Is it worth it?

[HappyRN14]

Hi nurses!

I am a current ADON with a BSN at an assisted living facility. I got called for a couple interviews for staff development positions at some nearby LTC facilities. I absolutely love my job right now, I am just not so sure I can continue this 24/7 on-call business once I start a family. I just cannot seem to ever get a weekend to myself and I am afraid it's not a feasible long-term goal for me. But I enjoy every other aspect of my job, especially the staff development. I do orientation and training regularly with all employees. I thoroughly enjoy skills fairs and providing learning opportunities. Therefore, I have thought about pursuing a long-term nurse educator role. That's why I considered applying for staff development jobs elsewhere to start. I am just not too familiar with what their job tasks are and what it's like in staff development. I'd eventually like the opportunity to teach in an academic setting, just to see if I really like it or not. I am hearing/reading that nurse educators are expected to gain advanced degrees and make generally less money, that staff development positions in hospitals and facilities pay better but they are difficult to come by, and that academic educators are so bogged down with grading/prepping it's just not worth it because of the pay (or lack thereof). I am just wondering if it's even worth it switching from a nursing leadership/director route to nursing education. I am not sure if staff development is really a long-term goal or not (are there many opportunities in this?!) I'm curious what it takes to gain a decent paying academic - setting position? Is it really that much out of reach? I think it would be an amazing opportunity to be a nursing program chair/dean at a decent school someday. Am I crazy to think I'd be able to land a gig like that? I'd like to hear some success stories (if there are any) and any advice from current nurse educators and/or staff development nurses. I just feel like I'm back to square one, like when I was deciding what to major in when in college :) Thanks in advance to all!

[elizabeast7, ADN, BSN, MSN]

I don't have any pearls of wisdom but I have similar goals so I'd love to see what others say! I have been an adjunct for an ADN program for coming up on a year. It's really fun and fulfilling from an education stand point but I won't pretend it's not exhausting. Organizing, planning, prepping, grading, labs, coordinating with clinical facility, etc.

[June59]

In academia I worked 1 year teaching CNA & Phlebotomy classes, 2 years FT in an ADN program (lab, clinical, lecture), 4 years adjunct ADN, adjunct online LPN-RN, & adjunct online RN-BSN. Recently I returned to acute care prn to maintain currency in practice. I absolutely love being back in patient care & realize how much academia can drain a person. I have begun keeping my eyes open for professional development opportunities in which I can still maintain currency & utilize my masters in nursing ed.