Getting My MSN Blog: Why choose education?

Getting My MSN Blog: Reflections on the process of developing a personal Educational Philosophy.
My developing a philosophy that was based in making sure future nurses are firmly based in caring came about somewhat accidentally. Seeing things that didn't depict caring behavior by nurses as a "young thing" in this profession made me realize the importance of making sure that was really emphasized in working with students. Seeing the less than perfect parts of the world makes me understand what is important to me and want to strive to achieve that. Some have lost touch with their caring selves thru over-work and burn out, or thru having to develop a thick skin to survive. Others may have never had a very caring spirit to begin with. It is something I think about a lot. I try to watch for the signs of caring in my students and tell them how important it is in this profession.

Why choose education?

For me the choice of the education tract was a logical one when thinking of getting my MSN because I am in my 8th year of  teaching nursing.  I should have done this several years ago but with kids and elderly parents that needed care, I didn't feel I had the time to dedicate to this and work full time.  I sort of stumbled onto nursing education by accident.  I never really thought about it as a career choice many years ago but when I relocated back to the valley I saw an add in the paper for a nursing instructor at a proprietary school in Weslaco.  I decided to apply and got the job.  It was really hard at first because I thought I had to know everything and didn't feel comfortable if I didn't .  I am sure I studied twice as hard as the kids the first year to brush up on the gaps in my knowledge base.  I had the feeling of being "thrown in" with little formal orientation.  Thank God for my informal mentors........the other faculty members that tried to answer my questions and reassure me as best they could.  After the initial 6 months I started to feel more at ease and knew I had found the thing in nursing I had always been looking for.  I loved being in the classroom and seeing their eyes light up when they understood something that was difficult.  I took a lot of pride in the pride that the students felt at bettering themselves and becoming something that they knew the whole world respected.  So I guess you could say that my students are my motivation for my following the education track in the MSN program.  I want to be more effective and my learning goal is to find better ways to teach that my students can understand so the next generation of nurses will be knowledgeable and above all caring. 

a moment of panic

I had a moment of panic this morning.  I was catching up on my readings so I could understand the concepts and the readings talked a lot about research and scholarly endeavors as a nurse educator.  For a moment I questioned  "am I really following the right path?"  I don't like math and statistics and have issues with technology and really don't want to have to do research.  I felt a sense of panic.  Then I thought about how I feel when I'm in a classroom teaching a subject I know well and feel passionate about, Mental Health.  The panic subsided and I realized that I don't have to be the greatest researcher and scholar in the world to be able to be a really excellent instructor of nursing,  especially the areas I know well.  So I'm hanging on to that concept for now.