Today was my first day back to work after summer break. It has been hard to get my mind back into the groove so I decided to reflect on my first year.
Teaching nursing is harder but more rewarding than I could have ever anticipated. I was hired in a group that is starting a program at a new satellite campus to the main nursing program. There were two other brand new instructors hired at the same time. We started only a few weeks before the semester started and had to create all our course materials ourselves. We were given an outline of the curriculum and access to a textbook and ATI resources. We had one seasoned nursing instructor to lead us.
Besides creating all our course materials, we had to set up and teach all our own labs, plus attend New Faculty seminars, weekly staff meetings, monthly division meetings, and host office hours for students. We were certainly thrown into the fire but were able to handle everything thrown at us. Nurses are resilient and resourceful people after all.
The second semester three more full time faculty were on-boarded for the upper level classes. They unfortunately had the same trial-by-fire entrance that we did. Now that I had been through one semester, I just needed to tweak my lessons each week. It was significantly easier in that regard, but then they required more from us. We had to start advising students – yikes! We had to pitch in and take on clinical mentoring and mock simulations for the fourth semester class because we didn’t yet have a full time faculty for that semester. Now entering my second year, I have to also pick up a clinical group although I am trading that for someone to teach my labs for me.
I had a little prior experience working in academia, when I was a professional advisor and career counselor. So honestly, I was prepared for some of the politics and governance of a college program. There are meetings upon meetings and a committee has to be formed for everything. Some of those committees produce results and some do not. But I am not sure some of my coworkers knew what they were getting into. Looking for an easy laid-back job before (or after) retirement? This probably isn’t it.
What I really loved about teaching
Teaching nursing is very interactive. One thing I love about teaching in a nursing program is that the profession is very hands-on. I got to demonstrate skills and set up simulations for students. I get to play with cool technology and toys such as electronic medical records simulation software and high fidelity mannequins. And now I get to lead a clinical group of students taking care of real life patients. I am actively teaching them critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Nursing is probably one of the most fun college programs to teach.
Teaching allowed me to return to creative roots; creating and delivering presentations, developing teaching aids, and writing content. I had to brainstorm ideas for new and interactive ways to present information to facilitate learning like games, puzzles and case studies.
I also got to incorporate my training in career counseling. I love working with college students and have a lot to offer when it comes to developing professionalism. I can also offer advice to students who struggle or who have a lot of other responsibilities such as work and family because like a lot of other nurses, I went back to school as a second career and had a complicated personal life.
If you can even imagine it, there is an even greater sense of purpose and accomplishment. Nurses are saving lives. Nursing instructors are training nursing students to save lives and therefore impacting the future of nursing. Just like nursing is a calling, so is teaching.
Categories: Healthcare, Nursing, Careers
Tags: education, healthcare, news, nursing, nursing-school
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