Nursing or teaching Nursing

[itbemay1]

I’ve been offered a lecturer post at university. I work as a nurse and was so adamant I wanted to leave clinical work. Now I have the offer I’m panicking a bit! Has anyone made that transition from clinical to education? I am so burnt out with the clinical side, it’s relentless.

I have! Happy to answer any specific questions you might have.

In general I love my academic role however be under no illusions, whilst the challenges are different from clinical work they are still huge and it is in no way an easy way out. Teaching is actually the joyful part but there are soooo many other parts to the role that you don't anticipate till you get into the role. It can also be quite a big transition going from being senior and specialist in your area of clinical practice to then being a newbie in an educator role. Not a bad thing necessarily but a bit of a culture shock!

Thanks @Restlessinthenorthdo you miss clinical work? I do love the majority of my job but it’s just emotionally and physically draining, I’m worried I’m jumping from one thing to another!

I do miss my clinical work however I've learned to adjust and realise I do have an impact on patient care, just in a different way than previously. I've been able to implant some initiatives that I know have been really impactful and that has been amazing.

Academia is a tough gig, especially on health programmes where there are no long summer breaks. Students have changed a lot and many have very significant support needs. Sometimes my personal students can be as challenging as my case load as a CPN. I am busy all the time with very little downtime. But there is often more flexibility than in practice and no xmas/easter work! I've been able to really develop and push myself in ways I wouldn't have been able to in practice. On balance I enjoy it very much and it's a privilege to be involved in shaping careers and improving patient care