Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSHow to... become a nurse lecturer
If you’ve enjoyed helping students get experience in a particular area of practice, or found developing professional knowledge in a specialist area rewarding, becoming a nurse lecturer could offer you the opportunity to make sure the next generation of nurses are competent and confident in the practice setting.
Nurse lecturers are responsible for the delivery of both pre- and post-registration teaching in higher education. As well as playing an essential role in planning, developing and evaluating course modules, the position usually includes being a personal tutor to students.
If developing professional knowledge sparks your enthusiasm, a lecturer position may also give you the chance to be involved in research. Keeping up to date with mational service frameworks and government policies, as well as reading and reviewing research papers, enables you to transfer this knowledge into meaningful links between education and practice.
There are some professional requirements: you will need to be on an appropriate part of the NMC professional register, and have worked full-time (or the equivalent part-time) in areas where students were gaining practical experience.
A degree-level masters qualification would also be helpful - if you do not have one, you will be expected to work towards this in post. Having undertaken research in your particular field of expertise and previous teaching experience will also be useful - any evidence of gaining professional knowledge will improve your application.
As far as qualifications to teach are concerned, you will need to complete a postgraduate certificate in learning and teaching (higher education). These are sometimes compulsory for new staff on permanent contracts, but could be done alongside your lecturing work. Many higher education institutions may prefer candidates to have completed or nearly completed a PhD.
It’s important to show that you’re clinically credible and competent, so hands-on-care is crucial to the role. Most lecturers combine the role with work in a clinical setting, not least of all to maintain the NMC PREP (Practice) Standard. Some NHS trusts will also offer honorary contracts to lecturers and there are opportunities to become a lecturer practitioner, which is employed by an NHS trust.
Run by the Careers Advice Service and sponsored by NHS Careers and Skills for Health, the Health Learning and Skills Advice Line offers support to people working in healthcare. The friendly, trained career coaches can also give you constructive feedback on your CV and help you with your skills assessment.
If you are interested in developing your career, call freephone 08000 150 850 from 8am to 10pm, seven days a week.
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Readers' comments (1)
Anonymous | 9-Sep-2009 10:12 am
Hi, you need to prepared your self as nurse tutur, then knew the learning objectives of your learners and work with them to fullfil these objectives. Then you can assess and evaluate what they a chieved from these objectives.
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