Nursing Education- thinking about going into it... thoughts? Advice?

walkingdeadhead · Jul 25, 2016

I've been in education for a few years now. I knew that I only wanted to teach, so I got my MSN in nursing education, and will begin my PhD in the fall. Most schools require at least a masters to teach. If you aren't completely sure about education, I would advise getting an MSN-NP or another degree that gives more versatility. I am glad that I went into the field. I'm very close with my students and it feels great to be a part of their success. There are a lot of professional development opportunities which have given me some chances to travel (a big plus for me). I also like weekends, holidays, and summers off. I usually work at the bedside during breaks for extra money. Speaking of money, that's one of my least favorite parts. The pay isn't the best when you compare it to other fields, but not bad considering all the time off. Typically, you need a doctorate to make money. Benefits are good in my state, especially the retirement plan.

nutella, MSN, RN · Jul 25, 2016

I've been in education for a few years now. I knew that I only wanted to teach, so I got my MSN in nursing education, and will begin my PhD in the fall. Most schools require at least a masters to teach. If you aren't completely sure about education, I would advise getting an MSN-NP or another degree that gives more versatility. I am glad that I went into the field. I'm very close with my students and it feels great to be a part of their success. There are a lot of professional development opportunities which have given me some chances to travel (a big plus for me). I also like weekends, holidays, and summers off. I usually work at the bedside during breaks for extra money. Speaking of money, that's one of my least favorite parts. The pay isn't the best when you compare it to other fields, but not bad considering all the time off. Typically, you need a doctorate to make money. Benefits are good in my state, especially the retirement plan.

I will be finishing up my MSN in spring and started to look around for a PhD program. I am not entirely dedicated to the idea of teaching but I also do not want to be a NP. I really like the idea of research.

Do you teach as a clinical instructor ?

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 25, 2016

Don't forget that a lot of nursing education occurs outside of colleges. Hospitals and other health care facilities hire many, many nurse educators to do staff development (orientation, inservices, continuing education, etc.). The specialty is called "Nursing Professional Development" and you can check out the website of ANPD (Association of Nurses in Professional Development) to learn more about the field.

One really nice thing about the specialty of Nursing Professional Development (NPD) is that you can try it out to see if you like it before having to make the big investment of graduate education. While the higher-level, higher-paying jobs in NPD are usually filled by people with graduate degrees of one kind or another, other jobs are filled by people with just a BSN.

The pay for most NPD jobs in hospitals is comparable to that of a middle-management position -- but you rarely have the stress of having to working nights, weekends, holidays, etc. and of having to worry about covering sick calls, etc. No specialty is perfect, but NPD jobs are often among some of the more attractive jobs in a hospital setting when you look at the balance of pay, schedule, stress, etc.