Master's in Nursing Education? Why

[lifein08]

how are you?

[bloodlikefire]

hello, i will be starting my master's in nursing education at twu. what are some areas i can work in after i graduate. and has anyone completed this program. any advice or tips on what i can do?

thank you,

:)what are some positions i can apply for ?

why have you accepted a school spot for a track you have not properly researched??? a masters in nursing education (mne) is generally the track you take if you want to teach other nurses at the bachelors level or below, (cna, lvn/lpn, adn, bsn). you should be warned that almost all nursing educators are paid well below the mean of other nursing professionals. if you want to teach other nurses and don't mind the lower than average pay, go for it, we need more nursing teachers. if not please rethink your school track, a msn is not as specific and can be applied more broadly.

good luck in your choices.

[CCRNDiva, BSN, RN]

Hospitals also use masters prepared educators. Those positions are less plentiful but they usually pay more than teaching for a school. A small warning, however, in my experience, hospital educator positions are some of the first on the chopping block when hospitals make cuts. Several of our educator positions have been eliminated or cut to part-time in recent years.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I heartily agree with the 2 responses above. Nursing education can be a great job -- whether it be working for a school or for a health care facility. But no one should go into that specialty (or any other specialty) unless they know what they are getting into. Don't invest your valuable time and hard-earned money in an educational program unless you are sure that it prepares you for a career path that you really want.

Education positions often pay less than other specialties and may require an even greater committment to education than you may be willing to make (e.g. doctoral degree for higher-level faculty positions). Staff development positions may pay better and have better hours -- but they are often highly "political" in nature and are often the first positions cut during tough economic times.

I'm not sure why, but I have encountered a lot of nurses either entering or graduating from Master's programs with majors in Nursing Education -- some of whom have done very little thinking about the realities of a career in that field. I suspect it's because schools have been "pushing" this degree in response to the "faculty shortage" that exists in some areas and is predicted to get worse. They are pumping out these folks to replace retiring baby boomer faculty -- but like the tsunami of new grad RN's that have poured out of new RN programs the last couple of years, not all of them are well prepared for the actual career.

Why did you choose that particular Master's program? What are/were your career expectations and hopes when you applied?

[nursingisok]

Don't feel bad. I got into an MSN educator program which I am to start soon but I applied because I wanted to be an educator in a hospital or in my specialty. Don't let others make you feel bad. You can always switch or keep applying to other programs and maybe they can transfer the core courses...

or who knows, you might like teaching in a college. holidays off....summer....and you can work as a nurse in the summer to make more money. Honestly don't let other nurses put you down. They tend to do that in this field

[ivanh3]

You can do lots! I would not feel bad all. Newp...No such thing as wasted knowledge. And don't believe the hype about nurse instructors/educators not getting any dough! There are community colleges paying masters level nurses to teach. These salaries can be in the 40-50 range to start and often include state benefits and a couple of months of time off. Many times they will give you raises if you go back for your doctorate and help you to get that paid for as well.

If bedside RNs are getting paid a lot of money it is for one of the following: they are working insane amounts of overtime, they are doing nights/weekend options, they are travelers or agency, they work in a big market/inner city, and/or they have many years of experience. Look up some stats on the web bedside RNs and educators make comparable money.

[suni, BSN, RN]

I am currently in an MSN program with Education as my specilaity/ we will be working till we die due to poor retirement plans for nurses and the high cost of insurance. If I have to work I figure an instructing job will be less stressful physically on me/

[JemJ]

Does anyone have anything else to add to this? I really enjoy getting up in front of a class and teaching and have just bee accepted to a Masters in Nursing Education program (part time). it's mostly on-line and over 2.5 years, so I think I'll still be able to work full time (I work nights) while I finish up. Does anyone have any good places to compare salaries and what to expect? Thanks in advance!