That realization brings an understanding of their preference for a text message to a face-to-face encounter.

There is nothing wrong with social media. We do enjoy looking at baby pictures of our high school and college friends. And what does our Ex look like now? Day-to-day personal and work routines of banking, ordering goods, and emailing have thrown us right into the middle of the digital age. Our families keep in touch through texting or facetime. And we look everything up online. Times have changed!

Connecting with our millennial students' means, like it or not, we have to get on board with digital communication.

Expanding within the digital environment sets these students apart, as does a lack of confidence. Millennial students who perceive life as stressful rely heavily on their previously hovering parents or guardians to help them navigate life's challenges. As a result, the autonomous nature of the nursing profession and the emphasis on the responsibility of decision-making that can impact lives is difficult for them.

Understanding this is crucial to recognize stress and anxiety which can inhibit learning.

Millennial students are ambitious, optimistic, gravitate towards working in teams, conventional and need to feel important. Expressions of appreciation gain of these students' attention as do small recognitions.

We might have to start giving them a pat on the back for coming to class on time!

Other ways faculty can show they appreciate their millennial students

• Learn and call them by name (you won't remember them, that's what seating charts are for)
• Introduce yourself on the first day of class (don't assume they know who you are!)
• Clearly outline your expectations (these students are very concrete thinkers) - give them specific rubrics and firm due dates
• Provide a lot of feedback (oral and written)
• Don't criticize in front of the class (you shouldn't do this with anyone)

Millennials tend towards skepticism. After all, their parents were baby boomers who didn't trust anyone over 30! Review how you present the information. What worked with older generations simply won't work with this crowd.

Nursing faculty must gain student trust, helping them become accountable individuals that collaborate in the learning process.

Tried and true instructional methods for millennials

• Give them questions and scenarios that relate to the real world as they understand it
• Have students share their research with classmates
• Encourage working in small groups to solve problems
• Make use of available technology (incorporate computer games and resources, like Socrative© in the lesson plan)
• Ask for their help (Millennials are helpers in the strongest sense of the word)
• Utilize all types of learning in the classroom (don't shy away from hands-on practice and demonstration)
• Give nursing students in upper-level courses the opportunity to engage in service-learning

Millennials are diversity sensitive. 21st-century American universities and colleges have greater inclusivity. Depending on where you teach, specific unique cultural or ethnic considerations may need to be incorporated into the classroom. They are adaptable to change so long as it is fair and clearly defined. Tolerant of differences, they may appreciate your personal quirks but they expect you to do the same for them.

Working with a classroom full of Millennials isn't easy. Understanding how they differ from you and your colleagues lends to successfully bringing them to the graduation finish line.

References

Don't go into public service, it doesn't pay or secure a future. 

I was recently hired to do an online course. The issue is that they need me to build it from the ground up and it starts in 3 weeks. And, they will not buy the textbook for me until the course begins.?

Any suggestions how to even begin?

TRIDIL2000

I would like some feedback on MSN program at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma. My choices were Capella, Western Governors, and Northeastern state University. My main criteria is to complete the program 100% on line with flexibility, and rolling admission and to complete in 12 to 15 months.

Thank you,

I just started a new position as a nursing instructor for a PN program and wanted some advice on how other programs work. Our program is different; it is run under a K-12 school. Administration has been doing a lot of the decision making for the program and going over the DON of the program, sometimes making decisions for the program without her knowledge or even when she does not agree with the decision. 

The program itself has needed some restructuring and a lot of help to keep in going. It has been on probation before with the BON because of low NCLEX passing rates. Since last year passing rates have been at 100% partially due to the face that my coworker has changed a lot of how med-surg and comp (women's health and peds) is taught. I will be teaching fundamentals and starting it from the ground up because the syllabus made no sense. My coworker, the DON and I have been working on making this program great. To make this program great we feel the nursing program should be completely separate from the K-12 administration. 

How does one go about trying to stop them from stepping in and making these decisions for the nursing department? Or is this a known thing for technical colleges under K-12?

For example, the DON agreed for my classroom I should take at least 18 students. According to the Florida BON "The number of program faculty members equals at least one faculty member directly supervising every 12 students unless the written agreement between the program and the agency, facility, or organization providing clinical training sites allows more students, not to exceed 18 students, to be directly supervised by one program faculty member." (464.019 Approval of nursing education programs).  Administration wants 24 students in my class. 

What is the maximum number of students I should have without having a clinical instructor for a group of 24 students?

Any advice would be appreciated. I tried calling the Florida BON with no success. Our department is having a meeting with administration sometime next week and as happy as I was about this position, I am not so thrilled about it now. Is this normal? How do I handle it?

Thank you so much for your thoughts and advice,

New Nurse Educator

I have the opportunity to interview for a program designed for experience nurses and I have chosen an emphasis on education. 

I've only worked the clinic and bedside so no official educator experience. 
anyone have any idea or advise on how to tackle what I ought face for this interview? 
 

im so nervous! LOL 

The nurses on my unit were discussing the current nursing world issues and one that came up was the shortage of nurses. I know a lot of that has to do with limited number of spots in nursing schools due to limited number of nursing faculty.

We are wondering what the average pay is for a clinical instructor for nursing students is (the ones who are at the hospital watching over the students) and a didactic instructor (the ones who teach the courses in nursing school) just to understand why things are the way they are right now.

Thank you for your help!

I have a goal to be in a nursing professional development position but I have having a hard time trying to get there. I have my MSN in education from Capella about 2 years ago and only working in the pulmonary clinic as  a staff Nurse.

Planning to teach adjunct to maybe an LVN program.

 I have no formal official teaching role or never held such a title and looking for recommendations on how to get to where I want to be if I have no experience?

Also looking into getting my DNP in professional leadership, other than educational leadership-- thinking it may open a little more doors? correct me if I am wrong. It would be through Post University online.

 Send me your advise, words of encouragement-- 

(recently applied to a mentorship program but I didn't make the cut)

A little background:

I'm a second career nurse in my very late 40's (I'll be 50 in three months LOL).  I have been an RN for three years.  But my experience over that time is varied.

Covid and an immune-compromised husband kept me hopping around trying to find the "safest" job.  (that was impossible but I didn't know it at the time!).   I started in Psych and left after a year when covid started because it was a communal living environment and didn't feel safe.  I went to outpatient dialysis which was a freaking nightmare because of toxic staff - transferred to inpatient dialysis which was all fine and good until they started floating us to the covid units. That was emotionally heartbreaking and also dangerous for my husband so I left that after about a total year in dialysis.  I then took some time off because I was completely disillusioned with nursing and finding the "perfect job" and wanted to wait Covid out a bit (HAHAHA!).  Fast forward and now I'm working in a job I truly love at a pediatric specialty hospital.  Our patients are mainly under 3 and have varied illnesses and issues.  Lots of trach/vent babies (with minimal RT support), micro premies that can be out of the NICU but not ready for home, post surgical transplants, new Gtubes, etc.  They usually come to us for stabilization, treatment and observation... and a whole lot of parent teaching. I'm only working part time two days a week and feel like I've found a place.  

In my previous life I had extensive experience working in psych with psych families and state education and advocacy.  I taught mental health first aid all over the state and really loved teaching.  Going into nursing, I always knew that my end goal was to be an educator of some kind.  

Now that I am working part time and have the time, I am looking into MSN programs.  I have zero interest in being an NP and at my age, a Ph.D. seems like a ton of time and money for not a lot of benefit on the back end.  I did my RN at a hospital-based RN program (one of the few left!) and my BSN online at Capella. I had no issues with online learning. 

I am looking into a program at a local university that is an online MSN in education with a focus in simulation.  Is simulation a needed specialty in nursing education or would I be better off just getting a general MSN in Education?  Also on the table are programs such as WGU or Capella which allow me to work at my own pace.  That worked beautifully with my BSN and because I had other college degrees, Capella only took me 5 months to complete.  Capella is for profit.  WGU is not.  I love the flexibility in these programs but am very concerned that they won't be looked at as highly as a B&M local university.  Also concerned with finding preceptors with WGU or Capella. Significantly cheaper at WGU/Capella vs B&M school. 

I am not going to be looking for full-time work.  I like working part-time, so I am not concerned about the adjunct nature of clinical instructor work or community college instructor.  

My questions summarized are this: 

1) Simulation a good focus for education MSN? 

2) WGU, Capella, vs traditional B&M?  I'd rather go cheaper and faster especially since I will likely only be working part time in the field, but concerned about academic reputations affecting job prospects. 

3) Being a clinical instructor with only one year each of Psych, Dialysis and Pediatric nursing each? (Well, by the time I finish I guess I'd have 2-3 years of pediatric experience - but at a part-time status)

Thoughts?  Advice? 

I took the prep course in person through ANPD and that was VERY helpful. I would recommend it highly. I waited 10 months after taking it to actually take my certification exam; I would recommend taking it right about when you are ready to test rather than waiting. A lot of good information given.

I also found some very helpful resources on Quizlet, which made for great review just prior.

I wasn't able to find much info about this exam on here when I looked, so thought I would post my experience for others to find.

Hello everyone,

I'm reaching out to seek advice and insights from fellow nurse educators. I will soon be transitioning into a Clinical Nurse Educator role in a department that typically hasn't had nurse educators in the past. The hospital recently created educator roles in non-traditional areas such as Information Technology, Case Management, Ambulatory Nursing, and Home Health—and I was fortunate to be selected for one of these positions.

My background is rooted in academia; I've spent many years teaching nursing students through classroom instruction, simulations, and clinicals. I'm currently employed at the same hospital where these new educator opportunities have opened up, so I'm familiar with the system but new to the role of teaching colleagues rather than students.

I'd love to hear from those who have made a similar transition or have experience as the first educator in a department:

What should I expect in this new role?

How do you approach educating experienced nurses who may not be used to having a formal educator?

Any tips for establishing credibility and building collaborative relationships?

What helped you adjust from the academic mindset to staff development?

What resources, tools, or strategies helped you succeed?

Looking forward to your insights—thank you in advance!

Thanking you in advance for any help.

My issue is that I don't want spend a lot of time on intricate puzzles that have no bearing on the actual scenario or contribute to the learning itself. Decoding ciphers etc may be too time consuming. 

Any suggestions are appreciated! Thanks!

I've seen a few posts like this one on here. I'm a Labor and Delivery nurse completing my master of nursing education at WGU. In order to complete this program, I am required to find a preceptor to confide in as I complete my capstone project. 

This preceptor has to have a master's degree with an active RN License, hold this license in the state I am in (California), and have two years or more of experience as a nurse educator in an academic setting.

I have been having so much trouble finding this person at the site where I work. I feel like it's a bit of a long shot to find one on here, but if anyone would be willing to help this random stranger on the internet, I would so hugely appreciate it!

It's important to note that we wouldn't have to meet up in person, and I wouldn't have to shadow you or  bother you much. From what I've read this preceptor wouldn't have to do much, just take a 5min informational course. I essentially would use you as a resource while I complete my capstone. I would try to trouble you as little as possible!

Again, seems like a long shot, but it can't hurt trying to find one on here? Thank you in advance!

-Sophie

I accepted this role (just 3 months ago) without that expectation. Now I'm about to be presented with the new job description to include taking call on weekends. Do unit clinical educators at your facility take call? Do they staff and charge regularly?

Has anyone had success with creative strategies for recruiting speakers? I would love to hear any suggestions you can share.
 

Thanks!