LDMooreRN

I am 30 years old and I'm often mistaken for a teenager. I've been told several times that I look about 17 or 18 years old. It can be quite disarming and even amusing when I walk into the classroom and the jaws drop when they realize I'm the teacher.

I don't have them address me as "Mrs" to "make" myself seem more mature or worthy of their respect. I rely on my actions, knowledge base and the relationships I develop with my students to do that. The Mrs. thing is what I prefer, simple as that. I tried the first name basis thing in the past and found that I like the Mrs title better. If you'd have a hard time with that, that's your preference. Just be respectful of mine.

none of my older students ever questioned my level of experience. i think it's because they know that i do have more nursing experience than they do. of course they're older and have more life experience, but they know that's different than the amount of nursing knowledge they have compared to me. they're very respectful of it and i'm grateful for that. no one gives me a hard time with the "mrs" thing at all. the students don't even think twice about it, even if they're older than me. some of my students can't even bring themselves to call me "lisa" after they've graduated and passed boards! i thought that was pretty amusing...

Hi there! I'm Lisa and I was just hired as the new Maternal/Child nursing instructor at a community college in Illinois. I've been a nurse for 6 years and most of my experience has been in pediatrics (kidney and liver transplant, GI and urology). I started out with an ADN, then went on to an accelerated BSN/MSN program. Right before graduation, I was hired as adjunct faculty teaching peds clinicals. I did that for just over a year (while working my other job) and then the faculty at the college convinced me to apply for a full time position after I graduated. So now here I am! And loving every minute of it! I'm a young teacher (30) and get teased quite a bit by the older faculty, but it's all good-natured. I have a wonderful support system at the college and am very proud to say that I am a nursing instructor. I sound very optimistic, bright eyed and bushy tailed, don't I? Nice to "meet" everyone!

Hi Emma! I am 30 years old (not quite as young as you :)) and was just hired as the newest full time nursing faculty member at a community colllege in Illinois. I knew that I was going to be in the minority (age wise) going into nursing education. How do I differentiate myself from the students? I have them call me Mrs. Moore. No exceptions. Some may think that's too formal, but being a new nurse educator and especially since I look much younger than 30, I feel that I HAVE to be addressed like that. It's very simple, but it establishes a boundary with my students and helps remind them (and myself) what kind of relationship we have. We NEED to differentiate ourselves from them. As for being laid back and friendly...as long as you maintain your professionalism, remain objective and are able to help your students, I don't think that's a big deal. However, like llg said in the previous post, "If you are too much "one of them," you may run into difficulties if and when you have to make some tough decisions." I find myself being very careful with how I interact with my students. One of our adjunct faculty members is notorious for being too buddy buddy with the students. And honestly, she is not well liked nor respected. Many of the students would not feel comfortable confiding in her because of her obvious lack of boundaries. Okay, so that's my spiel...kind of long for my first post!! Anyway, it's great knowing that another young nurse educator is out there. I'll keep an eye out for your posts... Lisa