June59

In academia I worked 1 year teaching CNA & Phlebotomy classes, 2 years FT in an ADN program (lab, clinical, lecture), 4 years adjunct ADN, adjunct online LPN-RN, & adjunct online RN-BSN. Recently I returned to acute care prn to maintain currency in practice. I absolutely love being back in patient care & realize how much academia can drain a person. I have begun keeping my eyes open for professional development opportunities in which I can still maintain currency & utilize my masters in nursing ed.

As an adjunct I made only $650/credit for online courses that I must design & upgrade prior to semester beginning. In clinical, substitute or co-instructor in lab, & lecture the pay is $24./hr for F2F time only. No consideration for prep time or grading those lengthy care plans. I returned to bedside nursing where my hourly pays more & I work only during the hours I am clocked in at.

Sorry, I did miss that you were looking for extra money. Again, working FT & taking on 1 teaching assignment will probably consume all free time, but will definitely give you online experience. If you have children, be sure they are old enough to understand you will be on the computer when not at your regular day job. I know when mine were young, they would not understand that I was at work & not to disturb. There were times when I would pick up a 4 day work week, & even ate dinner in front of the computer. Husband was very understanding on those weeks & fortunately loves to cook I do not know of any RN programs that will take on faculty without a masters education, but perhaps some of the LVN/LPN programs have online didactics. Continue networking with your friend; perhaps her/his program will have an adjunct opening in the future. If you want teaching experience & not necessarily online, you may want to apply for adjunct clinical which is typically 1 or 2 days/week. Then you will have f2f clinical teaching experience, which a lot of online programs require. You will be required to grade care plans, concept maps, etc, but it will not cut into your free time as much as an online class would. Many ADN programs will use adjunct BSN faculty for clinical ~ I do not know what state you are in, so check your BON regarding requirements, ie, will you be an assistant for a clinical instructor who has a masters or can you have a clinical group on your own. This will differ from state to state. Another option would be to teach adjunct in an LPN/LVN f2f program. In the past, I worked FT for an ADN program & we used an adjunct with a BSN for clinical 1 12 hr shift/week. Another worked L&D & would teach those lectures & labs for us. So if you are in a specialty area in demand for your local college, that may be an option. You may also investigate options in continuing ed teaching CNA. You will have your own class & hours are usually 2-3 hrs for 2-3 evenings per week with 24 hrs in clinical which is usually done in 1 weekendFri-Sun. Whether you do clinical or f2f didactic &/or labs, you can add content for student learning in the programs online platform. All colleges today will have this available & is used to some extent by faculty who teach f2f. All these options will provide a little extra money along with teaching experience. Hope this helps & good luck to you!

I do not know of any that do not require a MSN. Many are now requiring a doctorate & expect faculty to remain current in practice within his or her specialty. I have an MSN & teach online as an adjunct. Most positions are not full time unless you have a doctorate. It sounds like you may be seeking an easy work at home job w/ a schedule that revolves around your personal life. Online is not as easy as you may think the classes are active 24/7 & students expect feedback within a reasonable time frame. I also work face-to-face as an adjunct & prn in the hospital. My physical work days are typically 3 12-hr days/wk. I find that when I have even 1 online class I am on the computer most evenings after work as well as many hours on my days off. If I have 2 or more, I spend every waking hour on the computer when not at the hospital or in the face-to-face class. Participating in & grading weekly discussions, papers, etc is very time consuming ~ You must have the dedication to put life on hold if need be to provide timely feedback & respond to all emails within 24 hours. I take an occasional semester off from online so that I can truly enjoy a few days off per week without having to sit in front of a computer. Personally, I favoring my prn position as I clock in & clock out & do not have to bring work home with me. When not teaching, I have the time to invest in my family & personal interests. When teaching, there is little time for that.

I have been an adjunct for 3 years in 2 different associate degree nursing programs. My preference is to remain adjunct as I enjoy remaining in practice prn. My 1st year was with a college in which the adjunct clinical salary was 1/2 of what I am making now. Currently, I am primarily clinical adjunct with periodic lab & classroom spots. My on campus salary is lower per hour, but it is a reasonable amount as it accounts for my prep time. Clinical is double than what I earn on campus as it is expected that I will also be spending time prepping for post conference activities & grading care plan assignments. Overall, my current position is very fair in compensation. As for my prior college, after calculating all hours invested, ie, clinical hours + grading hours, my hourly salary amounted to approx. $12/hr. Both positions had/have the potential for full time, but still require going through the group interview & teaching demonstration. My prior employer requires FT faculty have or return to school for doctorate degrees. Neither college guarantee a FT position based on having been adjunct. Both do not offer access to benefits. I advise you to determine if the salary is reasonable. Take into consideration effort you will be investing during your personal time. For clinical, expect to invest an additional 4-8 additional hours prepping for post conferences as well as grading. In both positions, I had 10 students for clinical. The 1st college had significantly more homework than my current. Students were overwhelmed by it, & I found the assignments did not promote learning. This was frustrating for me and contributed to my lack of satisfaction with the position. Most clinical's were spent with students in the texts & charts rather than in patient rooms. In my current position the students are learning as they care for patients. They have ¼ the amount of homework & have the time to stop & think about what they are putting on paper. As a result, I am more satisfied with my job & can build on prior learning. Also consider what semester you will be teaching. Grading & prepping for 1st semester is more time consuming than for semesters 2 - 4. If this position includes labs & class, inquire if there is compensation for prep time. Ask to view an example of a typical weekly assignment ~ this will allow you to get a feel of how much personal time you will be investing. If hired as an adjunct, take note of the FT faculty workload & morale. Research the college expectations & requirements of FT faculty. If hired, give serious thought as to why you are not happy with your current position. Will FT with the new employer be different? As for college/department support, in both positions I had an on campus mailbox & was invited to all department & team meetings. Both positions pay for time in attendance for these meetings, yet attendance is not mandatory for adjuncts. The colleagues at my last position gave little notice (sometimes less than 24 hrs), if any & decisions were made without my input. I received little info from my colleagues regarding the outcome of these meetings & as a result learned of clinical changes from my students. Inquire as to how much involvement you will have in program/clinical decisions. Bottom line is I recommend you compare & contrast the 2 employers regarding potential for FT, & if so, when. What are the true job descriptions, & how will you be compensated, & approximately how much time will you need to budget outside clinical/off campus. Granted, I presented a lot of input that relates to salary, but I value my personal time & found that lacked in my former position as I also work prn at the hospital. That year I had to put in more shifts at the hospital compensate for the lower adjunct salary. This placed stress on my marriage as I always had work to do on my days off & in the evenings. FT would have been no different. As an adjunct w/ 2 different employers, you will have the opportunity to preview the FT faculty positions. Compare both w/ your current position & why you are dissatisfied with it. I hope this helps you as you consider this move to adjunct. Good luck to you in whatever you choose.

I am not sure what the average salary would be in NYS, but most hospital-based educators make more than those in the academic setting.

I took the pilot last summer & passed by the skin of my teeth It was very difficult. I made flashcards & used that method for studying & studied them for 2 weeks prior. I purchased the CNE review & used Halstead & Billings Teaching in Nursing it took me approx. 2 weeks to read & create the flashcards. 3 days prior, I purchased the practice test from NLN to determine where I needed to focus for the remaining study days. I am not sure what the changes are, but use the NLN test blueprint as a guideline & be sure to purchase the study guide's latest edition as I would expect it to be geared to the new blueprint. Good luck!

Considering the years of schooling, $62,000 is not very good. I think you also need to look at the work that your instructors takes home, such as grading papers, preparing lectures & assignments. Also off campus faculty meetings with the nursing department as well as campus wide. It is definitely more than a 40 hour work week. Whereas, in the hospital, work begins when you punch in & ends when you punch out. Days off are just that.

Hi Denise, I just got my masters in nursing ed this past November & am considering Capella. I assume you may have graduated by now or are near complete. I am curious about your overall impression of the program. Also, can you provide me with a guesstimate on approx. how many hours/course you invested per week?

DianePhD, To attach look up to the thop bar of the reply panel. 2 buttons to the right of the smiley face is a paper clip. That is the attachment button.

Sounds like a great plan & the nursing process is the perfect choice for your presentation. Remember, if you are assigned a time frame for your presentation try to stick to it; do not make it too short or too long. Mine was 10 minutes & it was difficult to narrow it down. I am curious, where are you going for your masters & when do you expect to graduate?

Hi Dolcebellaluna, What you have here is a very good essay on the role of the nurse educator. However, when asked to provide a personal teaching philosophy, you want to think about all the educational philosophies you studied in your masters program (I am assuming your masters is in Nursing ed) & select 1 or 2 that you believe is a good fit for your teaching style. Then discuss the philosophy(s) characteristics & advantages. Then try to provide a picture on how you plan to incorporate this teaching philosophy in your practice. Also, treat this as an extension of your resume. Use the good paper, single space, double space paragraphs with no indents. Place your name & info centered at the top, double space & center a heading "teaching philosophy". What type of position are you applying for & do you have any prior teaching experience? I ask this because sometimes there are a lot of questions regarding how do you handle xyz, what do you do when zyx happens in your class, etc. Also, were you asked to prepare a presentation to give during your interview?

When I interviewed each member of the panel took turns asking questions. These are standard questions they ask at every interview. They also do a lot of writing as you answer. Your presentation is requested so that they get a feel of your teaching style, so try not to read it, make eye contact & most important, try your best to stick to the time limit. They like to see if you are able to do this without going over or under the 3 minutes. Mine was 10 minutes & this was very hard. I would imagine 3 minutes would be harder. Good luck!

I gave my preceptor a gift certificate for a massage. She loved it! If you do this, be sure to add a tip & let her know that was added.

Has she been working as a CNA? If so, perhaps she is hesitant in leaving her comfort zone. Counsel her on the differences, ie., task oriented vs critical thinking, etc. If she cannot move on from that role, perhaps she is not ready to become a licensed nurse.