Nurse Educators take up some of the most critical non-bedside duties in the industry—they teach prospective nursing candidates and professional nurses looking to advance their degrees. The role of a Nurse Educator is vital to the health of the Healthcare Industry. Period.
Educators spin their magic at both ends of the nursing field, they are instrumental in inspiring newbies with no prior knowledge of nursing and they are equally important for fortifying and nurturing pro RNs, working nurses with looking to advance their degree, sharpen their specialty and skills and generally take bolder academic and career steps. What’s most important about the job of a nurse educator is that while administering teaching and guidance to nursing students, they are also adhering to standards of nursing practice as they apply to nursing instructors.
Nurse educators work as instructors at every level of nursing education: practical nursing, undergraduate, graduate, post-grad, and doctoral. They may specialize in any of the dozens of grad or post-grad specialties and advanced practice degrees.
Without a doubt Nurse Educators are a few of the most in-demand professionals going and for good reason:
A Nurse Educator degree is a Masters or Doctoral level program with a specialization in education. Full-time study can take between 1 and 2 years to complete. University graduate and post-grad nursing programs often feature the educator track among a handful of other popular graduate degree specialties.
A curriculum for nursing educators at the Masters level first engages students in core advanced nursing courses common to other MSN nurses. The balance of the curriculum emphasizes the specialty itself with courses in: curriculum development, advanced evidence-based research, issues in nursing, the learning-teaching paradigm, curriculum evaluation strategies, and a number of required teaching practicum.
Since the educator degree is critical to the welfare of the healthcare industry the degree is delivered in almost every tactical way imaginable. Working RNs with any shred of desire to pursue education are urged and there may be no more convenient way to achieve that degree than with an online degree. Distance-based education for nurse educators is convenient and flexible—a real opportunity to net as many suitable candidates as possible when they are needed most.
Nurse Educators may be MSNs or PhDs. Degree level of course determines at which level of education they are qualified to teach. Educators are in high demand wherever nursing degrees are delivered, in brick and mortar colleges and universities, hospital diploma programs, community colleges, practical nursing schools, and in standalone specialty nursing schools.
Across the U.S. the salary range for a professional Nurse Educator ranges between $53,000 and $63,000*. However this range includes variables for years of experience. Also salaries may fluctuate given other factors, including region, institution, area of teaching specialty, etc.
*source, Payscale.com