TO a NeW LEveL of NuRsING, how is it done?

Natingale, EdD, RN · Jun 5, 2008

I know theres a clinical instructor somewhere on this board, she'll be more help.

I know you need your masters for the most part, there is a high demand in nursing. Period. I know schools need more funding from the gov't for their programs, I cant think of a reason why there wouldnt be a need for a professor.

Im glad you decided to go down that route, other than some home care facilities, not a lot of 9-5s I dont think. Ive been wrong before, so it wouldnt be a surprise if I am now.

Look around the boards, Im sure theres a forum dedicated to this topic.

elkpark · Jun 5, 2008

Some schools use BSN-prepared people as clinical instructors, but, in general, in most areas, an MSN is considered the minimum for teaching. A doctoral degree gives you a lot more professional opportunities/choices in teaching (some schools only hire doctorally-prepared faculty, and, in lots of schools with "mixed" faculty, the MSN-level people are clearly "second-class citizens" -- how big a deal that is depends on the individual school).

Teaching nursing is less and less a "9-5" proposition (not that it ever was, really ...) More and more programs are offering evening/weekend programs; stiff competition for clinical sites means that more and more clinicals are taking place on evening shift in all programs; many programs do 12-hour clinical days; even with 7-3 clinicals, the instructor has to go to the clinical site the evening before or earlier that morning to make assignments; and, of course, teaching is, in general, one of those jobs that expands to fill the time available -- there are always times when you are grading papers, preparing classes, etc., at home on your own time. Faculty positions (full-time positions, anyway, not necessarily adjuncts) are salaried -- you're paid for 40 hours/week, but you have to put in as much time as necessary to get all the work done to fulfill your responsibilities in the position. On the other hand, you're on an academic calendar, so you get extended breaks at Xmas, Spring Break, etc. Lots of faculty have summers off, but that can be either a good thing or a bad thing, depending (when you don't work summers, you don't get paid for summers ...)

Nursing faculty positions are notoriously poorly paid; look around this site, there is lots of discussion of this -- "I'd love to be able to teach, but I can't afford the 50% pay cut I'd have to take to do so". As a general rule, nearly any nurse can make quite a bit more in a clinical position than s/he can in a teaching position. It's not uncommon that your graduating students are going to get new grad positions that pay more than you're making as their instructor. I guarantee you no one (in nursing) goes into teaching for the money! :rolleyes: As with anything else, there is no clear, single answer to "how much do nursing professors make?" It depends on what part of the country you're in, the particular school, the individual's qualifications/degrees/experience, how badly the school needs faculty with a particular clinical specialty, etc.

Every faculty position posting I've ever seen has specified that at least two years of clinical experience (as an RN, that is) is required (and some require more than two), and the more experience, the better. Many schools specify that they're looking for someone with a specific clinical specialty, and they often require a specific advanced practice specialty and national certification.

I'm not trying to discourage you, just give honest, realistic answers to your questions. There is a lot of need for nursing faculty (everywhere) -- largely because these are positions that require a lot of effort and responsibility for comparatively poor pay! :) However, there are also many rewards to teaching if it's something you enjoy doing.