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People passionate about the field of nursing who also enjoy teaching often find that becoming a nursing educator is the perfect fit for them. This profession combines working with aspiring nurses and the excitement of the nursing field, creating an enthralling job opportunity for many.

If you are interested in becoming a nurse educator, here is what you need to know about the industry.

What is a Nurse Educator?

A nurse educator is responsible for teaching students interested in becoming nurses. These professionals take their experience and knowledge of the nursing field and translate it into lessons that help the next generation of nurses learn how to best care for their patients. These professionals play a critical role in forming the nation’s nurses.

What Does a Nurse Educator Do?

A nurse educator might work in a classroom, in hospitals in the education department, or in a clinical setting. In either situation, they work directly with students interested in becoming nurses. They create lessons, encourage students to experience hands-on nursing opportunities, teach nursing history, and otherwise prepare them to become working nurses in the field.

Nursing educators might work in a variety of different educational environments including junior colleges, technical and trade schools, colleges and universities, or within a medical institution itself. Some nursing educators will work almost exclusively with students interested in becoming nurses, while others will spend some time conducting research.

Reasons to Become a Nurse Educator

Those interested in becoming a nursing educator often find a number of reasons that might inspire them to enter this particular specialty within nursing. Here are some of the most common benefits that nursing educators report experiencing.

Job Outlook Looks Bright

The need for nurses continues to grow, which in turn results in a high need for nursing educators. The number of available positions for nurses is expected to grow by 7 percent between 2019 and 2029, and thus the need for educators will also increase to help provide these nurses with the education they need to excel. Those interested in entering the field of education, therefore, can be assured of the continued need for nurses and the job security available to them.

In tandem with job security, the job outlook also looks tremendously bright for those who enter the specialty of nursing education. There are also a number of different specialties in the nursing field, providing even more opportunities to teach, coach, and mentor future generations of nurses in specialized fields.

For those who want to earn a strong wage, teaching in the nursing field can also provide this benefit. Registered nurses earn a median annual wage of just over $75,000.

Career Advancement

Nurses who want to find opportunities for advancement in their career will also find that working in education can help them with career advancement opportunities. Moving up within their school or nursing institution, leading efforts to research and educate nurses and others, providing patient care, and becoming involved with the administrative side of nursing can all offer opportunities for nursing educators.

Impact Students and Form Bonds

One of the most rewarding aspects of becoming a nursing educator is the opportunity to develop relationships and even close bonds with students. Many teachers find they can ‘see’ themselves in their students. These students hold similar goals and aspirations. You have the chance to mentor them and help them find their way within the challenging and exciting field of nursing. Many teachers find this opportunity to watch their students blossom from novice students into nursing graduates launching into their career to be one of the best aspects of the job.

At American Sentinel College of Nursing & Health Science at Post University, the relationships we can build with students remain one of the biggest rewards of our work. We pride ourselves on getting to know our students and their goals personally, providing them with the individualized guidance they need to achieve their dreams.

Inspired by Students

Many teachers find that their students inspire them, and those working on educating tomorrow’s nurses are no different. As you teach your students, you will have the chance to meet with incredible individuals who inspire you with their passions and dreams. You will also get to form relationships with them that allow you to see how they perform in their careers, which can continue to inspire you as you see what they can achieve thanks to the education you helped them attain.

As you interact with these incredible students, you might uncover new areas of nursing that you want to learn more about, become encouraged to make changes in your own career, and otherwise continue to further the advancement of the field.

Act as a Leader in Your Field

Teachers are leaders across every field. They help those interested in the profession learn the core knowledge of the sector and help them prepare to enter the working world. As an educator, you’ll not only help aspiring nurses acquire essential skills and gain experience,  but these students also gain experience while working under your guidance. They then graduate from your program prepared to serve as nurses.

As the teacher, you have the chance to lead these students, act as an example, and mentor them. You can help them understand the dilemmas they may face as nurses and how to ethically resolve them. You will provide them with a framework for decision-making and critical thinking. The nursing teacher’s role revolves around providing these future nurses with guidance they can follow into their new field.

Life-long Learner

The field of nursing continues to grow and change as people learn more about the medical field in general and the nursing field specifically. Best practices, therefore, will continue to evolve and adapt. New research related to nursing will continue to emerge.  Plus, there will always be new ways for nurse educators to improve nurses working as a team or how nurses can better work with all of healthcare as a whole. 

As a teacher, you will have the chance to be a life-long learner. You will stay on top of the latest research and suggestions and incorporate them into your classroom as you see fit. You will stay abreast of the latest in the nursing field, keeping the field interesting and engaging for years to come.

Shape the Future of Nursing

The students who pass through your classroom today will proceed to graduation and become the nurses of tomorrow. At American Sentinel College of Nursing and Health Science at Post University, we know that the bright young minds sitting in our nursing classes will one day take the reins of the field and continue to amaze us. Therefore, the foundational knowledge we bestow upon them, our interactions with them, and the quality education we pass along will similarly impact the future of nursing.

For people who love the field and want to find ways to continually improve patient care and outcomes, having the chance to inspire students, shape how they enter the field and mold the future of nurses can be an immeasurable advantage of the role of educator.

Ready to Step into the Classroom?

If nursing education sounds like it might be a desirable field for you, then come and investigate our MSN Nursing Education specialization. You can select a concentration that focuses on preparing you to teach future nurses and engage with them in the classroom. You will see how you can translate the information and skills you learn through your own studies and your experience in the field into lessons that you can communicate to the incoming generation of nurses. For nurse educators who wish to advance their training, check out our DNP Educational Leadership specialization.

Do not waste another day. Your future as a nurse educator awaits you. Come and see what this degree can do for you and your dreams.

 

Thank you for reading! The views and information provided in this post do not reflect Post University programs and/or outcomes directly. If you are interested in learning more about our programs, you can find a complete list of our programs on our website or reach out directly! 

Please note jobs, career outcomes, and/or salaries highlighted in this blog do not reflect jobs, career outcomes, and/or salaries expected from any Post program. To learn more about Post’s program and their outcomes, please fill out a form to speak with an admissions representative.