Expanding
Horizons
The Rewards and Challenges of Becoming a Clinical Instructor
w
Working full-time as a nurse, whether as a staff educator, manager or in direct care, is a fulfilling but very busy job. All of these roles require specific expertise, yet share a commonality in the requirement to educate other nurses. Education is an integral part of any nurse’s job, with duties including but not limited to orienting new nurses, executing simulation drills, performing inservices, participating on committees and working on new projects, either on a specific unit or in hospital-wide endeavor (Dorin, 2010).
SUSAN VOLK, MSN, RN, CCRN, CPAN NANCY HOMAN, MSN, RN LESLEY TEPNER, BBA, BSN, RNC-OB MELANIE CHICHESTER, BSN, RNC-OB DENISE SCALES, MS, RNC
Challenges and Opportunities of Education For educators, each day can present new challenges with the need for new solutions and the opportunity to work with and bring together many different groups of people. Nurses, patient care technicians and unit clerks are likely the primary groups, but physicians, physical
Abstract Frontline nurses working in the clinical area are a vital component to nursing education. Taking on the role of adjunct clinical instructor can be a rewarding way to increase one’s own knowledge while performing the important task of educating the next generation of nurses. DOI: 10.1111/1751-486X.12083 Keywords clinical instructor | nurse educator | nursing education
http://nwh.awhonn.org
© 2013, AWHONN
539
Expanding
Horizons
therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, respiratory therapists and registered dietitians are also often participants in educational endeavors. Teaching effectively within diverse groups, identifying learning needs and evaluating learners’ knowledge are essential. Combining these abilities with the clinical expertise in nursing practice is a desirable characteristic of an educator (Senita & Rose, 2009). Educators are able to bring together nursing practice with clinical guidelines, policies and knowledge sharing to make experiences more meaningful for staff.
Becoming an Adjunct Clinical Instructor Since being a nurse is already a busy and continuously thought-provoking role, you might wonder why anyone would want to take on another role, such as that of adjunct clinical instructor. An adjunct clinical instructor serves as an in-
Nursing is inherently a caring profession and many of the rewards stated by clinical instructors reflect this ideal
Susan Volk, MSN, RN, CCRN, CPAN, is a staff development specialist in Perianesthesia Services; Nancy Homan, MSN, RN, is a clinical nurse specialist in the Emergency Department; Lesley Tepner, BBA, BSN, RNC-OB, is a staff nurse, Level III, in Labor & Delivery; Melanie Chichester, BSN, RNCOB, is a staff nurse, Level III, in Labor & Delivery; Denise Scales, MS, RNC, is a nurse manager for parent education; all authors are at Christiana Care Health System in Newark, DE. The authors report no conflicts of interest or relevant financial relationships. Address correspondence to: MChichester@ Christianacare.org.
540
structor in the clinical area and works with undergraduate nursing students (Forbes, Hickey, & White, 2010). Perhaps the question to ask is, what valuable perspectives and knowledge can different nurses bring to this rewarding position? For example, a nurse manager may have many years of nursing experience, understanding accountability, patient satisfaction, budgeting, negotiating relations with physicians and working with the personal and professional needs of direct care nurses. Despite these accomplishments, a manager may feel undervalued in her current role. An adjunct faculty member has the reward of educating the next generation of nurses. Working with each new group of students allows you to share why you still love nursing; seeing the wonder in their eyes is refreshing, providing renewal for your daily job as a manager. An invitation from the School of Nursing is something to look forward to each year, a call to meet the next generation.
Rewards and Challenges Those of us who teach the next generation of nurses feel that it’s an opportunity, honor and
Nursing for Women’s Health
a challenge. Most clinical instructors have fulltime jobs, families and other personal obligations, such as being a student themselves. Even with these challenges, the rewards from teaching are great and varied. Nursing is inherently a caring profession and many of the rewards stated by clinical instructors reflect this ideal. Instructors receive their satisfaction by watching a student grasp a complicated concept or master a clinical skill. Witnessing a student’s growth from the first class to the last also provides the motivation to continue teaching in spite of the obstacles. As one instructor stated, “I am quite certain that I learn as much from them as they learn from me. And, isn’t that what nursing education should be—the sharing of ideas, the creation of new ways to improve treatments, and the uniting as one to put patients and their care first.” The majority of baccalaureate nursing students are filled with the innocence and energy of youth and many have a positive outlook on the future. Their passion will inspire you, as they announce, “When my patient tells me he has pain, I’m going to get his medication right away.” As seniors preparing to graduate from their program, they are excited about launching their careers. Teaching associate degree nursing students may offer a different experience for instructors. These students are often adults juggling jobs, family and school. They are less likely to be involved in some of the social aspects of college campus life, and are not as innocently impassioned about providing ideal care, as life experience has made them realists. These students are very serious about completing the program so that they can provide for their families, but are also looking for a niche they love. Teaching both groups is enjoyable for different reasons, yet each offers instructors the opportunity to share expert nursing knowledge and shape the next generation.
Recent Trends There has been a steady increase in enrollment in accelerated nursing programs across the country, allowing students with a previous career to return to school to pursue a degree in nursing. Associate degree programs have also seen an increase in the number of “second-career” students (Hader, 2010; Kohn & Truglio-Londrigan, 2007). Students may also be licensed practical/vocational nurses choosing to continue their education.
Volume 17
Issue 6
Expanding
Horizons
There are a variety of reasons for the influx of second-career nursing students. For some, the economy may have necessitated a job change. For others, the experience of caring for a loved one through a health crisis has spurred them to choose nursing as a career. Schools, educators and staff nurses must be able to adapt teaching styles and methods to suit the particular needs and qualities that different students possess (Hader, 2010; Kohn & Truglio-Londrigan, 2007). This unique group of students plays an important role in the future of nursing. They come into nursing with life experience that gives them a broader, more mature perspective when caring for patients. These students are bright, motivated and willing to work hard to master the challenges of a demanding new career (Tepner, 2013). These students can draw on your clinical expertise as they learn a new role as a registered nurse.
Roles, Requirements and Qualifications The principal role of an adjunct professor is to provide clinical instruction to undergraduate students. This position does not offer an opportunity for tenure. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on the future of nursing calls for more BSN-prepared nurses, not only to improve the ability of the clinical nurse at the bedside to think critically, but also to increase the number of nurses prepared to advance to higher levels of
December 2013 | January 2014
There has been a steady increase in enrollment in accelerated nursing programs across the country, allowing students with a previous career to return to school to pursue a degree in nursing
education necessary to educate the next generation (IOM, 2010). Nursing programs can make good use of nurses in clinical positions to fill needed academic positions (Forbes et al., 2010). The blending of the clinical expertise with academia has the key components for a fruitful student experience. This is an ideal opportunity for a hospital-based nurse to try on a new pair of shoes in the role of an adjunct instructor for a senior practicum course. The educational requirements for clinical instructors may depend on the program and/or the state requirements. Associate programs may only require a BSN, while BSN programs usually ask for an MSN, or that you be enrolled in an MSN program. Working as an adjunct instructor is a wonderful opportunity to use teaching skills in a different context from the usual role of staff development. Balancing a full-time job and teaching
Nursing for Women’s Health
541
Horizons
Nursing students are energetic and enthusiastic, with a desire to learn
Expanding
everything
can be challenging, yet shift work often has an inherent flexibility, allowing time to teach during the day while working an evening or night shift. Alternatively, some nursing programs offer clinical time in the evening or on the weekend. As an adjunct instructor, one must read journals, grade scholarly papers and assign a grade to one component of the course. This reveals yet another side of the adjunct role— monitoring how well the students apply theoretical concepts to the practicum experience. Observing students as they express their thoughts and ideas is a particularly enjoyable, though time-consuming, side of the role. Clinical instructing is a challenge to develop new skills, since educators must provide learning experiences targeted to the group while being mindful of the individual learning needs of each student.
Conclusion Nursing students are energetic and enthusiastic, with a desire to learn everything. They are on the threshold of starting their career and will take advantage of every learning opportunity presented. In the past, nursing students tended to be younger. However, in recent years adults are turning to nursing as a second career, widening the age range of candidates. As an adjunct clinical instructor, you can share your expertise and support novices as they develop and hone
542
Nursing for Women’s Health
their knowledge and skills. To be able to touch such diverse groups of people is stimulating and rewarding! NWH
References Dorin, M. (2010). Do you want to be a staffdevelopment specialist? Lippincott’s 2010 Nursing Career Directory, 40(1), 1–72. doi:10.1097/01. NURSE.0000387066.37626.98 Forbes, M. O., Hickey, M. T., & White, J. (2010). Adjunct faculty development: Reported needs and innovative solutions. Journal of Professional Nursing, 26(2), 116–124. doi:10.1016/j. profnurs.2009.08.001 Hader, R. (2010). Engaging the new wave of second-career nurses. Nursing Management, 41(2), 6. doi:10.1097/01.NUMA.0000368558.07900.db Institute of Medicine (IOM). (2010). The future of nursing: Focus on education. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from www.iom.edu/~/media/ Files/Report%20Files/2010/The-Future-of-Nursing/Nursing%20Education%202010%20Brief.pdf Kohn, P. S., & Truglio-Londrigan, M. (2007). Second-career baccalaureate nursing students: A lived experience. Journal of Nursing Education, 46(9), 391–399. Senita, J. A., & Rose, S. (2009). From staff development to academia: A look before you leap. Journal for Nurses in Staff Development, 25(2), 86–90. doi:10.1097/NND.0b013e31819e12d1 Tepner, L. (2013). What was I thinking? Nursing for Women’s Health, 17, 168. doi:10.1111/1751-486X.12028
Volume 17
Issue 6
Horizons
The Rewards and Challenges of Becoming a Clinical Instructor
w
Working full-time as a nurse, whether as a staff educator, manager or in direct care, is a fulfilling but very busy job. All of these roles require specific expertise, yet share a commonality in the requirement to educate other nurses. Education is an integral part of any nurse’s job, with duties including but not limited to orienting new nurses, executing simulation drills, performing inservices, participating on committees and working on new projects, either on a specific unit or in hospital-wide endeavor (Dorin, 2010).
SUSAN VOLK, MSN, RN, CCRN, CPAN NANCY HOMAN, MSN, RN LESLEY TEPNER, BBA, BSN, RNC-OB MELANIE CHICHESTER, BSN, RNC-OB DENISE SCALES, MS, RNC
Challenges and Opportunities of Education For educators, each day can present new challenges with the need for new solutions and the opportunity to work with and bring together many different groups of people. Nurses, patient care technicians and unit clerks are likely the primary groups, but physicians, physical
Abstract Frontline nurses working in the clinical area are a vital component to nursing education. Taking on the role of adjunct clinical instructor can be a rewarding way to increase one’s own knowledge while performing the important task of educating the next generation of nurses. DOI: 10.1111/1751-486X.12083 Keywords clinical instructor | nurse educator | nursing education
http://nwh.awhonn.org
© 2013, AWHONN
539
Expanding
Horizons
therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, respiratory therapists and registered dietitians are also often participants in educational endeavors. Teaching effectively within diverse groups, identifying learning needs and evaluating learners’ knowledge are essential. Combining these abilities with the clinical expertise in nursing practice is a desirable characteristic of an educator (Senita & Rose, 2009). Educators are able to bring together nursing practice with clinical guidelines, policies and knowledge sharing to make experiences more meaningful for staff.
Becoming an Adjunct Clinical Instructor Since being a nurse is already a busy and continuously thought-provoking role, you might wonder why anyone would want to take on another role, such as that of adjunct clinical instructor. An adjunct clinical instructor serves as an in-
Nursing is inherently a caring profession and many of the rewards stated by clinical instructors reflect this ideal
Susan Volk, MSN, RN, CCRN, CPAN, is a staff development specialist in Perianesthesia Services; Nancy Homan, MSN, RN, is a clinical nurse specialist in the Emergency Department; Lesley Tepner, BBA, BSN, RNC-OB, is a staff nurse, Level III, in Labor & Delivery; Melanie Chichester, BSN, RNCOB, is a staff nurse, Level III, in Labor & Delivery; Denise Scales, MS, RNC, is a nurse manager for parent education; all authors are at Christiana Care Health System in Newark, DE. The authors report no conflicts of interest or relevant financial relationships. Address correspondence to: MChichester@ Christianacare.org.
540
structor in the clinical area and works with undergraduate nursing students (Forbes, Hickey, & White, 2010). Perhaps the question to ask is, what valuable perspectives and knowledge can different nurses bring to this rewarding position? For example, a nurse manager may have many years of nursing experience, understanding accountability, patient satisfaction, budgeting, negotiating relations with physicians and working with the personal and professional needs of direct care nurses. Despite these accomplishments, a manager may feel undervalued in her current role. An adjunct faculty member has the reward of educating the next generation of nurses. Working with each new group of students allows you to share why you still love nursing; seeing the wonder in their eyes is refreshing, providing renewal for your daily job as a manager. An invitation from the School of Nursing is something to look forward to each year, a call to meet the next generation.
Rewards and Challenges Those of us who teach the next generation of nurses feel that it’s an opportunity, honor and
Nursing for Women’s Health
a challenge. Most clinical instructors have fulltime jobs, families and other personal obligations, such as being a student themselves. Even with these challenges, the rewards from teaching are great and varied. Nursing is inherently a caring profession and many of the rewards stated by clinical instructors reflect this ideal. Instructors receive their satisfaction by watching a student grasp a complicated concept or master a clinical skill. Witnessing a student’s growth from the first class to the last also provides the motivation to continue teaching in spite of the obstacles. As one instructor stated, “I am quite certain that I learn as much from them as they learn from me. And, isn’t that what nursing education should be—the sharing of ideas, the creation of new ways to improve treatments, and the uniting as one to put patients and their care first.” The majority of baccalaureate nursing students are filled with the innocence and energy of youth and many have a positive outlook on the future. Their passion will inspire you, as they announce, “When my patient tells me he has pain, I’m going to get his medication right away.” As seniors preparing to graduate from their program, they are excited about launching their careers. Teaching associate degree nursing students may offer a different experience for instructors. These students are often adults juggling jobs, family and school. They are less likely to be involved in some of the social aspects of college campus life, and are not as innocently impassioned about providing ideal care, as life experience has made them realists. These students are very serious about completing the program so that they can provide for their families, but are also looking for a niche they love. Teaching both groups is enjoyable for different reasons, yet each offers instructors the opportunity to share expert nursing knowledge and shape the next generation.
Recent Trends There has been a steady increase in enrollment in accelerated nursing programs across the country, allowing students with a previous career to return to school to pursue a degree in nursing. Associate degree programs have also seen an increase in the number of “second-career” students (Hader, 2010; Kohn & Truglio-Londrigan, 2007). Students may also be licensed practical/vocational nurses choosing to continue their education.
Volume 17
Issue 6
Expanding
Horizons
There are a variety of reasons for the influx of second-career nursing students. For some, the economy may have necessitated a job change. For others, the experience of caring for a loved one through a health crisis has spurred them to choose nursing as a career. Schools, educators and staff nurses must be able to adapt teaching styles and methods to suit the particular needs and qualities that different students possess (Hader, 2010; Kohn & Truglio-Londrigan, 2007). This unique group of students plays an important role in the future of nursing. They come into nursing with life experience that gives them a broader, more mature perspective when caring for patients. These students are bright, motivated and willing to work hard to master the challenges of a demanding new career (Tepner, 2013). These students can draw on your clinical expertise as they learn a new role as a registered nurse.
Roles, Requirements and Qualifications The principal role of an adjunct professor is to provide clinical instruction to undergraduate students. This position does not offer an opportunity for tenure. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on the future of nursing calls for more BSN-prepared nurses, not only to improve the ability of the clinical nurse at the bedside to think critically, but also to increase the number of nurses prepared to advance to higher levels of
December 2013 | January 2014
There has been a steady increase in enrollment in accelerated nursing programs across the country, allowing students with a previous career to return to school to pursue a degree in nursing
education necessary to educate the next generation (IOM, 2010). Nursing programs can make good use of nurses in clinical positions to fill needed academic positions (Forbes et al., 2010). The blending of the clinical expertise with academia has the key components for a fruitful student experience. This is an ideal opportunity for a hospital-based nurse to try on a new pair of shoes in the role of an adjunct instructor for a senior practicum course. The educational requirements for clinical instructors may depend on the program and/or the state requirements. Associate programs may only require a BSN, while BSN programs usually ask for an MSN, or that you be enrolled in an MSN program. Working as an adjunct instructor is a wonderful opportunity to use teaching skills in a different context from the usual role of staff development. Balancing a full-time job and teaching
Nursing for Women’s Health
541
Horizons
Nursing students are energetic and enthusiastic, with a desire to learn
Expanding
everything
can be challenging, yet shift work often has an inherent flexibility, allowing time to teach during the day while working an evening or night shift. Alternatively, some nursing programs offer clinical time in the evening or on the weekend. As an adjunct instructor, one must read journals, grade scholarly papers and assign a grade to one component of the course. This reveals yet another side of the adjunct role— monitoring how well the students apply theoretical concepts to the practicum experience. Observing students as they express their thoughts and ideas is a particularly enjoyable, though time-consuming, side of the role. Clinical instructing is a challenge to develop new skills, since educators must provide learning experiences targeted to the group while being mindful of the individual learning needs of each student.
Conclusion Nursing students are energetic and enthusiastic, with a desire to learn everything. They are on the threshold of starting their career and will take advantage of every learning opportunity presented. In the past, nursing students tended to be younger. However, in recent years adults are turning to nursing as a second career, widening the age range of candidates. As an adjunct clinical instructor, you can share your expertise and support novices as they develop and hone
542
Nursing for Women’s Health
their knowledge and skills. To be able to touch such diverse groups of people is stimulating and rewarding! NWH
References Dorin, M. (2010). Do you want to be a staffdevelopment specialist? Lippincott’s 2010 Nursing Career Directory, 40(1), 1–72. doi:10.1097/01. NURSE.0000387066.37626.98 Forbes, M. O., Hickey, M. T., & White, J. (2010). Adjunct faculty development: Reported needs and innovative solutions. Journal of Professional Nursing, 26(2), 116–124. doi:10.1016/j. profnurs.2009.08.001 Hader, R. (2010). Engaging the new wave of second-career nurses. Nursing Management, 41(2), 6. doi:10.1097/01.NUMA.0000368558.07900.db Institute of Medicine (IOM). (2010). The future of nursing: Focus on education. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from www.iom.edu/~/media/ Files/Report%20Files/2010/The-Future-of-Nursing/Nursing%20Education%202010%20Brief.pdf Kohn, P. S., & Truglio-Londrigan, M. (2007). Second-career baccalaureate nursing students: A lived experience. Journal of Nursing Education, 46(9), 391–399. Senita, J. A., & Rose, S. (2009). From staff development to academia: A look before you leap. Journal for Nurses in Staff Development, 25(2), 86–90. doi:10.1097/NND.0b013e31819e12d1 Tepner, L. (2013). What was I thinking? Nursing for Women’s Health, 17, 168. doi:10.1111/1751-486X.12028
Volume 17
Issue 6
