By #3: Confidence
Teaching is a tough job, especially when your students are adults. After all, they have grown minds, so why should they listen to you? Your sense of confidence is what gives your students confidence in you. If you are constantly second-guessing yourself, you’ll be a mess in the classroom, even if you’ve got 25 years of nursing experience under your belt. As they say, sometimes even the best nurses can’t be Nurse Educators — it takes a special level of confidence in your own talent and ability to teach others how it’s done.
If that sounds scary, well, that’s because teaching can be scary. The good news? The more you start to teach others, the more you realize how much you still have to learn. In turn, the more you desire further learning, the better teacher you become. The ability to recognize one’s own opportunities for growth is of paramount importance. And when you finally realize that you’re always a student (and like it!), that’s when you’re a real Nurse Educator.
#2: Humor
You can’t even THINK about being a Nurse Educator unless you have a sense of humor. With all the disgusting body functions, bad tempers, big egos and whirlwind pace of the nursing world, there’s not a lot of tolerance for someone who can’t handle it all in stride with a quick joke and a smile. Your students will appreciate it and your stress levels (and the people you take your stress out on) will thank you.
#1: Passion
Passion, of course, tops the list. Simply put, if you don’t want to be a Nurse Educator, then you will not make a good Nurse Educator. It’s a difficult and challenging job that’s not for everyone, but those who really love nursing and teaching will thrive. Passion shows through in all aspects of teaching: in the lesson plan, attention to detail, and especially in the attention paid to students. It’s passion that really makes a great teacher.
Related Reads:
• Career Profile: Nurse Educator
• Nursing Resume Dos and Don’ts
• Nursing Cover Letters
