Nursing/Education

Nursing Education is a different pathway than NPs. We have MSNs with specialization in nursing education - many of also have graduate clinical specialization, but not necessarily NP. I am a clin-spec (Critical Care) & also MSN in Education. Although nurse educators can choose to move into academic practice & teach in nursing schools, there are a lot of us who work in the 'service' sector instead. I am with a large hospital system. We refer to this type of nursing practice as Nursing Professional Development. (so, in this case, NPD does not mean narcissistic personality disorder - LOL).

Entry level for educators is an MSN, but a terminal degree (PhD, EdD, etc) is usually required for higher level positions in either area... required for full professor or tenure-track in academia. Salaries in academia are less than NPD.

Although typical "staff development" (orientation and inservice) is generally what comes to mind when you think of nurse educators, NPD professionals are involved in a wide variety of activities since every major initiative involves staff education. We play a critical role by analyzing the staff education needs associated with organizational change and designing/implementing educational programs to support the initiatives. In today's environment, NPD professionals have to have a wide variety of skills and competencies - including all the various instructional modalities. For example, I routinely have to develop eLearning modules and conduct distance-learning classes. It's never boring or dull!

I have a master's in nurse education, which means I took graduate school level education courses as well as courses specific to nursing staff development. I work in a hospital training new hire nurses, developing competencies, writing policies, interacting with all the students and arranging their schedules (not just nursing either!). I develop continuing education courses for nurses and for MD's. I am responsible for staff development as well as in-services, annual education compliance, diabetes in-pt education and remediation for staff who have a need for 1:1 teaching. My department also is responsible for teaching BLS, ACLS, PALS, TNCC, ENPC, STABLE, NRP, ITLS, Dysrythmia and other classes. Believe me, there are plenty of opportunities for nurse educators. I have taught Kaplan NCLEX courses and worked as clinical instructor for nursing school (prn) but now I am too busy to do anything but my "real" job. It is impt to learn how to be a nurse first. Nursing education is a specialty, just like critical care nursing. I recommend that once you are licensed and feel comfortable in your job you find out how to become a CPR instructor or assist the Educators in some way. That is how we recruit to our department.

I appreciate all these helpful comments. I really love the CPR instructor idea!

I want to educate but I'm also very interested in the role of an NP which might involve a stronger understanding of patho/pharm.

I still have a lot to learn and observe so perhaps I will have a taste for what I want once I am a licensed nurse, working on the floor. I want to float as much as possible and really experience different areas. My professor told me she switched her nursing focus every 5 years! At first I was a bit suspicious (like maybe she just couldn't fit in anywhere) but upon talking to more nurses in clinical, I have noticed many switch to avoid burn out and some switch to gain a different experience/patient experience/ skills.

What do you guys think about new grads starting out on a med surg floor? Is that always a good idea? what other areas do you suggest? what areas do you suggest new grads stay away from?

Thank You!