MA/MS to become a nursing educator...

[hanlema85]

hello everyone, pleasant day! I'd like to ask a question with regards to the steps i need to take if i wanted to pursue to become a "nurse educator"...uhm, i know their are nursing educators in the hospital and of course to those who teach at nursing schools but i've been told that all you need at some "schools" to teach nursing is a BSN degree, but to be a nurse educator in the hospital setting you need to have an MA/MS degree. I already have a BSN degree and was thinking of pursing my MA/MS to be able to become a nurse educator in the clinical setting (acute facilities/sub-acute facilities). Would anyone of you be able to give me advice with regards to finding a good school around Los Angeles County that would provide a MA/MS degree flexible to a working schedule with a feasible tuition fee and shorter amount of days to earn that degree. (hehe)

I'd very much appreciate all your help!!! thank you to those would make the time to help me on this. Blessed day to you all!!:redbeathe :redbeathe

[Corey Narry, MSN, RN, NP]

Unless your goal is to be the department head for your hospital's Nursing Staff Development Programs, some nursing educator positions actually do not require a graduate degree in nursing. What I've typically seen in my experience is that nurse educators are picked on the basis of promotion and many times, senior nursing staff who have a lot of nursing experience are picked as they are ideal for teaching new nursing staff because of their wealth of hands-on clinical knowledge and skill.

As you are probably already aware, nurse educators typically work under the Nursing Staff Development department and are in charge of orientation programs for new hires which can include teaching a class on the hospital's electronic medical record and computer charting, hospital equipment, and unit based skills. They are also in charge of annual skills credentialing for nursing staff.

If you're interested in a graduate degree that can help you reach your goal as a nurse educator, there are two degrees in existence that can suit your needs: Clinical Nurse Specialist or Nursing Education Master's degrees. There are pros and cons to each. CNS programs are an excellent educational preparation because these programs are specialty-based. If your field is Med-Surg or Adult Critical Care, Adult CNS programs are a great way to advance your knowledge in the nursing (and medical) care of this population. There are also Peds CNS, Psych CNS, and Community Health CNS programs. The downside is that CNS programs have now more or less mimicked NP programs. There is very little course content that focuses on staff development and curriculum development and a greater focus is seen on pathophysiology, pharmacotherapeutics, and health assessment similar to NP.

Nursing Education programs are very generalist in content. The focus is on the educator role and less so on the nursing specialty of the student though practica could likely be adapted to the student's field of nursing practice. Courses involve curriculum planning and development, teaching methods and strategies, use of information technology in teaching, and measurement and evaluation in teaching. You come out being an expert on being a teacher in nursing and this can be used in both the clinical setting or the academic setting. You do not get courses on advanced knowledge in your field of nursing care like the CNS programs do.

I've seen nurse educators in the hospitals I've worked for having either of the two graduate degrees. However, in the last two places I've worked for and these are large academic medical centers, the CNS role and the nurse educator role are separate and the entities they work under are actually different. Nurse educators work as Nursing Professional Development Specialists and perform the roles I mentioned in my second paragraph. CNS's are unit-based or have a specialty (Critical Care, Oncology, Wound Care, Peds, Diabetes, Peri-operative, Neonatal). They are the go to people for evidence-based nursing practice in the specialty fields they fall under. They write nursing policies and procedures and mentor nursing staff in nursing research activities that the hospital sponsors annually.

[CCRNDiva, BSN, RN]

Juan, I work in a level II trauma center, about 350 beds, and that is how it is in our unit too. Our CNS is really the driving force behind our clinical practice while our educator coordinates orientations, skills validations, and the like.