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Nurses remain an essential and trusted part of the health care system, and the nation faces an urgent need for nurses due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The World Health Organization is also celebrating the value of nursing by designating 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife. In addition, 2020 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the 19th- century social reformer known as the founder of modern nursing.
The demand for nurses, and therefore for nurse educators, is likely to remain high, according to the National League for Nursing (NLN), as nurse educators are on the front lines teaching new nurses who are filling the shortages in hospitals and other health care settings.
Nurse educators will likely continue to be well paid. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimate the median salary for nurse educators at $73,490. They may work in academic settings, but some expand their focus to teaching in schools, businesses, hospitals, and community agencies.
The NLN shares some key advantages of becoming a nurse educator:
– Intellectual stimulation. Nurse educators know the latest research in the field and have the ability to share it with others.
– Flexibility. Nurse education allows for more autonomy and a flexible schedule. Not to mention that technology allows educators to teach from anywhere in the world, at any time, from the beach to the ski slopes.
– Research. Nurse educators have opportunities for research and publication in scholarly journals to advance the field of nursing and their own careers.
– Meaning. The desire for a purpose-driven life steers many people to the nurse education field, where they can make a significant difference in a variety of ways.
– Fulfillment. Nurse educators rejoice in encouraging young students and take pride in their accomplishments.
– Impact. Nurse educators, by shaping and developing the next generation of nurses and by working in their communities, will continue to impact the shape of healthcare for future generations.
– Inspiration. Everyone remembers the teacher or teachers who made a difference for them by giving them that extra encouragement or helping them explore paths they might not have seen.
But quite possibly the number- one reason to become a nurse educator, according to the NLN, is the unique chance to “teach what you love.”
Many career tracks exist for potential nurse educators. Teaching requires at least a master’s degree in either education or nursing, but these degrees may be earned through a traditional college setting or through the variety of fully accredited programs now available online.
One of the many casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic has been (or will be) the loss of certain rites of passage for the high school class of 2020. In no specific order, most have lost out on competing in their final year of spring sports, their proms, their graduation ceremony, Senior skip and/or prank day, grad-night outings or parties and in some cases, where students do not have access to Wi-fi or computers in their homes, the end of their school year.
While I cannot imagine anyone wishing these circumstances to befall any child, the fact is that we have no control over the situation. I learned a long time ago that the best way to deal with things is to let go of the things that are beyond my control and put all of my energy into to the things I do have control over. In the words of legendary basketball coach, and very wise human being, John Wooden: “Don’t let what you can’t do, get in the way of what you can do.”
If parents are talking to each other about how awful things are, it does not help anyone and actually hurts their children. When parents express how badly they feel that their child is going to “miss out” on their graduation ceremony or their prom, it actually makes their kids more anxious than they probably already are and makes them feel worse not better.
These things are not going to happen, so I find it is best to accept that fact as soon as possible and begin looking for opportunities in the situation. No circumstance, regardless of how bad or tragic it seems at the time, is without opportunities within it.
High school seniors, in general, are known to feel anxious about all of the big changes that are coming their way, without the added stress of a pandemic and all of the uncertainty it brings. What they need right now is reassurance from their parents that things will work out in time.
When they see that their parents are upset or scared it makes them feel more scared. There’s additional stress in many households for the parents, many of whom are suddenly unemployed, but as the adults in the household it is important to shield your children from those additional concerns right now. If they see you are fearing your future that will likely make them more anxious and fearful about theirs.
A majority of the kids I have talked to are more upset about not being able to hang out with their friends, than they are about missing their senior rites of passage. Some say their parents are more bummed about all they are losing (not being able to post pics on social media from the events they are missing) than they are that their kid is missing the events.
Many of life’s greatest triumphs are sprung during challenging times. Companies like Apple, Microsoft and Airbnb were all born in horrible economic downturns. Nelson Mandela unjustly spent 27-years in prison and could have easily spent those years feeling sorry for himself. Instead he used that time to grow himself into one of the most revered leaders of all time and succeeded in eliminating apartheid in his country.
If you live in the present and take advantage of what each day has to offer you may be surprised to find yourself better off than you were before the pandemic happened.
Adversity is a fact of life for almost everyone. Some people let adversity destroy them, and others look at it as a gift and experience growth. The only difference is in which way you CHOOSE to look at it.
As Wayne Dyer says, “It makes no sense to worry about things you have no control over because there’s nothing you can do about them, and why worry about things you do control? The activity of worrying keeps you immobilized.”