The role of a nurse educator requires a registered nurse to have a broad knowledge of chronic diseases. The nurse must use the knowledge of chronic illnesses to educate the consumer using the various teaching methodologies. The critical requirement in the job skill is not only to understand the fundamentals of chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma, and heart failure but also to have the exclusive ability to maintain a positive relationship with the patients. The most frustrating part of the job is that some of the patients are slow learners and tend to ask the same questions repeatedly. Nurse educators who are only experts in the healthcare domain may not be able to withstand the repetitive questions asked by patients. The most exciting part is the preparation of reports about the patients under the education program. A significant discrepancy in the candidates is a lack of the skills required to educate, such as patience, listening, empathy, and adaptability. Therefore, Human resource managers must recruit people who possess medical skills and the ability to educate patients. Most candidates view the adverts of a nurse educator as a health expert and overlook the
The position has seen many nurses come and go because they possessed the required medical skills but could not educate the customers as expected. Another critical aspect for the nurse educator to choose is to ensure that the nurse can relate well with others in the hospital setting to achieve the set targets of the hospital. The hiring process has to be evaluated, and the hiring managers discovered that the nurse educator who stayed longer in the company was the people who had previous experience in educating members outside the hospital setting. Therefore, it is prudent to narrow the selection process to knowing chronic diseases as the essential requirement. Still, the ability to educate members is an added advantage for an appointment.
The interview process must therefore be divided into two distinct steps. The first step tests the knowledge of the chronic disease, while the second stage tests the nurse’s ability to relate with colleagues and educate the patients using motivational interviewing methods. The two distinct steps must include a tweaked scenario for the nurse to prove their ability to initiate and maintain a conversation for a better outcome. Hiring the qualified nurse without educational skills would frustrate the nurse in their roles.