I have officially taught my first quarter as a new clinical instructor! I teach fundamentals and introduction to med/surg skills lab and let me tell you, it has been the weirdest transition I never expected.
There are a lot of things I’ve though about as I chose this path in nursing, like why I wanted to pursue this, why I think it’s important, and of course, whether or not I think I’m capable of making the impact I want to make. I find myself constantly reminding myself of these things as I go through these challenges…
Many of the things that make this transition weird is because I still look like a baby nurse. I never like wearing my lab coat, but I wear it because I need to stand out from my students (I really still look like I’m still a student when I’m standing next to them). And like I said in my last post about the workshop too, most of the educators I work with are much more experienced and seasoned – the age gap is that wide.
Now the pros and cons of this situation are pretty significant too. I really like that I’m a younger educator because I feel more relevant to them. I still remember all the feelings of being in nursing school, the emotions of being a new nurse are very much still there for me, and it’s way easier for me to mentor them when I’m still working at the bedside. That’s definitely something that more experienced educators, especially at this university, do not have that I have. On the other hand, my youthful image (LOL) can cause a lot of doubt for any new nurse/student/educator. “How much experience do you have? Where do you work? How long have you been teaching?” Those are all questions I constantly have to answer because the path I’ve chosen is definitely not one that many choose.
So this transition is weird. And an unexpected challenge I’ve come up with recently is drawing that line between being a trusted mentor and instructor, and being the “empathetic friend” that knows what they’re going through. And now I’m questioning whether being a “friend” to them is necessary in this whole process… I find myself being way too lenient, and I’ve already begun to see the negative repercussions of acting that way.
Being an educator is hard! I know I’m not totally messing up and there’s a huge learning for this just like everything else in nursing… but I really want to do well with this because the stakes are that much higher…