Attention Nurse Educators!

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Specializes in NPD; Administration; M/S; Critical Care.

Your responses are instrumental in my career choice: It's either FNP or Nurse Educator for me! So, my question for you is: are you happy with being an educator? The liability issue-is it an issue with educators in the classroom setting, or is this strictly a clinical setting situation? Is there really a huge need for educators? It'll take me 18 months to finish my MSN in education, so I'm looking ahead to the job situation at that time!

I've had an interest in becoming an FNP for awhile, but now that decision-making time is here, I'm looking at the stress levels involved in both careers. The older I get, the less stress I'd like to be involved in! FNP seems to have more stress than being an educator, so clarify that if I'm wrong, please!

Thanks,

UnitRN01

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

I am NP and an educator. I love both, but my heart is in education.

I carry liabilty insurance as an NP and would definitely carry it as an RN educator as well. As for in classroom liability, not so much. I've personally never known any type of liability issue in the classroom. Not to say there aren't any, but very rare, I'm sure.

Yes, we are desperate for educators at all levels of nursing.:)

Both career paths are stressful in their own way. One would think that patient care is THE most stressful and I suppose that is probably true. But, in my humble opinion, education is one of the most hardest jobs I have.

A different kind of stress.

Good luck with your decision(s).

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Specializes in NPD; Administration; M/S; Critical Care.

Thanks Siri, again, for your wisdom here; I appreciate your response!

Sincerely,

UnitRN01

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

You are qutie welcome.

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Specializes in critical care, management, med surg, edu.

When I was doing my NP practicum, I also worked as a clinical instructor. Comparing the two roles side by side, it was an easy choice for me to see that my talents were best applied to education. You might try to do something similar.

I do feel that anyone who is teaching should complete the course work specific to nursing education. NP and nurse educator degrees are complementary, but not interchangeable.

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Specializes in ED.

I finished my Nurse Educator program last year. I thought about doing the FNP first but I love education. There is a need for educators and in some areas there is a saturation of NPs. Of course now I want to complete the NP part so I can practice. I currently work casual in a ED.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

Have not worked as NP, but enjoy being an educator. There is stress, but usually pertains to deadlines and not making everybody happy at the same time (sounds like nursing!). I work in a hospital, but also work as adjunct faculty for local nursing school and teach NCLEX review courses 3-4 times a year. So there is plenty of variety.

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I have been charged with Recruiting Clinical Trainer for my organization. The position will sit in Bowie and does require travel to other locations. I am stumped at this point. Any suggestions on where I could find a Nurse with awesome clinical and Course Development and Training skills???

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

Call the Dean's office at the local nursing schools - especially if they offer a graduate program. I stay in touch with my alma mater for this very reason - to get names of talented people. Go Longhorns!

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THanks for the advice. I have tried in the past to reach out to Instructors @ local COlleges and Universities, but with no response. I will go back and try again. Do you know of any organizations/groups?

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

Try contacting other Educators in your area. The local chapter of ANCC is a good start, assuming there is one. CCRN, ENA and others all have chapters. Don't forget your own facility - everybody knows somebody. You might get HR involved and offer an incentive for a finder - like a small bonus or gift card, etc. My state board offers addresses for APN and RN and LVN's. You could do a mailing to nurses in specific zip codes.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Did you try working through NNSDO? Most of the 'hard core' nurse educators in my organization are members. We have a great network. I LOVE my job as the clinical education leader for a large healthcare system & I'm fortunate to work with educators at all our facilities. I also manage our LCMS & extensive elearning infrastructure - we're even venturing into high fidelity simulation now.

I have found it VERY difficult to find qualified nurse educators who are competent in all the varieties of ISD we currently have to deal with - from classroom to online and everything in between. Unfortunately, the career path still seems to be very "roundabout", with lots of nurses just landing in educator roles through no fault of their own. It can be very difficult to help these 'accidental' educators develop the skill-set they need to be effective in their new roles.... they don't really understand that education is a completely separate discipline that must be mastered.

That being said, be sure to check out NNSDO - they may even have a listing of their certified nurses you could purchase for your recruiting efforts.

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