Why I want to be a Nurse Educator Name College  Reflection: Why I want to be a Nurse Educator My father and mother have been working in the teaching and nursing profession, respectively, since I was a child. I have always admired my parents’ passion for their work and the way they are impacting lives through their careers. After a long introspection, I saw it fit to choose a field that combined healthcare and teaching. Consequently, I considered nurse education as my best choice. Becoming a nurse educator aligns with my interests and belief in functional education and will enable me to acquire, share, and expand healthcare knowledge, and secure sustainable employment in an ever-expanding and noble profession. Firstly, my interests align with the nursing professions‘s requirements because I am a curious and voracious reader and a good communicator. Not only does one need to read a lot when studying nursing, but they also must continuously update their knowledge even after graduating to retain their relevance as practitioners (Sade & Peres, 2015). My curiosity about the nursing education system always inspires me to find flaws and gaps in nursing curriculum designs and real-world nursing practice. For instance, I think that some syllabuses ignore the importance of hands-on experience in nursing, choosing to focus excessively on theory. Also, my professionally-competent social skills will help students to easily understand nursing concepts and create learning environments that value learners’ feedbacks. Therefore, taking a nurse-educator course aligns with my personality as an ardent researcher, knowledge-sharer, and reader. Secondly, the nursing educator field aligns with the philosophy of educational functionalism to which I subscribe and my aim to help meet the demand for medical services and enhance the well-being of communities. My work as a nursing educator meets the functionalist role of education by providing skilled future nurses. Currently, there is a shortage of trained nurse educators worldwide (Laurencelle, 2016), and as an educator, I can contribute meet this demand by teaching many nurses. I can also contribute to the well-being of the community through awareness programs and by educating people about healthy living. Therefore, having experience in this area will help me to impact communities positively. Lastly, the benefits and sustainability of nursing as a profession have also drawn my interest in the field. America has an increasingly aging population, which means that there is an ever-growing demand for nurses. This demand will require more nurse trainees in the future, translating into a high demand for nurse educators. Moreover, many universities and colleges have open positions for nursing educators that require filling (National League of Nursing, 2015). Furthermore, in the United States alone, estimates show that 4.2 million nursing posts will exist in 2028 (US Department of Labor, 2020), which indicates plentiful job opportunities for nurse educators now and in the future. Therefore, the field guarantees me abundant job opportunities and future employability. In conclusion, I find the nursing educator course not only aligned with my personality but also beneficial for my individual and professional development. Notably, pursuing this course will enable me to acquire functional education and help nursing students and patients in my capacity as both a teacher and a practicing nurse. It will also satisfy my curiosity and enable me to share my knowledge. Moreover, being a nurse educator will guarantee me a stable future, as the demand for professionals in this field continues to rise.  Reference Laurencelle, F. L., Scanlan, J. M., & Brett, A. L. (2016). The meaning of being a nurse educator and nurse educators’ attraction to academia: A phenomenological study. Nurse Education Today, 39(Complete), 135–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2016.01.029 National League of Nursing (2015). Undergraduate Specialty Areas with Budgeted Unfilled Positions, 2015. www.nln.org/docs/default-source/newsroom/nursing-education-statistics/undergraduate-specialty-areas-with-budgeted-unfilled-positions-2015-%28pdf%29.pdf?sfvrsn=0 Sade, P. M. C., & Peres, A. M. (2015). Development of Nursing Management Competencies: Guidelines for Continuous Education Services. Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP, 49(6), 988-994. US Department of Labor (2020). Long Term Occupational Projections (2018-2028). www.projectionscentral.com/Projections/LongTerm Running head: REFLECTION ? REFLECTION 4