Looking ahead, think I might want to go in to education eventually....

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

I'm just about to graduate from an accelerated BSN program in September (YAY), and have been working on getting my former tutoring job back to hold me over while I job search. This has made me reflect on how much I enjoyed tutoring (I did A&P and micro and writing). I also have thought a lot about what I've loved and hated about nursing school, and how having good instructors has made such a huge difference in how well I learn and enjoy what I'm learning. I'm thinking that eventually, I would like to go in to nursing education.

I welcome any advice you educators have to offer me as to managing my career to allow a move in to nursing education eventually. What sort of experience should I have before venturing in to education? Is it better to get a nursing education graduate degree or an advanced practice degree? Is it easier to start teaching as a clinical instructor or as a lecture instructor?

[lkwashington]

How long have you worked in a hospital setting as a floor nurse? This is very important because if you keep your skills up it would help to instruct students nurses.

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

Well, I haven't. I'm just about to graduate from an accelerated BSN program, so I'm at the start of my career and am looking a few years down the road.

[lkwashington]

You may want to have some clinical experience prior to teaching clinicals to other nursing students. This would increase your chances getting the job. If you teach theory you can relate theory and clinical experience. I would at least work a year as a floor nurse.

[llg, PhD, RN]

The experience you get as a staff nurse after graduation will be crucial to your success as an educator. So, focus on that for the next year or two. Choose your specialty carefully. If you choose a more general clinical area (such as adult med/surg), you will have the most opportunities for teaching positions for later -- as every nursing schools needs several faculty members to teach those med/surg clinical rotations.

If you get your clinical experience in a highly specialized area, you will have fewer opportunities to teach later. For example, I was a NICU nurse -- and since schools don't teach NICU nursing, crossing over to a faculty role at a university has been almost impossible for me. Fortunately, I found satisfaction in staff development roles and have been able to do a little university teaching on the side.

That brings up another career possibility for you to consider -- the specialty of Nursing Professional Development. Staff development educators work for hospitals (often with better pay, benefits, and work schedules than university faculty) and teach nurses who have already graduated from their basic program. If you haven't explored that nursing education career path, then you should do some investigating before you committ prematurely to the academic teaching career path.

My advice for a 1st step is to choose a clinical area to specialize in and make that role transition from student to competent professional nurse. That will take at least a year of clinical practice -- 2 or 3 years is better. While doing that, explore the different types of career paths available in nursing. There are some great options out there that most students are unaware of. Beginner-level students see only a portion of the entire profession of nursing and often mis-judge where their particular set of of strengths, weaknesses, and preferences will be the best fit. Spend a year or two exploring those options as you discover the realities of daily proffessional nursing practice.

Then ... explore the grad school options, which may change by that time. You can get a clinical Master's to give you lots of flexibility and then supplement that by taking courses in education. Or you can get a Master's in nursing education. If you decide you want an academic career, you will probably need a doctorate. So, you might choose a BSN-DNP option ... or you might want to focus on research and get a PhD.

There are so many variables, so many choices, that you really can't say what would be best for you at this very early stage of your career. But hopefully, I've given you some good things to think about as you start exploring your options.