Overview
Nurse educators are registered nurses with advanced education who are also teachers. Most work as nurses for a period of time before dedicating their careers (part-time or full-time) to educating future nurses.
Nurse educators serve as faculty members in nursing schools and teaching hospitals, sharing their knowledge and skills to prepare the next generation of nurses for effective practice. They develop lesson plans, teach courses, evaluate educational programs, oversee students’ clinical practice and serve as role models for their students. They may teach “general” courses or focus on areas of specialization, such as geriatric nursing, pediatric nursing or nursing informatics.
Most nurse educators have extensive clinical experience, and many continue caring for patients after becoming educators. Even if they no longer practice, nurse educators must stay current with new nursing methods and technologies. This means nurse educators are always on the “leading edge” of clinical practice.
With experience, nurse educators may advance to administrative roles, managing nurse education programs, writing or reviewing textbooks, and developing continuing education programs for working nurses.
No trouble finding a job
This career is in extremely high demand, because the United States is experiencing a serious nursing shortage. One of the key reasons for that shortage is the lack of nurse educators to train future nurses.
The U.S. Department of Labor reports that 1 million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2016. But, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, more than 40,000 qualified applicants were turned away from nursing schools last year. Why? Because nursing schools don’t have enough nurse educators to educate all the students who want to become nurses.
Many government agencies, professional groups and non-profit organizations have launched campaigns to encourage young people to choose a career in nurse education. One example is the National League for Nursing, which offers 10 reasons to become a nurse educator.
You can download, save and print a PDF of this career profile:
Nurse Educator 31 Dec 2008 [pdf, 190 KB]