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Dear Donna,

I am a nurse midwife who is looking to get into a nursing field with less stress and more time for patient teaching. I've thought of becoming a patient educator, such as for diabetes education. What other patient education jobs are open to nurses, and what kind of training and experience do they require?

Alexis

Dear Donna replies:

Dear Alexis,

There are quite a few opportunities in patient education. Since you are a nurse midwife, it would make sense for you to teach childbirth classes. You might do this for a hospital, birthing center, OB-GYN practice, or independently.

Also, there is community education for a hospital or other healthcare office/entity. Patient education positions also exist with social service agencies such as Planned Parenthood, the American Heart Association, etc. Look in the yellow pages of your phone book under "social services."

Diabetic teaching is certainly something you could break into by working for a diabetic treatment center (find these in the yellow pages), in conjunction with an endocrinologist, or through an agency such as the American Diabetes Foundation. You might want to contact the American Association of Diabetes Educators (www.diabeteseducator.org/) for additional help and support with this.

Get out to some local chapter meetings of your state chapter of the American Nurses Association. If you’re not already a member, attend as a guest. You'll have a chance to meet and network with many nurses there, some who work in education. This is a great way to explore options and find and get a job. You might want to volunteer in a patient education position while you look for paid employment in the specialty.

Best wishes,
Donna

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Donna Cardillo, RN, MA, well-known career guru, is Nursing Spectrum/NurseWeek’s “Dear Donna” and author of “Your First Year as a Nurse: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional” and “The ULTIMATE Career Guide for Nurses: Practical Advice for Thriving at Every Stage of Your Career.” Information about the books is available at www.Nurse.com/CE/7010 and www.Nurse.com/CE/7250, respectively. To ask Donna your question, go to www.Nurse.com/asktheexperts/deardonna. Find a “Dear Donna” seminar near you: Call 800-866-0919 or visit http://events.nursingspectrum.com/Seminar.