Essay Example on Nurse Educator Role: An Exciting Transition to Inspire and Nurture

Like any other change, transition in the work-role is a significant event in the nursing profession. There exists a gap in patient care due to a shortage of registered nurses, yet, there is numerous pathways transition available for those who want to educator roles. One significant motivator to be a nurse educator is that teaching offers a chance to inspire students' success and nurture the next generation of nurses. As a teacher, one can perfect on proficient values and skills, and eventually, improve the care provided by possible future nurses. A personal approach to successfully transition from expert clinician to a nurse educator includes tips that range from preparing for promotion, establishing a network of mentors, creating a faculty development plan, to finding a work-life balance for sustainability.

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First, in preparing for promotion to the nurse educator level, one has to expectation inherent to the tenure, prepare hoe they will meet the rank behaviors, and develop a strong network of formal and informal mentors. Initially, it is essential that the person transitioning sets regular meeting s with the administrator to understand what the department expectations are, monitor progress, and allow guidance to the appropriate faculty opportunities. Second, establishing a network of mentors is a vital process in maintaining competency, improve personal expertise, and promoting ethical leadership. Early career mentorship help develop technical skills related to teaching. The third tip is to create a faculty development plan which includes a summary of one's long term goals. A personal faculty development plan is necessary for self-monitoring and reflection, thus serving as a guide throughout one's career life. The fourth tip involves being vulnerable and not being afraid to find oneself in new positions that require more learning. These situations that need further assistance are necessary to help in keeping forward momentum. Taking advice from experienced mentors helps build confidence in one's decision making (Halensky& Kande, 2017).

Additionally, the fifth tip in transitioning includes maintaining a nursing practice that allows for collaboration with experienced faculty. Maintaining practice with other professionals helps improve time management and in meeting the expectations of clinical site and college work. Also, it is vital to maintain communication with the practice site so that new colleagues can understand one’s role. The sixth approach involves joining organizations of qualified faculty. Joining the professional faculty organizations help one find resources specifically aimed at teaching and education to build confidence and teaching. Some of these bodies include the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the National Organization of Nursing Practice. The seventh approach is for the scholar to disseminate scholarly work to serve as a criterion for the promotion of tenure. Some of the college expectations include traditional venues such as journals that are peer-reviewed and conference presentations and social media such as TED Talks and Twitter Feeds. The eighth tip involves mastering the skill of academic networking because the efforts to publish, gain promotion and grants depend on it. Educational networking also consists of participating in scholarly activities through different social media approaches, which promotes information sharing across barriers. The ninth approach to a perfect transition is to find pride in feedback offered by experienced faculty members. Feedback may include suggestions that are important in guiding as one climbs the faculty ladder. For useful feedback, one has to interact with others as a mentee to the program effectively. Lastly, to successfully transition, it is vital to find a work-life balance that is important for self-motivation and improve work satisfaction. Allocate time for every work commitment to have a more significant impact on the long term teaching goals (Halensky& Kande 2017).

Conclusion

In conclusion, to master the educator role, one must understand that it is not just all about meeting the functions of an educator. Building the skill takes years and proper preparation for long term sustainability. One has to take time to understand the art and an extensive interaction of various components. As one prepares to transition to an educator, they must realize that success achieved in the short term helps sustain long term effort in sustaining their practice.

References

Kalensky, M., & Hande, K. (2017). Transition from expert clinician to novice faculty: A blueprint for success. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 13(9), e433-e439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2017.06.005