suztaylor

I've been a nurse for 20 years and I still love every minute of it. The great thing about being a nurse is that there are so many facets to it; if you find you don't like one area, there are hundreds of other areas to choose from. I've been at the same hospital for all 20 years and I can't imagine being anywhere else. I knew when I graduated from nursing school that I wanted pediatrics and I had multiple people tell me to get two years adult experience and then transfer to a peds hospital. I'm glad I didn't take their advice and I hired right into pediatrics as a new grad nurse. Follow your passion - if you know what you want to do, set you path to achieve that goal. I started out on a 0-3 year old unit then transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit. I did that for five years and then went into education. I've had six different positions in education and I'm now the Director of Clinical Education at my hospital. I wouldn't have changed a thing. I'm reading all these posts and some of them are very discouraging and makes me sad that so many nurses out there are not enjoying the profession. Don't be afraid of change - if you are not happy - try another area of nursing. I'm a firm believer there is a niche and good fit for everyone - you just need to find it.

We all know that continuing professional development (CPD) is a professional responsibility that all nurses need to partake in. As an educator, I frequently hear comments that the times of our classes don't fit with staffs' schedules, they won't drive in for 1-hour classes, and that continuing education caters to day shift nurses. Plus, due to the acuity of our patients, nurses don't have the time to attend classes anymore during their shift. What tips and ideas do you have that supports nurses to attend continuing education opportunities so that they can maintain and/or increase their competency? How does your staff perceive CPD? What are processes you have put into practice to mitigate the numerous hindrances and barriers many nurses seem to have today regarding CPD? Thanks in advance for your comments.

I feel that if you really have a passion to teach you will also want to be able to develop curriculum for courses that will be effective for the transfer of learning. To do that, you need a Master's in Nursing Education so at least you can get theory and knowledge about developing objectives, teaching methodologies, and content in how to teach adult learners. So many of my fellow educators do not have this and they may be great at teaching but lack skills in course development, evaluation, and teaching strategies. At a minimum, all educators should have the Nursing Professional Development certification offered by ANPD. Once you have this degree and certification, I firmly believe more doors of opportunity will be open to you. Good luck with this!

I'm so sorry that you had a bad experience with a nurse residency program but please know, there are some excellent programs out there. I hope that other nursing students reading your post and my reply, will take some great effort to research hospitals that say they have a residency program. Some hospitals are proud to boast that word but when you look closely at their program, it is a home grown curriculum hastily put together and not evaluated. My hospital has the Versant RN Residency program which we have had for 15 years. Our program is 22 weeks in length (more time is needed because we are a children's hospital) and the new grad is supported with a preceptor for the full 22 weeks. They don't have their own patient load until full completion of the program. When we first started it, some of the senior nurses complained about it because they said they only had 6 weeks training and they turned out fine. However, it only took a few years for the culture to shift and now the entire hospital cannot imagine on boarding new grad nurses any other way. We have approximately 50 nurses in a cohort and we hire two cohorts a year with over 1,000 applicants for each cohort. It is extremely competitive to get in but the pay off is worth the effort. We evaluate numerous aspects of the program and make changes to continuously try to improve it. Oh how I wish you could have gone through my residency program and I know you would have had a completely different experience. Please don't discourage new grads to avoid hospitals with residency programs but instead encourage them to diligently search for the best programs out there. Many hospitals are doing away with the penalty contract - I know we did. Our focus in on supporting the new grad and our turnover rate is the lowest it has ever been.

JJRN10, good for you that you want to continue learning. It will be something you will never regret. I agree with all the post responses you received to your inquiry. Good comments filled with lots of wisdom. I have many nurse friends who have pursued the MSN in Education or Administration and either of those two can open up various doors of advancement. I did the MSN/Education track because i love education. The main point in finalizing your selection is do something that excites you; something that you have passion for. This way, it will make the school work that much more enjoyable and valuable to you. I'm currently in a Doctor of Education program and I would like to share with you how I decided on which specialty to focus on (I selected Adult Education). I knew I wanted an online program so I visited a lot of schools' websites and thoroughly took a virtual tour and look at every school that offered an EdD degree. The websites of each school are very fully developed and I could look at actual class curriculum for each class required for the degree. When I was torn between a couple of schools and programs, I looked deeply into the course descriptions and found out that I really didn't want to study some of the courses described. Then I found a school with the Adult Education track and looked at all the courses required and found that I was excited about all of them and could see myself enjoying it and learning a lot. I've just completed my 2nd year and have one more to go and, as it turns out, I made a very good decision. By looking at the course material, you can save yourself many headaches by knowing in advance each of the courses and you'll know if that is what you want to spend your time studying on. Best wishes for your educational journey - do some solid research and you will be amazed as to what you can find out from your computer. Lots of information out there to help you make an educated decision.

I'm in my last year of a 3-year program at Walden for a Doctor of Education degree. I have enjoyed the entire experience so far. Now that I have less than a year to graduation, I've started on my dissertation and find the process very satisfying. I have nothing but good things to say about Walden from the moment I made my first phone call contact to now. Walden has a fast track pilot program going on right now that I am in that fast tracks students through the dissertation process in order to complete it in a timely manner. Will be a lot of work but should be worth it in order to finish by the 3-year mark.

One more comment I would like to add is that every educator should have a current copy of the ANA's and ANPD's Nursing Professional Development Scope & Standards of Practice. It is an excellent resource and thoroughly outlines 16 standards of what every great educator should be doing. It is a good list to check for areas of improvement in our practice. You can purchase this from the ANPD website.

HouTx, I whole-heartedly agree with you. You are so right when you stated, "Educators need to be 'educated' and competent in the discipline of education". Many nurse educators are focused on content expertise rather than teaching/learning expertise and there is a world of difference. I believe it is critical that programs of continuing education by systematically planned and developed applying effective educational techniques and methodologies made for adults. My facility stresses formal education and certification just as you mentioned in your post. The Nursing Professional Development (through ANPD and ANCC) is the perfect match for what we do. Every educator should pursue this certification and keep it current throughout their career. I am in a Doctor of Education (EdD) program with a specialization in Adult Education right now and I am thoroughly enjoying the learning and focus on adult education and theory. It is so incredible to keep on learning and I'm sure the knowledge will translate back into my teaching and learning environment. Thank you for your post. I was compelled to reply to you because I mirror your thoughts and you focused right in on the important issues regarding what makes an educator an effective one.