Question for Current Nurses

Fixit · Mar 16, 2009

How long have you been a nurse? 5 yrs

Do you feel that there is a shortage of nurse educators? yes

If yes, do you feel that it affects the number of students accepted into nursing programs? yes

Do you feel that this shortage affected your ability to become a nurse? (small number of individuals accepted, small classes, etc) Not really, the small number of openings only meant I'd need A's in the prereq's.

Do you have any suggestions that could improve the number of nurse educators? Pay them for the extra education. I'm in a BSN-MSN program now but not to become a f/t instructor.

Do you feel that there should be more emphasis on getting current nurses into education? To some degree. It depends on how bad the shortage of staff RN's actually is. Or maybe teachers could get incentives for relocating to where they are most needed.

Fixit (Josh B.)

BrnEyedGirl, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN · Mar 16, 2009

I am writing a research paper on the lack of nurse educators for my class. I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me. Thanks!
How long have you been a nurse? almost 11yrs
Do you feel that there is a shortage of nurse educators? Yes
If yes, do you feel that it affects the number of students accepted into nursing programs? of course it does
Do you feel that this shortage affected your ability to become a nurse? (small number of individuals accepted, small classes, etc) It didn't affect me, when I was in school they were begging for students and even paid for much of the schooling.
Do you have any suggestions that could improve the number of nurse educators? Pay the educators better and I'm not sure you need a masters degree to teach entry level nursing. I would love to teach later in my career, but I'm not going to get my masters just to teach.
Do you feel that there should be more emphasis on getting current nurses into education? Yes, see above.
If you could also just give me your name, it doesn't have to be your true name but I have to have a name to cite.

Juli Martin BS, RN, BSN

nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN · Mar 16, 2009

How long have you been a nurse? 2 years

Do you feel that there is a shortage of nurse educators? Yes

If yes, do you feel that it affects the number of students accepted into nursing programs? In our state, you have to have one clinical instructor for every 10 students. If you don't have enough instructors, the college can't add additional seats, regardless of the number of qualified applicants they have.

Do you feel that this shortage affected your ability to become a nurse? (small number of individuals accepted, small classes, etc) Yes. I applied to both LPN and RN schools, and ended up as an LPN because that was the program with the open seat. I managed to fight my way into an RN class at the last minute, because a) there was a last minute drop, and b) I received points for being an LPN (our program does a points system to determine who's at the top of the pile). I'm not sorry I was an LPN first, the hands on has been invaluable, but I'm in a local CC rather than a big university, simply because there wasn't an open seat.

Do you have any suggestions that could improve the number of nurse educators? Yes. Pay them more. Most of the instructors I know also work at least part time in a hospital setting to make ends meet. If you've got to do 2 jobs, there's a problem with the pay.

Do you feel that there should be more emphasis on getting current nurses into education? Yes, but there should be changes, at least in my state. There's no reason I need to have a MSN to teach a basic drug dosage class when I have a master's in computer science (trust me on this one, I can do math). There's no reason to have to have an MSN to teach medical terminology. And now, I've heard rumors that they want even the AP classes taught from a nursing perspective (read: MSN), Now how many MSNs with a bachelor's in Biology are there running around rural areas in my state who can actually afford to teach? Man, they need to SO drug test the BON....

You can just call me N. T. Sano. Sano is latin for "to heal" which is the closest to "nurse" I found...

Sterren, BSN, RN · Mar 16, 2009

I am writing a research paper on the lack of nurse educators for my class. I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me. Thanks!

How long have you been a nurse? 8 months

Do you feel that there is a shortage of nurse educators? absolutely.

If yes, do you feel that it affects the number of students accepted into nursing programs? absolutely. Less than 1/4 of the people who applied to my nursing program were accepted, even though many more than that were qualified.

Do you feel that this shortage affected your ability to become a nurse? (small number of individuals accepted, small classes, etc) no, but I was lucky.

Do you have any suggestions that could improve the number of nurse educators? better pay, better support, more appreciation for the job they do.

Do you feel that there should be more emphasis on getting current nurses into education? yes.

If you could also just give me your name, it doesn't have to be your true name but I have to have a name to cite. Ann

Midwest4me · Mar 16, 2009

how long have you been a nurse? 23 years

do you feel that there is a shortage of nurse educators? yes

if yes, do you feel that it affects the number of students accepted into nursing programs? yes, especially within the past 10 years.

do you feel that this shortage affected your ability to become a nurse? (small number of individuals accepted, small classes, etc) no; there didn't appear to be such a shortage of nursing educators 23 years ago at the college i attended.

do you have any suggestions that could improve the number of nurse educators? increase the pay, improve the benefits---make the positions more appealing to prospective educators. it's my understanding that the nurse educators are paid quite a bit less than floor nurses in the hospitals.

do you feel that there should be more emphasis on getting current nurses into education? perhaps

if you could also just give me your name, it doesn't have to be your true name but i have to have a name to cite.

m.landsdown

jessi1106, BSN, RN · Mar 16, 2009

i am writing a research paper on the lack of nurse educators for my class. i was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me. thanks!

how long have you been a nurse? 1.8 years

do you feel that there is a shortage of nurse educators? yes, specifically as told to me by my own nurse educators. i think it is worse in some areas of the country.

if yes, do you feel that it affects the number of students accepted into nursing programs? of course.

do you feel that this shortage affected your ability to become a nurse? (small number of individuals accepted, small classes, etc) no. it did not affect my ability to become a nurse. this is due to the fact that i had a high gpa and was accepted to my bsn program. however, students below a 3.7 did not make it into the program.

do you have any suggestions that could improve the number of nurse educators? pay is obvious. quicker tenure/benefits (not sure how that would be possible). some outside source (university, government) paying for advanced masters/doctorial teaching degree.

do you feel that there should be more emphasis on getting current nurses into education? yes. but more emphasis from who is another question...

if you could also just give me your name, it doesn't have to be your true name but i have to have a name to cite. name: jess, bsn, rn

nurseforlife · Mar 16, 2009

How long have you been a nurse? 13yrs

Do you feel that there is a shortage of nurse educators? yes

If yes, do you feel that it affects the number of students accepted into nursing programs? yes

Do you feel that this shortage affected your ability to become a nurse? (small number of individuals accepted, small classes, etc. YES, and elimination of the college level program didn't help either.

Do you have any suggestions that could improve the number of nurse educators? There are plenty of nurses who would be excellent teachers. It's too bad they aren't able to just because they don't have a degree.

Do you feel that there should be more emphasis on getting current nurses into education? To some degree.There should allow nurses with a diploma and years of experience to teach, or do clinicals. What's the big deal, it seems like all of those nurses with diplomas have nothing to offer.

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Mar 16, 2009

I feel there is a shortage of nurses and this will increase when Baby Boomers all retire, which is soon. Part of the shortage is due to lack of qualified Educators. I would not take that job due to decrease in pay. Another reason for the shortage is young nurses who are hired are shocked at the amount of work and stress related to this career. We lose many after 1-2 years on the job.

DNP54 · Mar 16, 2009

how long have you been a nurse? 17 years

do you feel that there is a shortage of nurse educators? yes

if yes, do you feel that it affects the number of students accepted into nursing programs? yes

do you feel that this shortage affected your ability to become a nurse? (small number of individuals accepted, small classes, etc) no, i was trained in the military thru civilian contract training and got a 'pass' via military funding.

do you have any suggestions that could improve the number of nurse educators? i would love to see the return of the diploma program, 3 years, the final year being all clinical. would the nursing profession not be better served by the instructors staying with the class from start to finish, weeding out the inappropriate candidates and mentoring their students to a higher standard and skill level?

do you feel that there should be more emphasis on getting current nurses into education? yes, i can make more $54k working 2 weekend 12's only, but instructors are making $40k. something is wrong with that, as i view the instructor as the expert in the field.

Otessa, BSN, RN · Mar 16, 2009

How long have you been a nurse?17 years

Do you feel that there is a shortage of nurse educators?yes

If yes, do you feel that it affects the number of students accepted into nursing programs?yes

Do you feel that this shortage affected your ability to become a nurse? (small number of individuals accepted, small classes, etc)no-the colleges SHOULD be selective -not accept everyone.

Do you have any suggestions that could improve the number of nurse educators?An MSN or Doctorate is required for most nurse educator positions. Compensation is the biggest reason that I will not be switching from my current job to a university or technical school to teach as the pay DECREASE would be significant- $15-30,000/year. I am working on my MSN in education right now.

Do you feel that there should be more emphasis on getting current nurses into education? No-not until compensation is addressed.

otessa