RN Clinical Teacher- no teaching experience?

TheLionessRN, RN · Sep 4, 2002

This thread hasn't been posted to in a while, but I want to add my teaching experience from hell. I am BSN prepared and absolutely love to teach. I took a part time, PRN clinical teaching position with a practical nursing program. The med-surg portion seemed just fantastic, until I began to have behavioural problems with a few of the students. One student was assigned to do an OR observational experience. Because of the large size of the class, I had 9 students and attempted to "farm" out about half of them to various areas of the hospital, like OR, ER, and Cath Lab. This particular student called me at about 10:30 to tell me that an interesting case was coming up, and would it be alright if she skipped lunch to see the case. I said of course, and went back to the students with me on the floor. After lunch, I went to the OR to simply say hello and make sure all was well with the student. No one could find her. A surgeon, of all people, told me that the student had said we were having half a day, and left around 10:30. Needless to say, I was very upset, and the whole thing gave us a black eye in our image with the host hospital. The student was given a written reprimand, but it made me less trustful of the rest of the group.

I took a full time teaching position with this same school and agreed to teach pediatrics, as my choice was OB or Peds. My area is med-surg, with strong preference for the heart and neuro. I agreed to teach peds because I falsely believed that, as a general nurse, I could teach anything, and was offered a class in Med-Surg for the next quarter. I was so wrong! I could not teach pediatrics because I am not a pediatric nurse. I was studying twice as much as the students, just trying to prepare for the next day's class.

I am cutting this short because of space, but, the program itself was so disorganized and no support of the teachers was offered that I decided I did not want to continue there. I still would love to teach, but in my comfort area of expertise.

My students sang my praises when I was doing med-surg clinicals, but I was flat out incompetent as a pediatric clinical instructor, and it showed. This was partially my fault, and, IMO, a lot the fault of the director of the program for putting me in that position.

woundnurse · Sep 11, 2002

Would like to ask for your assistance. Have been following all the replies to this discussion and learning a lot about the different experiences everyone has had in their nursing programs. I am presently in the MSN program and would like to as what skills do you feel that nursing instructors should posess and how they can attain them? Hopefully I can gain some insight so I can try to be an effective instructor myself. I have checked the current literature but would really like some direct feedback. Thank you in advance for any information you can give me.

Cory :)

mario_ragucci · Sep 12, 2002

So? Um sure if there were super schooled folks who couldn't teach. How do you measure a person's teaching reputation. Better to snach up real teachers, than pay threw the nose for a person whose spent too much time without developing teaching and getting old. actual nursing is encompassing so many different skills; Imagine teaching it?

semstr · Sep 12, 2002

What makes a good teacher? What makes a good nurse? What makes a good ..................whatever?

Isn't that always the question, where you sit and can debate all night long?

It's very personal and has to do with 1) skills, learned and the ones a person possesses from her/ his belly. 2) personality, the teachers and the students. 3) school/ study surroundings. 4) money . 5) enthousiasm, again on both sides of the classroom. 6) time. 7) picking out the most important stuff to teach (or as is said have faith in leaving things out, when there are problems in a class, take the problem first)

and 8) evaluate your class every time and listen to the feedback giving to you and change the things that weren't so good from the students point of view. 9) have patience, no professor felt from the sky. Don't teach for the fastest students, but orientate yourself on the "slower" ones. 10) don't laugh about questions, that one is difficult sometimes, I admit that, there are no stupid questions, just stupid answers.

and most of all: have fun at what you do, be honest, admit you don't know everything and listen to your students.

Take care, Renee

Q. · Sep 12, 2002

Renee,

That was an excellent post.

:)

Neon8 · Sep 12, 2002

In my BSN program, I found out during the last quarter that the teachers at that state university were not required to have teaching credentials, just a master's degree. Don't get me wrong, there were many excellent teachers, but there were some awful ones also.

woundnurse · Sep 12, 2002

Thank you all for the excellent replies, especially Renee. As you said it is difficult to determine what makes a great teacher, nurse etc. I guess a love for your job and a determination to do the best you can do. As a 2nd career, late in life nurse I have met other nurses that were terrific and others that should have left the profession a long time ago. My situation is a little different in that I only plan to teach in my area of expertise ... the idea of getting teaching credentials is a good one, as I think there are ways to try to be more effective. I do remember in my class (I being the quiet one) one student who made a lot of "noise" and always got to take first chance at clinicals. The quieter students were given less attention -- something I will always be aware of.

Also, now when I give wound classes, I sometimes have students write questions down without giving their name. This way they are sometimes more inclined to ask questions and when they see the question is not ridiculed are more likely to ask a question out loud.

Again Thank you so much for your replies.

Cory

semstr · Sep 12, 2002

You're welcome, Cory (hey I've got an aunt called Corrie, is yours from Corina too?)

And Susy, thanks for the compliment, it is just the way I try to work everyday.

Take care, Renee

woundnurse · Sep 19, 2002

Renee, Actually my full name is Corinne .... They only person who calls me that is my mom... Cory seems to fit.

Thanks again

Cory:D

Polrbaer · Sep 19, 2002

One should not judge a person on lack of teaching experience vs clinical experience. Some people can teach or share knowledge naturally. I would would rather take a seasoned veteran over a textbook instructor any time. Pearls of Wisdom are more valuable than some textbooks written by authors that some are leading gurus in the industry while others are just unknown.