NPTeacher

Wow - so we aren't the only ones with this problem! Our school is a 2 + 2 program where they do their first two years someplace else, then transfer to us for the final two years of nursing school. We are located on a medical science campus, so we don't offer all of the prerequisite courses - including basic a & p. Unfortunately, the courses offered at the local and state colleges and universities vary greatly - so our students come in with a w-i-d-e range of knowledge related to such courses as A & P. However, I have SO much to already teach, that I tell them day one that I am NOT going to spend my time in a 3 or 5 hour course reteaching what they have already had in 2 4-hour courses. I tell them to pull out their A&P books and to BE SURE that they know the A&P of the "system of the day" because if they don't know where it is, or what it does, they certainly can't examine or treat it!

Hi there, I'm not Vicki, but I can also respond to this question. Unfortunately, there is no pat answer. It all depends on where you plan to go to get your BSN, as each school has its own set of prerequesite courses. Contact the recruiter at the school (or schools) that you are thinking about and they can assist you with information specific to their school. Best of luck to you as you persue your nursing career.

HI T.C. Can't believe that you would really want to leave the lucrative salary of a CRNA for that of an educator! In my state, you would have to have a MSN in order to teach in a college nursing program (either at the ADN or BSN level). This is a requirement of the Institute of Higher Learning, which regulates such things in our state, rather than the Board of Nursing.

In the clinical area, our students wear white uniforms with the school patch on their left shoulder. Over the left breast pocket, they wear a school issued name pin with the school logo followed by their name. Under their name is their title (Nursing Student). The uniforms are all alike and are ordered through our campus bookstore. Shoes are solid white, enclosed shoes. White lab coats with a school patch on the left shoulder may also be worn. The only exception is in clinical areas that require scrub suits (labor & delivery, NICU, newborn nursery, and surgery) All other units allow them to come in their school uniform. So - our nursing students are readily visible as nursing students. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for RNs, LPNs, CNAs, lab personnel, and housekeepers on the units.

Wow! I sure must be teaching at the WRONG place! I am an Assistant Professor and teach both BSN and MSN students. I typically get to my office about 7:30 AM and frequently don't leave until 6 or 6:30 PM. It is not unusual to go to the office on Saturday or Sunday for a few hours. During the fall semester, I have a clinical rotation with BSN students. I get to the unit by 6:15 am to assure that assignments are made. Once we leave the unit at 3 pm, I'm back in my office for meetings with students, test to make or grade, other papers to grade, lectures to plan or update, committee work to do, etc. Even on those days, it's not unusual to be in my office until 5:30 or 6. Also, in the university where I work, promotions are not automatic. If hired as an instructor, you must be at the university for at least 2 years before you are eligable to go up for promotion. In order to qualify, you must show excellence in teaching, service, and scholarship, with at least 2 published articles and presentations at the local level, be admitted to a PhD program and have completed at least 12 hours of that program. To go from assistant professor to associate professor, you must have completed your PhD, have at least 20 publication points (you get 4 points for each article that you solo authored, or are first author, and 2 points if you are not the first author), have presented at the regional level, and be actively involved in a program of research. Of course this is all in addition to having excellence in teaching, and service. To be promoted to a full professor, your research must be funded, and be ongoing, and themed. Your presentation must be at the national or international level. And your must continue to publish. -- So, none of the promotions are "routine." They are all WELL earned. It takes a long time to accomplish all of the tasks required for each level, then seems to take almost as long to put together your portfolio to apply for promotion. Of course, it is the only way to get $ as raises sure don't come any other way these days. I have been here 7 years, and the only raises that I have gotten in the last 6 of those years has come from promotions.

Thanks for your replies. We are still in the mist of trying to "iron out" the differences in opinions in our own faculty. I am the one on the side of teaching all skills to students. I am a very firm believer that the students need to know how to perform these skills properly - then what to do with the information gathered. BSNs should refer abnormal findings, while MSNs should manage them. I started my career as an ADN, went on to get my BSN, MSN and will soon have a PhD. In the meantime, I also earned a certificate as a CNM. In My ADN, BSN, and CNM programs, part of the curriculum was physical assessment courses. In each one of these courses, there was no distinction made about any skill being an advanced practice skill. (OK - except for internal exams such as pap smear, colposcopies and prostate exams). I realize that most of the nurses that our students see in practice do not use these skills, but that doesn't mean that they shouldn't. There is one nurse on Labor & Delivery that does a full assessment of her patients when she is assigned a new patient. A lot of the other nurses on the unit laugh at her, but thankfully, that hasn't deterred her (at least, not yet) from doing a great assessment. By doing this, she has caught several potential problems. I also know RNs that work for insurance companies and do physical assessments for these companies. I think that if physical assessment is a part of nursing (which it certainly is), then our students need to be taught the proper way to do the skills - which includes some instruction on the dangers if the skill is done improperly.

Some very interesting comments. You can sure tell which ones are the students and which are the teachers! I might add that our school is on an academic medical campus. So our students encounter patients, families and other professionals daily as they go to the library, cafeteria, bookstore, etc. Many of the schools on our campus currently have a dress code. The dental students and dental hygene students all wear scrubs, PT students wear scrubs, pharmacy male students wear coat and tie, female pharmacy students wear skirt, blouse, blazer and heels. Only the medical and nursing students currently do not have an in-class dress code. Unfortunately, only the nursing students tend to appear in inappropriate attire. Guess they are trying to attract the attention of the medical students! We are attempted MANY times to remind them that they are now in a professional school and we expect them to dress and act professionally. Yes, I agree that they are all adults - I just wish that they would represent themselves accordingly, as when they are moving about on campus, they are representing the School of Nursing and the nursing profession.

Several faculty members are having a disagreement about the depth of knowledge for a BSN student vs a MSN student (with a role focus as an NP). I won't tell you which side I am on - just want to get lots of feedback. 1) One side says that BSN students shouldn't learn skills such as how to use an ophthalmoscope, do deep abdominal palpation, or be taught to palpate the liver or spleen. This side believes that these are all skills that should be reserved for advanced practice nurses. 2) The other side says that the difference in BSN and MSN is not the level of the skill - but what you do with the knowledge. That the BSN should be taught all skills and they are to be able to recognize normal from abnormal. They then refer the abnormal. The MSN should be able not only to perform the skill, recognize normal from abnormal, but then should be able to diagnose and treat the abnormal findings. Any comments or suggestions??????

Congratulations on going back to school. I, too, will graduate next summer (God willing!) with my PhD in Clinical Health Sciences. Then I will be able to get back 100% to teaching / clinical practice. I love it all, but have felt VERY stretched these last 5 years trying to do all things.

I have been a nurse educator for 7 years. I started with a salary of 47,500. and after 7 years, I make 56,000.00. I normally work anywhere from 50-70 hours per week, as it's not unusual for me to work 11 and 12 hour days. Then once I drag myself home, I am frequently grading papers or preparing lectures. We are on 12 month contracts and have a very heavy teaching load at least 2 semesters of the three. My heavest loads happen to be in the summer and fall. Spring, I am only in 2 didactic courses, so don't have a clinical group of students. I teach courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Of course, I am also expected to participate in community service activities, maintain a faculty practice (1 to 2 days per week) and publish. Why on earth do I continue to subject myself to this? I happen to love teaching, love the interaction with my students, and get such a thrill when I see such fine "finished products" Some of my greatest feelings of achievement is when some of my undergraduate students come back into the nurse practitioner program.

Hi all - I'm new to this board, but not new to nursing education. I have been teaching nursing for 7 years in a school with just about all levels of nursing education, (BSN, RN-BSN, MSN, and PhD programs). I teach both BSN and MSN courses. Our total enrollment is approximately 350 students in all of our various programs.

Our nursing school is on a medical sciences campus. We have toyed off and on with the idea of a dress code for our nursing students, but haven't instituted one. This year, many of our students are coming in with very inappropriate dress, so we are back toying with the dress code issue. Do any of the nursing school require scrubs in the classroom and/or skills lab? One of our arguments (amonst the faculty) is the degree of the dress code - from jeans & shorts to scrubs. We are trying to find out how others have solved this problem - or have you?