Teaching for diploma or BSN?

[goingback]

So what are the pros and cons doe teaching for a community college vs BSN program? I understand that the community colleges pay more. How is the job security? Pros/cons?

What about the BSN programs? I teach for one part-time now. The salary is horrible--like $20 less an hour than what I make in the hospital. Lots of politics--which I don't have to deal with too much as a part-time clinical faculty. Are there more politics at the BSN level vs community college?

I have a BSN and believe in the education that the BSN includes vs the CC diploma program. Also there is a different type of student that goes through a community college program vs the more stricter, high GPA, competitive BSN programs. While a nurse is a nurse and it is more that goes into how good you are vs what degree you have. Am I selling out at all if I were to teach for a community college for the money?

I would love to hear peoples experience who have taught for both types of programs.

[elkpark]

Don't know where you are, but in my state, the community colleges do not pay more than the BSN programs. Anywhere you teach you will most likely take a significant pay cut compared to what you can make in clinical practice (no one goes into teaching for the money!!) I'm sure everyone's experience is different, but I have taught in both ADN and BSN programs, and I was definitely not any more impressed with the BSN students than I was with the ADN students -- in fact, I was more impressed with the ADN students in the program in which I taught. They were perhaps a little more "rough around the edges" than the BSN students I had, but they were more willing to buckle down, work hard, and master the material, and more enthusiastic about nursing in general, while many of the BSN students (in my personal experience; I'm not making any sweeping generalizations here) had a v. entitled attitude and seemed to feel they were doing us (the faculty) some sort of favor by simply showing up. Many of them felt that nearly anything they were asked to do (beyond showing up) was an unreasonable demand on our part and they were being mistreated. I taught in a "high GPA, competitive" BSN program (at a well-regarded state university) and was distinctly unimpressed by many of the students (although there were also a few v. good students and plenty who were adequate/average).

I would certainly not consider teaching in a community college nursing program to be "selling out" in any way. In my own experience, teaching in the CC program was a much more enjoyable and professionally satisfying experience. But, again, each school and each person's experience is different.

[vegas2009]

Don't the BSN programs require their faculty to have PHD's? Whereas, the community colleges only require their faculty, master's?

I know that a nurse who has a master's degree and does staff development for a hospital makes usually twice of what an instructor makes.

The advantage of teaching really is more time offs: summer months, winter breaks, and national holidays. Also, teaching is a steady paycheck and full-time comes with contracts (gets renewed every year?).

People who teach in universities don't necessarily make more than their counterparts who teach in community colleges. Unless of course, if they do research on the side, then there's extra $ added towards their paychecks.

Teaching is less stressful I guess, less politics. A steady paycheck, usually comes with a contract, more time offs. More time offs, means more quality time (LIFE). It's really not a bad deal. I can understand why nurses would go into teaching. For one thing, there's literally NO chance of catching any kind of deadly diseases!

A friend of mine is still teaching for a community college up in the Northeast and she is looking forward towards retirement. Lucky her, she always travels EVERY year, in the summertime. I'm jealous :) And oh, she enjoys New England weather in the fall... weeks before school starts!

[elkpark]

Don't the BSN programs require their faculty to have PHD's? Whereas, the community colleges only require their faculty, master's? ...

People who teach in universities don't necessarily make more than their counterparts who teach in community colleges. Unless of course, if they do research on the side, then there's extra $ added towards their paychecks.

It varies from school to school. Some college/uni nursing programs have all-doctorate faculty, some use a mix of MSN- and doctorally-prepared people. Many community colleges use BSN-prepared people to teach clinical, depending on the state BON rules about nursing faculty (which vary among states).

In my state, people teaching in the state uni BSN programs make quite a bit more than people teaching in the CC ADN programs (I've taught in both), and I mean base pay, without any additional income from outside projects. I don't know how the pay at private college/uni BSN programs compares to the state uni pay. However, I'm sure that varies among states, also.