in order to teach, will any MSN specialty do?

[msa9179]

I am an experienced RN, but just finally finished my BSN. I'm considering hopping into a masters program, and the particular school I am looking at offers a leadership/management route and an education route. I currently have no idea what I want to do when I "grow up." I'm an ICU charge nurse, and loving critical care bedside nursing. however, I figure one of these days I will be looking to stop hurting my back and cleaning up the unspeakable bodily fluids. I want to further my education to give me abundant opportunities one of these days when I choose to exit the bedside rodeo and work my way up the leadership ranks, or possibly teach, or whatever. So, long story short..... If I did choose to teach one of these days, but had a masters degree with a leadership/management focus, as opposed to an education focus, would that limit my ability to get a decent teaching/faculty type job in nursing? Or, do many schools just like for you to have the masters degree, and are not worried about specialization?

I have not read this area on allnurses much, so this question may have been answered before. if so, I apologize.

thanks!

[llg, PhD, RN]

It depends on the school. The better schools will prefer that its faculty be experts in the fields in which they teach. They will look for clinical experience in that field as well as educational credentials/certifications/etc. related to that field. (E.g. If you want to teach maternity nursing, they will want you to have experience and credentials in maternity.)

However, lower level schools (or schools that are desperate for faculty) will not be quite as picky.

Also, what counts as experience/credentials in an field of practice will vary depending on the specific field. For example, a field like "maternity" is very specific. However, there would be more leeway in the adult med/surg sub-specialties such as ortho, diabetes, oncology, etc. In fact, many educational programs combine the various adult fields under one academic major.

[msa9179]

Thanks for your reply! That makes sense. My assumption is that a larger prestigious university would want their educators to have specific credentials and, possibly, to have degrees from larger prestigious schools. And, the local community colleges that do LVN/LPN and ADN programs are probably willing to take whatever they can get. I genuinely see teaching as a strong possibility in my future, so I just wanted to make sure that I didn't destroy any chance at a reasonable teaching job (like at a community college or smaller university) by getting an MSN in leadership/management (if that is the educational path I choose). I didn't think there were any solid rules about it, but just wanted to make sure as I am making these education-path decisions. thanks again!

[random_nurse12]

There is a serious shortage of faculty in many areas. Yes, large research universities can be picky, but other schools cannot. Remember, they are paying less than an experienced bedside nurse's salary to faculty with MSNs.

Nursing schools with hire MSNs with a focus in education, administration, and NPs. Each person brings their unique skill set which can be beneficial to students. You have to be willing to learn the education side. It will really depend on the job market at the time, but I do not see your MSN in administration as being an issue.

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

I've taught for 3 universities. Two were major "big ten" schools and one was a private school with a good reputation. All three are selective in hiring, and want their instructors to be more-than-basically knowledgeable in the specialty they are going to teach. That didn't mean the instructors wouldn't be flung into teaching something they didn't have expertise in, if there was a need, but at least they could be considered experts in their specialties.

I think a nursing leadership MSN is a good thing, but it won't prepare you for teaching. Teaching is an entirely different animal than leadership, even though there are aspects of each in the other. To concentrate on a clinical area (peds, med-surg, maternity, etc.) during your MSN is very much needed. However, that education will give you skills in becoming an advanced practice nurse in the specialty. It won't teach you to teach future RNs. Working on the floor gives you the clinical knowledge, not the MSN. Working in the floor won't teach you to teach.

In my opinion, anyone who teaches needs clinical experience in what he or she is teaching, and will have to face the steep learning curve of how to teach, during those first few years. It's not an easy job, and is more difficult some places than others...

[elkpark]

In my experience over the years, most BSN programs want you to have advanced practice credentials in the specialty you're going to teach (psych CNS or NP to teach psych nursing, CNM to teach OB, CNAA to teach leadership/administration, some kind of NP certification to teach med-surg. Community colleges and other ADN programs tend to be less picky. So, the concentration of your graduate degree doesn't matter in terms of being considered qualified to teach, but it will affect whether or not you would be considered qualified for a particular teaching position.

[firstinfamily, RN]

Most facilities that are advertising for clinical educators are requiring a concentration on education. The MSN in education does give you the basics for teaching nursing students, however the entire field of patient education seems to be lacking. Hopefully that will change. I do think we learn how to teach at the bedside and nurses have been doing bedside teaching for eons. Currently patient education does not have specific guidelines, I think it will continue to evolve as our healthcare system puts more of the control in the hands of patients and they will be punished through the cost of insurance for not following or understanding how to manage their chronic health conditions.

[JBudd, MSN]

My MSN is in education, I looked at the different programs, most were for NP or admin. Frankly, the education courses were real eye openers; there is so much involved in curriculum development, writing good lectures, different teaching methods, accreditation and meeting all the requirements; all of these subjects have come up during faculty meetings and accred. prep.

I chose the ed track because I like to teach, didn't really want to leave the bedside. I would recommend looking heavily at the course requirements for each of the different masters programs, and see what interests you most.

My community college mostly just needs MSN prepared for the classroom, we hire BSNs for clinical instructors (hopefully in a masters program at the time).

[passionflower, BSN, MSN, RN]

My MSN is in education, I looked at the different programs, most were for NP or admin. Frankly, the education courses were real eye openers; there is so much involved in curriculum development, writing good lectures, different teaching methods, accreditation and meeting all the requirements; all of these subjects have come up during faculty meetings and accred. prep.

A lot of people don't give MSN prepared educators credit for the intense preparation you receive in HOW to teach and not simply because you have experience in a field.

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

I have a degree in Education and one in Nursing, as well as a MSN in my nursing specialty. I couldn't teach well without the education degree, and couldn't teach nursing without the nursing degree that included lots of clinical experience. I couldn't be hired without the MSN or without working toward a MSN. No one makes it easy to get a teaching job or to be able to do it effectively.

Teaching nursing is difficult for many, especially those without the education that's required to know what you need to know as well as know what you need to teach.

The learning curve can be quite steep, no matter what education you have under your belt. It was for me anyway.

[Wgbem]

Are there any instructors out there who taught with a Masters degree in another discipline outside of nursing? I have a MBA but have over 25 years of nursing experience. I would live to teach in an online program.

[passionflower, BSN, MSN, RN]

Check out WGU you could probably earn an MSN in six months. The program is generous in accepting credits and the MSN program is very thorough.