Becoming a nurse educator is a great way for nursing professionals to stay involved and advance in the nursing field without entering a clinical role as a nurse practitioner. Pursuing a degree in nursing education provides nurses with a unique opportunity to play a role in shaping the future of nursing practice as they educate current and aspiring nurses.
Whether the path is being considered as a career change or the next step in a grand plan – becoming a nurse educator offers great career prospects, benefits, and outcomes.
Explore these important steps on the road to becoming a nurse educator.
1. Understand the Nurse Educator Role
Becoming a nurse educator offers more than showing up to deliver a lecture, demonstrate a procedure, or administer and grade exams. Nursing education is about helping to shape the morals, values, and ethics of future nurses. Nurse educators are highly skilled, licensed, and credentialed professionals who are responsible for the education and training of current or future RNs. Nurse educators can be found throughout the education and healthcare sphere – including in roles as faculty or clinical instructors at universities, and professional development or career advancement educators in hospitals or healthcare institutions.
While each position varies, day-to-day tasks as a nurse educator may include:
- Designing program curriculum
- Preparing and presenting lectures and demonstrations
- Teaching clinical procedures and patient interaction
- Working with students in small or large discussion/working groups
- Administering and grading exams
Since the nurse educator career requires an advanced degree and additional certifications, their salary is, on average, higher than that of a registered nurse (RN). While the average RN in the U.S. makes between $59,390 and $106,520, with a median salary of $82,960, nurse educators make from $87,438 to $116,787, with a median salary of $104,662.
Individual salaries are dependent on education and work experience. Salary ranges can be influenced by the demand, chosen field, and other market/job trends. Nurse educators should consider these factors when browsing for a position in the field.
2. Getting Started in Nursing
The first step to becoming a nurse educator is starting the journey of becoming a RN. Since becoming a nurse educator calls for an advanced degree in nursing, aspiring educators must first complete an undergraduate program in nursing before becoming eligible to enroll in a graduate-level program. While the requirements for becoming a nurse educator may seem strict, they are designed to ensure nurse educators can meet the high nursing education standard.
There are many different ways to get started in the nursing field. For aspiring nurse educators who are already RNs but do not have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, a bridge program such as an Online RN-BSN path, can help RNs attain a BSN faster. For aspiring nurse educators who are not already a nurse, an Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing or Traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing lays the foundational groundwork for nursing practice. These pathways are ideal for nursing as a second career (accelerated) or nursing as a first career (traditional)
3. Building Experience in Nursing
When considering the path, it is important to understand the impact prior nursing experience can have on the profession and how it can provide an advantage over non-nurses.
By building a resume that includes prior experience in the nursing field, they will not only better educate students on the various elements of nursing practice, but provide support guiding nurses through their education and into their careers. Nurse educators should have enough experience in the nursing field to be familiar with the classroom application of key nursing competencies.
4. Pursue a Master of Science in Nursing
With educational and vocational experience in hand – the next step is to earn a master’s degree in nursing. Depending on the institution, students may be able to include a concentration in nursing education for their degree. Concentration programs are designed to provide an enhanced area of study focused on the nurse education discipline, offering a more guided approach than a generalized master’s degree in nursing can offer.
Skills learned during a concentration program are designed to reinforce the fundamental skills RNs use while centering them around core competencies in education, academics, research, and learning methods. Many concentration programs prepare students for national certification.
Earning a master’s degree in nursing with a nurse education concentration can help set aspiring nurse educators on the path toward a position in the field without additional schooling.
For those who already have a master’s degree in nursing but are interested in pursuing the career path – a nurse educator certificate can be found at the post-master level. Certificates such as these can help refine an advanced practice nurse’s skillset and prepare them for proper certification. These certificates are often shorter than a full master’s program, with the length being contingent upon the previous degree’s accreditation status, transfer credits, and more.
5. Earning Post-Education Certification
One of the final steps is to earn certification through a national certifying body or organization. The standard certification offered through the National League of Nurses– is the Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) certificate. Graduates can also earn a Certified Clinical Academic Nurse Educator Certificate upon graduation from some programs. When considering a program, it is important to review which certifications the program will prepare graduates to sit for.
Nursing Education at the University of Providence
The University of Providence offers both a concentration and concentration certificate program. The Master of Science in Nursing, Nurse Educator Concentration offers a graduate-level degree in nursing education fundamentals, concepts, and applications. The concentration combines online, asynchronous learning with in-person practicums to prepare students for a career in educating future nurses. The concentration is also available as a Post-Master Nurse Educator Concentration Certificate for existing Master of Science in Nursing degree holders.
