Nurse Educator

What a Nurse Educator Does

Nurse educators are often highly educated registered nurses who not only work in the health care field to treat patients but also teach and mentor nursing students so they can take on a career in nursing as well. These professionals work to ensure that students receive a high quality, comprehensive and well-rounded education in nursing. They educate students both in the classroom and in the field and help coach them through their first and often very intimidating clinical experiences. Nurse educators can work in a wide variety of nursing degree programs, from those at vocational schools to those at the master's level and beyond. They will need to have at least a master's degree themselves to work at a university or college. Like other academic professionals, nursing educators will participate in faculty requirements like managing the nursing department, getting grant money, developing curricula and even publishing their own work.

How to Become a Nurse Educator

Nurse educators not only have to have a degree in nursing but years of experience and higher education as well. If you'd like to pursue a career in this field, you'll need to start out by completing a BSN nursing program at an university of college to become a registered nurse. Then, you'll take a state licensing exam called the NCLEX-RN to qualify you to work in a heath care facility. Most nurse educators will spend several years working in the field to gain experience as a professional nurse before returning to school to become a nurse educator. To work as a nurse educator, you'll need to complete at master's or doctoral program in nursing or a nursing specialty. Generally, these degrees are completed in areas that the nurse educator has familiarity working with in a clinical setting. Once a degree program is completed, nurse educators must take the Certified Nurse Educator Examination to begin work at teaching hospital, university, college or vocational school.

Career Outlook for Nurse Educators

While there is a great shortage of nurses nationwide, there is an even greater shortage of nursing educators. Many nurses choose to work in other fields or are put off by the large amount of work finding employment as a nursing educator can require. These factors, coupled with many nursing educators retiring over the next decade has made this field one of the most in-demand careers for nurses. As more and more colleges try to fill their already growing vacancies, those who choose to enter this field will have some great job opportunities, regardless of their specialty or the type of facilities they choose to work within. While there will be some differences in job availability due to geographic location, jobs for nurse educators are and will increasingly become prevalent. While this field requires a great deal of training and education, it can also be very rewarding and provides a good amount of job security.