Am I too young in experience to teach?

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Specializes in Emergency.

Hello there! I am considering beginning an MSN-Nursing Education next spring but want to ask your opinion to make sure I’m not out of my mind. I have three years experience in a 1,400-bed (total) facility emergency room. We have high volume and high acuity so I do feel I’m exposed to quite a lot. I started at a level 1 trauma center recently and am paying my dues to get into the trauma bays. I am considering leaving this position to go back to my old ED at the PRN pay rate I get now but full time hours (we’re always hurting for people to pick up shifts so usually available) and go back to precepting there. I’ve precepted one new grad (15 week program) and a nursing practicum student.

The reason I’m considering this switch is I want to get my MSN to teach, so I could start precepting again right away and learn more about it and sharpen my teaching skills. During that time, I wanted to start the MSN. By the time I’m done with it, I’ll have 5-6 years experience. From there, I was hoping to land an adjunct teaching job and get a couple years of experience in that while still working at the bedside which will then give me even more clinical experience and teaching experience toward landing a full-time teaching job.

Does this sound like a reasonable plan? I know experience-wise I’m on the young side but by the time I get to a full-time gig I’ll be closer to 10 years experience. My favorite professor in nursing school was 10 years strictly ED and she was a badass that taught us a lot. I am unfamiliar with the market for nurse educators and would love some feedback.

Thank you!!

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

Sounds perfectly reasonable. ?

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Specializes in Education, Skills & Simulation, Med/Surg, Pharm.

Do it!! Nursing was a second career for me. I started my MSN exactly 3 years into being a nurse. I worked contingent as a RN during school and my first couple years teaching. I no longer do as I have young kids. I love my job. I'm now looking into doctoral programs. I teach at a highly ranked university in the BSN program. It's wonderful.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I started my RN to MSN journey in year three, completed it in year six.

You aren't too young in experience to do this.

Signed, someone doing it.

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I had a 25-year-old who still worked full time as a RN teach our pediatrics class, and a 26-year-old precepting me for my final role transition who had two years of ICU experience. They were some of the best teachers I had. If you have the passion and are willing to receive constructive criticism on your teaching style I think you can do it!

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Specializes in critical care, med/surg.

You have the advantage of having been exposed to the most up to date information in nursing, via your school. That replaces years in experience if as someone said, "are you passionate"?

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
On ‎10‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 6:42 PM, organichombre said:

You have the advantage of having been exposed to the most up to date information in nursing, via your school. That replaces years in experience if as someone said, "are you passionate"?

Nope. Book learning and actual experience are two completely different things. You cannot teach that which you have not done, particularly when it requires critical thinking.

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Specializes in Education, Skills & Simulation, Med/Surg, Pharm.
34 minutes ago, Nurse SMS said:

Nope. Book learning and actual experience are two completely different things. You cannot teach that which you have not done, particularly when it requires critical thinking.

I second this. I think younger nurses make great nursing professors, but you definitely need to have worked in the area you're teaching. My med/surg professor had written textbooks on med/surg nursing and was very well known but had never actually worked in a hospital as a nurse. Her lack of real world stories to pull from and real world understanding of how the text/research translates into nursing was a big problem.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
1 hour ago, HOPEforRNs said:

I second this. I think younger nurses make great nursing professors, but you definitely need to have worked in the area you're teaching. My med/surg professor had written textbooks on med/surg nursing and was very well known but had never actually worked in a hospital as a nurse. Her lack of real world stories to pull from and real world understanding of how the text/research translates into nursing was a big problem.

Exactly. Maybe I misunderstood somehow but it sounded like organichombre is stating that once someone has taken a class they are qualified to teach it. Not so.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Transplant, Education.

I agree with those stating that you need to have worked in the area you're teaching/have a lot of exposure to it. I'm a "young" nursing professor at 33 years old with 11 years nursing experience, 4 years of formal nurse educator experience (many years of precepting new employees/practicum students prior). I went back for my MSN Nursing Education at 24 years old when I had been a nurse for 2 years. Teaching for an accelerated BSN program means sometimes my students are older than me, or commonly around the same age! All the courses I've ever taught I have significant experience with. I currently teach med/surg clinical (have been in med/surg for 7 years of my career, rehab before that so strong background in adults), fundamentals lab, & pathopharmacology lecture, in the past have taught med/surg & fundamental level lectures as well. If you asked me to teach pedi, maternity, etc I would say heck no because I have no experience or comfort level with the material! I continue to work as a bedside nurse 24 hour nights and teach clinical on the unit I work on and I think that the students really appreciate that and get a lot out of it since I am so comfortable there.

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Specializes in NICU/Mother-Baby/Peds/Mgmt.

I worked on a floor where it was deemed a nurse who hadn't even finished orientation yet was competent to orient new nurses. You'll be fine!!

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This is my two cents. Keep your job but pick up a prn job on a med-surg floor. Unless your getting a PHD, your role as a nurse educator will include clinical teaching. Most likely that will be on a med-surg floor and you need to show you have a little experience/background in this area. if you have precepted at all....you can already use that as a selling point.

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