I want to become a nursing educator..

[2bnurseguy_2005]

I have a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. I am thinking about going to nursing school and with hopes of getting into education (technical or community college). I know the pay is not that well but I would like to help others reach their goals of becoming a nurse.

Well, with that said, I am looking at some RN programs and see more ASN /ADN programs in my state. I read on here that you need a MSN to teach

I looked at some school websites and some faculty members dont have a MSN they have MBA's MPHs M.Eds MPAs.

I also am almost finished with a MBA.

So what would you suggest I do If I want to become a nursing educator?

Should I persue a ASN or try to get into a BSN program and what Masters program should I persue?

\thanks alot for your assistance

[llg, PhD, RN]

I think you need to think through exactly what you want to teach (and why) before you invest in much more education. You'll need to have an area of expertise in order to teach -- and that usually requires both work experience and education in the field. Once you figure out the type of expertise you want to develop (and teach), then the education you'll need to develop will become more clear.

For example, if you really want to teach clinical nursing (which is where most nursing educators begin their teaching careers), then you will need clinical nursing expertise in addition to a relevant academic degree. What clinical field are you most interested in? Are you prepared to actually work as a staff nurse for a while in that field before you start teaching? If not, then teaching clinical nursing is not for you.

If teaching nursing clinical courses is not for you ... then what is? Are you interested in teaching nursing management? Your business background would fit in well there, but you'll need to get experience being a nurse manager in order to be qualified to teach nursing management. Again, you'll need to get beside clinical experience and then earn a promotion into a management position. For that, you'll need at least a BSN.

Are you sure you want to be a nurse and not a health care administrator? That's another option for people with a busines background who want to get into the health care industry.

Another option is to look into the accelerated BSN and MSN entry-level programs for people with degrees in other fields. After graduation, you'll still need to actually practice a while to develop expertise and establish your nursing credibility -- but they get you on a "fast track" in terms of having the appropriate academic degree to move into leadership/teaching positions. That's probably the option I would choose. Starting with an ADN and then going back to school for a BSN and them maybe going back again for an MSN (depending on exactly what you want to teach) can take a long time.

llg