Nurse educator? Nurse practitioner?.. help!!

Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM · Oct 8, 2018

I have recently graduated with my BSN in May 2018 and passed boards in June 2018. I have now been working at my local hospital for about three months now. Although I enjoy what I am doing now, I want to go further with my education. I would love to get my nurse educator and nurse practitioner licensures. The problem I am having is choosing which one I should get first because I do not have the time or the money to do both at the same time. Also, if I get my nurse educator license first, I still want to be able to work as a floor nurse. Would that be possible or could I only work in areas that my master's is in?? Thank for any and all suggestions!!

Get your NP. Nurse educator is nice but it's hard to find jobs with only an MSN and education jobs are the first ones cut in hospitals. That's why there are always jobs available...those of us that have been around for awhile know this.

bmward0807 · Oct 8, 2018

I am going to do both but I am looking at which program to do through first. And the area I live in is in desperate need for professors; I have already received two nurse educator job offers in nursing programs. I want to know which track I should do first.

llg, PhD, RN · Oct 8, 2018

You won't like my advice, but here it is:

If you don't feel a "pull in your heart" more towards one field or the other ... then you are probably not yet ready for grad school. Give it a few more months, get a little more experience, and then see how you feel. In the meantime, you will be gaining valuable clinical experience that will support any career path. I'm not suggesting that you need to wait years, just long enough to have a clear sense of your own preferences so that you can make a good decision.

Also, you might use the time to explore different educational programs to see if you can find a program that will allow you to delay your decision. Such a program would be structured with a core set of courses that you could take first (such as research, theory, pathophysiology, pharmacology, physicial assessment, etc.) before you decide your major. Continue working as you take those first courses ... and continue to mull over all of your options so that you are more ready to make your decision in a year or two (after you have taken those first courses.)

jdakay · Oct 10, 2018

if your focus in nursing is education then go to become a nurse educator but if your focus is specialized clinical practice then go for the nurse practioner with a specialty like geriatrics, med surge or what not. being a nurse educator, you can still be on the floor with your students as a clinical instructor doing patient care, medication administration and treatment. while a nurse practitioner, you will be working alongside with doctors in seeing and treating patients.

Golden_RN, MSN · Oct 11, 2018

I think you need to think more about what kind of job you want. The roles of the NP and NE are completely different.

I have an MSN in Nursing Education, and when I finished, I had so many opportunities - teaching at community college, writing CEU courses, working as a NE at different health facilities. I am so glad that I chose the path I did. Of course, you CAN still work as a bedside nurse with any MSN degree! Since you are still a novice nurse I would encourage you to keep working at the bedside.

jdakay · Oct 11, 2018

I totally agree with you Ms. Carrie that for a new grad, she has to get more clinical exposure first. From there, she can weigh in her options.

bmward0807 · Oct 12, 2018

Thank you! I am currently working on a medsurg floor now, and I am locked into my job under contract, so I will it be going anywhere for a while. You gave me a great response to my dilemma. I really love bedside nursing and would still love to do that while teaching as well. I just did not know if that was possible or not!

jdakay · Oct 12, 2018

A lot of colleges and universities nowadays have their online bridge programs like bsn to msn. It is something you can do both at the same time getting the paid beside nursing experience. Clinical experience is needed to become a clinical or theory instructor.

Golden_RN, MSN · Oct 12, 2018

Thank you! I am currently working on a medsurg floor now, and I am locked into my job under contract, so I will it be going anywhere for a while. You gave me a great response to my dilemma. I really love bedside nursing and would still love to do that while teaching as well. I just did not know if that was possible or not!

A few years ago (right after finishing my MSN) I worked part time at a hospital and taught clinicals at a community college at the same time. So it is totally possible! Unfortunately, the teaching job paid quite a bit less, but I did it for the experience.