How to Become a Nurse Educator

The Basics on How to Become a Nurse Educator

Are you considering extending your experience as a Nurse and researching how to become a Nurse Educator? As one of the many specialty options available for an APRN, Nurse Educators are responsible for teaching nursing students patient care in classroom and clinical units. They oversee students’ clinical and laboratory work, plan course content, and deliver lectures. They also evaluate students’ assignments and possibly may conduct research in their field.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, if you are going to teach at a 4-year institution, then it is likely you will need either a master’s degree (you can find an MSN with no GRE requirements) or a Ph.D.According to O*NET, 50% of nursing instructors have at least a master’s degree, while 36% have a doctoral degree.

A Nurse Educator's Salary Potential

Lowest 10th%
$41,130
Median
$74,600
Highest 90th%
$133,460

States with the Highest Employment Levels

STATES	2019 ANNUAL MEAN WAGE	NUMBER OF JOBS
New York	$97,750	5,030
Texas	$66,190	4,310
California	$101,930	3,970
Pennsylvania	$81,760	3,420
Ohio	$79,360	3,410

(Bureau of Labor Statistics)

How Do Your Skills Stack Up?

As reported by O*NET, these types of tasks are conducted every day or are important in this role – would you feel comfortable performing these tasks as part of the day to day life of a Nursing Instructor?

What Will You Learn with a Master of Science in Nursing – Nursing Education Degree?

Course work for a master of science in nursing education typically covers classes such as:

Foundations of Nursing Education
Policy, Politics & Global Health Trends
Professional Presence & Influence
Contemporary Pharmacotherapeutics
Organizational Leadership & Team Development

Masters of science in nursing education degrees help prepare graduates to pursue careers designing, implementing, and leading nursing programs. Course work is likely to cover competencies such as facilitating learning in the 21^st century; translational research for practice and populations; advanced information management and the application of technology; and nursing education field experience. In addition, many programs require that students complete a capstone project that addresses a key issue in nursing education and demonstrates their competency in the field.

Did You Know?

According to O*NET, here are a few interesting pieces of information:

42% responded that this job offers a lot of freedom to make decisions - without supervision.
66% said that this job requires public speaking, once a week or more but not every day.
75% said it was extremely important to be exact or accurate when performing this job.
51% responded that they have to deal with conflict situations once a week or more but not every day.

FAQs About How to Become a Nurse Educator

What is the average Nurse Educator salary?

According to the BLS, the 2019 median annual wage for a Nurse Educator was $74,600.

What does the job outlook look like for a Nurse Educator?

According to the BLS, the projected growth rate for Nurse Educators at the post-secondary level is expected to grow faster than most other post-secondary teachers at 20% from 2018 to 2028! That is approximately 13,800 new jobs over the 10-year period.

What job titles are similar to or the same as a Nurse Educator?

If you are looking for a Nurse Educator career and are searching job boards, you may want to include these types of job titles: Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor of Nursing, Associate Professor, Clinical Nursing Instructor, Faculty Member, Instructor, Nursing Faculty, Nursing Instructor, Nursing Professor, Professor.

What skills do Nursing Instructors Possess?

Nursing instructors are usually proficient in areas such as speaking, the ability to teach others how to do something, understand how students around them are learning and adapting teaching styles as appropriate, time management, use of scientific methods as well as complex problem solving.

What types of personalities are a good fit for becoming a Nurse Educator?

For purposes of this answer, we are going to reference Carl Jung's 16 personality types as described by PersonalityMax.com. It is very likely that many Nurse Educators would fall into the ENFJ (Extroverted, Intuition, Feeling Judging) personality type, which is a good fit for a Nursing Instructor. ENFJs have excellent people skills. They are very enthusiastic and influential. They enjoy helping others achieve their goals. ENFJs have superb communication skills and can easily read people’s emotions.

Job information sourced from O*NET

The sources for school statistics and data is the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System unless otherwise noted.

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This is an offer for educational opportunities, not an offer for nor a guarantee of employment. Students should consult with a representative from the school they select to learn more about career opportunities in that field. Program outcomes vary according to each institution’s specific program curriculum. Financial aid may be available to those who qualify. The information on this page is for informational and research purposes only and is not an assurance of financial aid.

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