Psych RN - want to try medical but no experience

[daisylouhoo]

I went into psych nursing prior to getting any medical experience. Although I love psych nursing I always felt a desire to work general med surge for the experience. I have my MSN in nursing education and teach psych nursing part time but I have been asked to cover other classes. I think not having that experience may hinder my ability to teach other topics.

But.... I have had no luck. Not one phone call, interview, nothing. I would love to hear any feedback you may have! I have 6 years of nursing experience.

Thanks

[atrevida1812]

Hi! Keep trying. Like you I've been a psych nurse for 11 years, no medical experience. I couple of years ago I tried going medical and no luck. But this summer I tried again and I got two offers, one to cardiac step down and the other med surge/tele!! I have a question for you now. I've been thinking about becoming a nurse educator to teach. Is it easy finding full time jobs at colleges ? I also heard a lot of places already have premade lesson plans and tests. Is that true for you? And again...keep trying!

[daisylouhoo]

My understanding is that there is a big need for educators but I cannot say for sure about full time positions. The school I work at now offers day full time positions. Evenings is part time only. This is a technical school. One of my instructors from my MSN program worked in a couple universities at part time positions. She said only people in tenure positions get full time. Otherwise you get paid for as long as the class runs and then wait until the course starts again. The LPN program I work in runs all year. One group finishes and another starts so the teachers who are full time get regular hours. But, this is only my experience and what I have heard from others. I am sure things vary from institution to institution.

As far as the premade lesson plans - I made up my own powerpoints. The books come with test banks so we can select questions and the system develops the test. Also, the books come with online teachers guide and resources. The first semester was a lot of work. I spent a lot of time developing my lesson plans. But, after that you have all your materials set so it goes easier the next time around.

Thanks for the encouragement! I was getting a little discouraged but I have some hope now :)