I am about to graduate as an NP (Adult Primary Care and Geriatric- I did a dual track). From the beginning my ultimate goal has been to teach. I have a mentor who I admire and respect and she encouraged me to become an NP first for 2 reasons. One b/c as an NP I can practice as well as teach, as a Nurse Educator I can only teach. The second reason is b/c she feels very strongly that getting some NP experience under my belt will make me a better educator. Most of my almost 30 years of nursing (yes I'm an older student, just do the math) has been in ambulatory, LTC and psych, with almost no acute care experience. The problem is, I am not crazy about seeing patients (not sure if it's b/c I still am not confident, still being a student), but I didn't take the educator courses and don't feel ready to teach. I have done some inservices with powerpoints out in the community and loved it. Just looking for some input from the educators. Should I practice first, get more confidence, and maybe more comfort seeing patients in this new role, or just jump into teaching? I am doing very well with my academics, was even chosen as the Class Marshal at last year's graduation, but clinical leaves me dry.
