in your teaching. It helps you to inspire your students if you are inspired. My specialty is OB and I worked L&D, postpartum and well-baby nursery in a community hospital (low risk), a teaching hospital (high risk), and also as registry (many different levels and places!). I purposefully changed places so that I could have many different experiences to share with my students. This has been a plus.

I also got an MSN with an emphasis on education so I could have a student-teaching experience. This was invaluable. My mentor was one of my ADN instructors and she was awesome. She made my transition to teaching so much easier. Some of the best advice I received was to do my student teaching in a different area than my specialty. I did med/surg fundamentals and that helped me get back my basic med/surg skills and allowed me to teach students in fundamentals and OB. I LOVE it! Good luck to you--study hard!

[llg, PhD, RN]

Don't get your clinical experience in NICU. Schools don't hire many faculty members who are experts in NICU. Consider the basic undergraduate clinical areas when choosing the type of clinical experience to get -- med/surg, geriatrics, general peds, OB, community health, psych. That's the kind of experience schools are looking for when they are looking for new faculty.

[NightAngelle]

I am a nurse with many years experience. I chose to teach nursing because I love to teach student nurses in the clinical and classroom setting. I would not be as effective in the classroom/clinical without my prior nursing experience. I think that is great that you are looking into teaching. My advise is to get nursing experience in the clinical setting.

That is the same reason I would like to go into nursing education. I enjoy students more than most do...I love to see the light bulb go off, and I've been told on numerous occasions that although I'm laid back, that actually facilitates learning because I'm not a SPAZ. LOL. I take it seriously, however, when a student is not progressing like they should, and though I am honest with them, I am not condescending.