proRN

Century sounds about the same as most programs out there. It is extremely competetive. Whether they tell you or not, they all have criteria for deciding who gets in like grades and CNA. There are so many applicants they do not have to bother with the incomplete applications so if you do not turn in everything your application is not considered. This goes for most of the schools in MN. As far as counselors, be careful to talk to someone who knows nursing, or someone in the nursing department. There are so many special things to know about nursing, and a large turn over in academic counselors that it can be tough to get accurate information. Sometimes you can call the nursing program director directly and get your questions answered. Also, look for colleges that offer information sessions for their program, they will have nursing people there that can answer questions. Best of luck in your application, and turn in several to different schools. Be very complete in putting together your information packet, and keep asking questions until you get the answers! Also see: http://www.national.edu/Programs/Nursing/Pages/Programs.aspx

No, this is for a traditional BSN four year degree. 2 years of generals and 2 years of nursing and then you take the NCLEX-RN to get licensed. It's brand new, the very first class. they have an information session tomorrow (Monday). It is so new it is not on the website yet!

I see that National American University in Bloomington just started offering a BSN program. They are accepting applications January through June, hurry, all 24 spots are still open!

Not sure where you are from, but NAU just started a BSN program in Bloomington, MN. It is mostly on campus, a few online courses. They will start accepting apps in January, there are only 24 spots so hurry. Application deadline for nursing core is june.

"By the hour" is a confusing term in academia. If I take my annual salary and divide by a 40 hour week I make about $26.50 per hour. However, I rarely work only 40 hours if I count all the teaching, prep, committee work, community service and research that I do in a week.

I disagree that we should focus on the physical abilities/limitations in nursing or nursing education. Nursing is first and foremost knowledge work. As a person with some physical disability I would apply for the position you want to do (we desperately need educators) and ask for accomodations. Do not let employers discriminate, you have what matters most: nursing knowledge. At our college the science lab manager is in a wheelchair and he does very well at his job.

Nursing faculty are paid by the contact hour at our community college. Classroom teaching is 1 credit for 1 hour, lab instruction is 2 hours for 1 credit, and clinical teaching is 3 hours for 1 credit. We are assigned 20 contact hours per week that only includes direct time with students. Prep time, office hours (5 per week) and committee work is not included, but expected.

Nursing faculty positions will start to be posted in March for the next academic year. In MN a Masters degree in nursing is needed for a FT position at most colleges, some non-accredited technical schools only require a BSN. Check the websites of the colleges near you, they should start to post openings soon. Nationwide there is a nurse faculty shortage, although like the nursing shortage it is not evenly distributed. I am not sure what things are like in Iowa. Good luck!

Try this web link: https://www.capella.edu/default.aspx The courses were challenging but do-able. They are all online, anywhere, anytime. When I applied they gave me credit for 48 credits from my Masters program. also: http://www.capella.edu/schools_programs/education/phd/postsecondary_adult_education.aspx

Hello, I am interested in teaching online as well. I have tried UOP, but they really want you to have a PhD. I do teach some online courses for the community college I am at, mainly because many of the long-time faculty do not want to do it. This may be a better opportunity because online universities are hard to get into without experience and a PhD. If you have not had formal training in developing and facilitating online courses, I highly recommend the online certificate program through Indian State University. It is a great addition to your resume as well. http://nursing.iupui.edu/LifelongLearning/default.asp?/LifelongLearning/CertificatePrograms/TeachInNsg/TeachInNursWebCert.htm

Congratulations on the decision to pursue a career in nursing education, we all know how needed you are. I have served on many search committees for nursing faculty, and have been through many interviews myself. In a techinical program, they may be interested in how well you can teach technical skills. Hopefully if a demonstration is required they let you know ahead of time. It is not uncommon to demonstrate something simple like teaching a skill such as BP taking or NG insertion. The committee will look at your ability to develop a lesson plan with specific measurable goals as well as your presentation. I have designed interview questions, and they are often very specific to the mission of the nursing program. Do your research about the school ahead of time to know their mission and philosophy so you can focus your answers. If the position is for clinical teaching, you may get questions such as how would you be fair when students present exceptions (like missing more than the allowed clinicals due to personal reasons, or concerns about safety in the patient care setting). Giving students feedback and fair evaluation is an important aspect of clinical teaching. If it is a lecture postion in a college, you may be asked about your experience as well as your education and nursing philosophy. I have additional resources if you are interested, it would help to know more about the position requirements. :welcome:

I have been teaching fulltime at a community college with my MSN for 6 years, and I have been working on my PhD in education for the last two years. I love the variety of teaching opportunities. Clinical teaching requires a great deal of energy, but has its own rewards. I am currently very interested in online teaching, and I have developed some online nursing courses at the college. I am really glad I am pursuing my PhD. I am already done with my coursework and starting my dissertation. Although my PhD is in education and not nursing, I feel it will serve me well. A PhD in nursing is like gold, however, and for those that have the opportunity it is the best way to go. I chose the education degree because it is accessible. It is the only way I could get a degree while working and raising a family. I am going through Capella University and I highly recommend it.

I have a provacative related question. One of the objectives of the CNE is: "Distinguish academic nursing education as a specialty area of practice and an advanced practice role within professional nursing." Currently, nursing does not recognize nursing education as advanced practice. Many state nurse practice acts do not include educators in their definition of advanced practice. Should we as educators lobby to change our nurse practice acts? I know NLN's position on this, but ANA is not discussing it. We do not want to divide nursing over this, but how can we raise nursing education to the value, recognition, and pay that we need to recruit/retain qualified, talented faculty??

I am a full-time ADN educator with a MSN in nursing education currently taking classes in a PhD program. Is anyone else out there submitting themselves to this kind of torture? How are you managing?

Many LPN programs hire BSNs for clinical and classroom. Also, the ADN programs that are not nationally accredited will hire BSN as well. It is really just the NLNAC accredited schools that must hire MSNs, unless your state bon has additional rules.

Hi Aylinajo, The mnbon is most interested in protecting the public, and will not be of much help on your behalf. I wondered when I read your post, do you belong to a union? As a member of the MN nurses assn. I can usually get some help with legal Qs and advocacy when needed. Good luck.

Thanks, Vickie for the information. This is a topic that needs some research. I wonder if there is any evidence that adding more slots for students in schools of nursing impacts the nursing shortage? Here in MN we are seeing a drop in NCLEX pass rates and attrition in schools of nursing has not improved either. If we are able to add more nurses to the profession, how long do they stay? I think that sometimes we attack the issue from the wrong end.

Hey Vickie, I am interested in what educators in other states think regarding accreditation. I teach at a community college that is NLNAC accredited and we work hard to maintain it. However, many of the schools in our state have dropped accreditation all together. Especially the technical colleges with LPN programs, (4 out of 23 are accredited). This seems to be related to the NLNAC requirement of faculty preparation at the MSN level. The LPN programs hire faculty at the ADN and BSN level due to the current shortage. What do you think of this? Is this the case anywhere else? I recently spoke to the director of the largest tech college in the metro area of our state who said that she has just added more slots to her LPN prgram, and has no idea where she will find faculty to teach. I said that it seems irresponsible to do such a thing. The colleges want the enrollment regardless of the limited supply of qualified faculty. So, is accreditation important or not??

When I was through with the dead-end of staff nursing I went to graduate school for nursing education. I have been teaching at a state college for 6 years now and I want out. I took a $20K/year cut in pay from staff nursing, but I was thinking that the hours would be better and that I could be home in the summer with my kids. This has not happened for me yet. I work an average of 50-60 hours per week, this includes evening clinicals and spending all weekend correcting papers and getting ready for Monday lecture. I have been assigned projects every summer from curriculum work to teaching online courses. We also work short-staffed and there is no such thing as overtime pay (it is all salaried). I need to get out, but what should I try next? I have a MSN but it does not seem to mean much. :rotfl:

In MN, the BON requires a MSN in nursing to teach full-time. However, many schools get around this when there is a shortage and hire BSNs on a part-time basis. I currently work in the state community college system where salaries start at $30K and top out at $66,750. Most have a nine month contract, but many also teach summer courses or work on curriculum and things you do not have time for during fall and spring semesters. I feel that there is not so much a shortage of MSN prepared faculty, but a shortage of attractive nurse faculty jobs. The difference between my staff RN position at the local hospital and my faculty position (yes, I work 2 jobs) is $28K per year. It is sad that I feel so burned out and underpaid. I am returning to staff nursing and terminating my faculty position this year (and contributing to the educator shortage). We have MSNs out there, the shortage lies with the pay and workload at the colleges.

I agree that BSN prepared nurses can be great clinical instructors, in RN programs as well as technical. I think that nurse educators are realizing that this is a role that requires some additional training. The NLN offers some course work in the teaching role of clinical faculty (a continuing ed. program, not a grad. course). RNs who have had some experience in teaching and some coursework are more confident in their abilities and the students benefit.

I graduated with a MSN in nursing education in 2000. When I was hired full-time at the college I was teaching at, my first project was to work with 2 other seasoned faculty and revamp the curriculum from the philosophy to the course content. This was a major undertaking and the changes were difficult for some of the faculty. It was and continues to be a great learning experience. The next thing we did (simultaneously) is to expand our program to a rural campus of the college. I chose to be on the team to bring our program to this new site, and transferred to the northern campus. The problem is that in the last 4 years I have never had the opportunity to teach the same course twice, and I am constantly required to come up with new preps and innovations. As energizing as this was at first, I am feeling a little burned out by now. I put in an average of 50-60 hours per week to teach the entire first year curriculum to 27 students. I have taught every course in the old curriculum and I have had a hand in developing all of the new courses and I have taught the first two courses so far. Is this an average work load for new educators? I find that some days I can barely keep up. So much for lecture notes from experienced instructors, we create as we go and I rarely see any other instructors. In fact, there is only one other instructor in the remote campus program I have worked on developing, and she teaches the entire 2nd year curriculum to 27 students. She is newly out of her MSN program this year, and is struggling as well with the workload. What is usual in other ADN programs?