tgb1966

Hello everyone! I am teaching in a BSN program. Our first year students are really struggling with the pathophysiology course. We have integrated pharmacology with the patho and the students get a lot of information. I think that there is some overload going on, but the grades on exams are pretty low. This has been the case since the beginning of the program (three years ago). Anyone else having the same problems? Any suggestions? We aren using Medical Surgical Nursing by Lewis and Pharmacology for Nurses by Adams. TGB

PRMENRS-- Don't worry about your program too much yet!! I am half-way through with my MSN and the nursing theory class was very reasonable. The instructor taught at a reasonable pace and no one expects you to know it all at this point. You will belearning the finer points of the theories and then be able to apply them to your particular nursing specialty. I am sure that once the time comes, you will do just fine. Relax!! Tamara

Hi everyone-- I have applied for several nurse educator positions (I think a total of 5). I have heard back from two and other candidates were chosen. I am starting to feel like I will never get there. I worked as an adjunct PN clinical instructor for a term, but I was driving about 75 minutes one way twice a week, and the amount of time on the road was prohibitive. The programs I applied for are all within 45 minutes. Does anyone have any words of encoragement? I really want to teach!! I will finish my MSN in Feb '08. All of the programs I applied to stated that they prefered MSN, but all were willing to consider BSN with annual progression toward MSN. Thanks! Tamara:o

Hi everyone-- I have applied for several nurse educator positions (I think a total of 5). I have heard back from two and other candidates were chosen. I am starting to feel like I will never get there. I worked as an adjunct PN clinical instructor for a term, but I was driving about 75 minutes one way twice a week, and the amount of time on the road was prohibitive. The programs I applied for are all within 45 minutes. Does anyone have any words of encoragement? I really want to teach!! I will finish my MSN in Feb '08. All of the programs I applied to stated that they prefered MSN, but all were willing to consider BSN with annual progression toward MSN. Thanks! Tamara:o

Hi Telefloornurse-- I started by going to a program called "From Basics Forward" which is a basic diabetes educator course. It is sponsored by the American Association of Diabetes Educators. The website is AADEnet.org. This is a great group to begin networking with. There are several local groups that have grown out of the national organization. Certification requires two years of full-time formal diabetes education experience and this must be signed off by a supervisor and sent in with your application to sit for the CDE exam. The exam is tough, and you should know both peds and adult diabetes information. Many times you can work as a diabetes educator without certification while getting the experience that you need for the exam. I hope that this helps...Good luck! Tamara

Sally-- Thanks for your post! I was pretty frustrated the day I wrote that! Thank you for preparing your students well. My goal is to get into the classroom as soon as I can find a position. That way, I will know what the students are getting. I love teaching! I started out as a patient educator doing diabetes education and the move into nursing education is as natural for me as the breeze. I will be interviewing for a full time position on Wed afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed for me, please?! :-)

I found this posting to be very interesting. I am currently working on my MSN, will finish coursework in 2/08. In the meantime, I am teaching clinical for a PN program. The program director is a BSN with a MEd and the rest of the classroom instructors are BSN's, two of which just started on their MSN's. The students come to me horribly prepared, some not even having a rudimentary knowledge of pharmacology and clinical skills. The course they had in pharmacology was taught by the program coordinator and the students felt they learned more about her son's experience at Boy Scout camp than they learned about pharmacology. I have 4th term students who are about to graduate. I have been re-teaching important things like dosage calculation, drug classes, drip calculation, etc. These students also feel unprepared to perform basic skills like inserting a foley catheter, because the clinical lab is small and there is such a wait for practice, that many times there are several students who never get a chance to perform the skill on the mannequin. I have decided to resign my position with this institution due to the concerns that I have. Any advice on questions to ask when interviewing for a full time position to prevent similar problems? Thanks!

You might also consider teaching in a practical nurse program or a medical assistant or CNA program. This would enable you to feel confident about your subject material. Doing a clinical instructor position is also a good way to start. This will allow you to teach without the classroom/public speaking component. You are teaching in a clinical environment where you are already comfortable and you usually would have 10 students or less depending on state board requirements for teacher to student ratios. Good luck!

Are wannabe nurse educators welcome as well?? I am currently in a MSN/nursing administration program and wanting to teach. This has been a long time dream, not just to teach nursing students, but to teach in general. My background is primary care: internal medicine, endocrine and case management. I worked on a med surg floor and in same day surgery, then went to physician offices first internists and FA, then to endocrine, where I became a certified diabetes educator and taught patients and families as well as put patients on insulin pumps. (I can teach diabetes mellitus types 1 and 2 with my eyes closed and both hands tied behind my back!) The MSN program I am in was the shortes online MSN I could fine, with my goal being hirability for nursing faculty positions. I have already completed a third of my program, and have an anticipated completion date of June 2008. I am hoping to get information on this forum that will help me get my foot in the door. I have applied for an adjunct position doing nursing clinical for a PN program on an Ortho floor. I am really excited, I hope they offer me the position!! Any pointers or tips would be greatly appreciated. TGB

Thanks, ProRN! The interview went really well! I am hoping that they will offer the position, even though it is an adjunct position and I really need to work full time. The other drawback is that this particular position is located about an hour's drive from where I live. I have also been talking with someone at another school who needs instructors for a med asst program. The thought process I have is that it would be nice to get some teaching experience under my belt to make me more hireable for associate programs. Sound reasonable? That med asst position is also an hour from my home. I really don't mind the driving, but I know that it will get old pretty quickly in the wintertime. In your experience, how difficult is it to find full time faculty positions?

Hello, all-- I have an interview for a teaching position for a practical nurse program. I have interviewed before, but I have since found this forum and thought I would send out some feelers to see if anyone out there might be able to give me a heads up on some of the questions that I might encounter during the interview. My background is med/surg, primary care, physician office and currently, case management. I worked for several years with internists and have also worked with a large group of endocrinologists. I have been a certified diabetes educator in the past as well. Ever since nursing school, I have had a desire to teach, and satisfied that with patient education. Now, I am interested in teaching nursing students. I have not yet completed my MSN, although I will finish my program in June 2008. At that point I would like to move into teaching at the baccalaureate level. Any words of wisdom? Thanks!

Wow, 50 is a lot. I carry between 40 and 45, although during our busiest times I have had as many as 52. The only upside is that some of mine were quarterly reports. There is a great article in Lippincotts Case management journal about quantifying case management workloads. It is the Nov/Dec 2006 issue. The title is "Quantifying CAse Management Workloads: Development of the PACE Tool," by Amy Balstad and Pam Springer. I hope that this helps! You can find it on www.nursingcenter.com/library/journalarticleprint.asp?Article_ID=680743 Good Luck! Tamara

Hello everyone! Is anyone out there doing case management as an independent contractor? I have been doing CM for several years and am thinking about hanging out my own shingle. I am CCM, and work primarily with medical diagnoses, DM, MS, asthma, COPD, complex and non-healing wounds, LTAC referrals etc. Some of the questions that I have are where do independents find referrals? How long does it take to build up a case load that will sustain you at a livable wage? I am in the Midwest, and know that there are a few TPA's that are based in this area. Any suggestions, comments or helpful info is appreciated! Tamara