Just accepted a new position!

Welcome, educator!

You will find many experienced (in my case, substitute "youth challenged" :-) faculty here. Feel free to ask questions, and I will look forward to hearing how your course is going and students are learning.

Best wishes to you!

hi everyone! i just accepted a position teaching health science to high school dual enrollment students for this school year. i'm super excited and a bit apprehensive all at the same time. i've done alot of precepting while working on the floor, but this is my very first formal teaching position. i'm sure i'll be picking your brains here on this forum. classes start in 2 weeks....yikes!

i completely feel you! i will be teaching maternal-child nursing on the bsn level and be a graduate teaching assistant on the msn level until i complete my phd. once i complete my phd, i will probably be teaching full-time on both the graduate and undergraduate nursing levels. i have been a preceptor and clinical instructor previously, but never have officially taught full-time as faculty. the world of academia is very different than actual practice. i am very nervous but excited about the new endeavor i will be pursuing. teaching is always something i have wanted to eventually do; i guess i just didn't think my opportunity to be a nurse educator/faculty would happen this soon! any pointers from seasoned nursing faculty are welcome!

thanks for your replies! i guess the biggest piece of advice i'm looking for right now is how to start that first day of class out on the right foot! i know that sometimes that is the hardest step to take and i'd like it to start off well. any suggestions from those seasoned educators??

i completely feel you! i will be teaching maternal-child nursing on the bsn level and be a graduate teaching assistant on the msn level until i complete my phd. once i complete my phd, i will probably be teaching full-time on both the graduate and undergraduate nursing levels. i have been a preceptor and clinical instructor previously, but never have officially taught full-time as faculty. the world of academia is very different than actual practice. i am very nervous but excited about the new endeavor i will be pursuing. teaching is always something i have wanted to eventually do; i guess i just didn't think my opportunity to be a nurse educator/faculty would happen this soon! any pointers from seasoned nursing faculty are welcome!

congratulations to you too!! yeah for us!

]My first day of my first class, I point blank told them I was new at classroom stuff so we would be on learning curves together. I also asked them to give me feedback as we went along if something just wasn't working for them. (I'm on my 5th semester of teaching now)

Show No Fear! The more "up" and excited I am about class, the better the students respond."

THAT IS SO TRUE !!! The more passionate you are about nursing and the career opportunities to come, the better the class' retention of the material will be. I try NOT to just stand at the front of the room but I walk all over the room to encourage participation from all students and I use as many personal stories and examples as I can . When I was in school as a student, the stories my instructors told tended to be the topics I remembered the most about. the most important thing is to let the students see that you really enjoy what you are doing and they will really do well in your class and carry that attitude to the rest of their classes and the clinicals to come!!! I really believe this!

Congratulations on your new position!! I'm full time faculty at an ADN Program--my first day is spent going over the syllabus, making sure the students understand the calendar, objectives, assignments etc. I also share with them my nsg history (how long Ive been a nurse, what is my educational level, what departments Ive worked, etc). Then I transition into open discussion as to why do they want to be a nurse. From here, I spent the rest of the time delving into Chapter 1--History of nursing, etc. I teach Nsg Fund. and I take 2nd level students to the hospital two days a week.