Staff nurse to Educator

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Recently, an opportunity opened up in my hospital for a Nurse Educator position. I have been a staff nurse for a number of years and know the specialty I would be asked to teach. I am concerned about transitioning from 1. a 3 day work week to a 5 day work week because I still have children at home and 2. I am unsure of the learning curve. Does anyone have any input on the challenges I can expect in this role? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

You are very wise to take time to weigh all the considerations. Education is a 'whole nother' discipline. Although there is a smattering of informant about patient education, education theory is not included in basic nursing education. Nurse educators need to be competent in basic areas such as educational psychology, psychometrics, instructional design, education law, . . . etc. It's not a great fit for people who are seriously introverted, uncomfortable with ambiguity or conflict avoidant.

If you're interested in the position, I would encourage you to negotiate for training resources. Check out ANPD for resources. If it seems like the direction for your career, you probably need to move in the direction of an MSN-Edu.

I love nursing education!!! But if it seems like it is not a good fit for you right now in terms of work-life balance, I'm sure that there will be more opportunities for you in the future.

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Thank you so much for taking the time to write. I found your answer very thoughtful and engaging and I will use it to my benefit! As you suggested I will try to negotiate training resources (I intended to negotiate salary:) I do have a certification in my area and intended to start MSN- NP track in February until this position opened up. I feel some pressure to take the position because I feel like it is time to move away from the bedside but your point is well taken. I will look at it closely and if it is not the right time I will pass it over and continue to work on MSN. Thanks again!

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As previously mentioned, being an educator is a serious step up intellectually from staff nursing. Also, for salaried positions, 9-5 is more of a suggestion than actual hours worked. I remember logging serious hours when teaching. I wouldn't advertise the NP program too heavily at non-clinical interviews. The manager is not looking to hire someone who is going to quit or go part-time in a couple years so they can have better work life balance. Again, non-bedside jobs expect more of a commitment to the institution.

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Thank you very much for your response. I think your advice is very sound and I agree with your points. I have heard others in this position say it is very flexible and pretty much stress free and they can manage the job and their families. Do you think they are exaggerating? Should I not expect to utter these accolades if I am moving from staff nurse to educator? How long do you think it will take me to settle in? Thank you!

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