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Are you an RN who wants to give back to the nursing community and train future and current nurses? If so, then you might want to look into educator roles in nursing. Learn about the different nursing career opportunities and positions you could pursue as an educator. 

A career in nursing education can look a few different ways. To start, your student population could consist of future or current nurses. When educating future nurses, you could work as a clinical instructor and be responsible for teaching and overseeing students during their clinicals. You could also work as a nursing instructor at a community college or university, facilitating academic lectures and clinical simulation for nursing students.

Alternatively, you could as an RN potentially pursue a role as an educator in a hospital or other facility where you’d teach practice-specific or population-specific concepts and skills to practicing nurses. You could also pursue teaching in master’s or doctoral nursing programs.

No matter the student population or preferred practice site, it’s worth noting nurse educators can pursue work in online education, as many schools offer online nursing programs. 

Careers in nursing education typically take place in an academic or clinical setting. Examples of clinical settings include hospitals, community clinics and offices. Academic settings, meanwhile, include classrooms and simulation labs in community colleges, universities and nursing schools. Both types of settings involve teaching, generally speaking, although academic education focuses on teaching future nurses, while clinical education focuses on reasoning, judgment and knowledge of practicing nurses. 

What they do: Clinical nursing instructors are responsible for overseeing and mentoring student nurses during hands-on clinical rotations with patients. They make the nursing students�� patient assignments and evaluate them on key competency skills like starting IV fluids or administering an IV push medication.

Workplace: These instructors are usually employed by universities, community colleges and nursing schools. However, their day-to-day workplace setting will be somewhere clinical, like a hospital unit or clinic. 

What they do: As the name suggests, these nurses educate students and nurses through the teaching of hands-on and practical clinical skills. They stay up to date on current, evidence-based practices and provide training to bedside nurses to ensure they are equipped with the latest knowledge. In some facilities, they may be responsible for providing orientation and training for new nursing staff as well as checking off staff competencies in nursing practice.

Workplace: Hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centers and long-term care centers. 

What they do: These directors oversee the education and training of prospective and current nurses. In a nursing school, the education director is focused on ensuring the program meets the requirements for the NCLEX examination, state licensure and accreditation requirements, and adequately prepares nurses for working in the field. In a hospital, these directors focus on educating nurses at their facility, ensuring the nurses are well trained and equipped to follow best practices.

Workplace: Nursing school, healthcare facility or university. 

What they do: Nursing instructors are the educators in a nursing school or program. They give academic lectures and often teach the corresponding laboratory or clinical component as well. They may plan and develop curriculum and teach nursing skills and foundational nursing knowledge in lectures. They may also mentor nursing students through their nursing program. Some instructors may be involved in research as well if they work at a university.

Workplace: University, community college or nursing school.

The field of postsecondary . According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the field is projected to grow by 18% from 2023 to 2033. This demand translates to a projection of 105,900 new job openings each year.

As the population ages, a growing number of older adults will need medical care, increasing the need for medical professionals, like nurses. Because of this, there likely will be a growing need for nursing instructors to teach and prepare future nurses. BLS notes that public schools may be limited by their budgets, despite the demand.

BLS Occupational Employment Projections, 2023-2033 is published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This data reflects BLS�� projections of national (not local) conditions. These data points are not specific to �������� students or graduates.

Educators can shape the next generation of nurses, potentially influencing patient care along the way. 

With a career in nursing education, you may find opportunities for mentorship and leadership. For example, as a clinical instructor, you might coach a student on how to empathetically deliver disappointing news to patients and their families. As for leadership, a nursing school director might implement strategies to improve student retention and increase NCLEX pass rates. 

Achieving a work-life balance in this career, much like any career, can be challenging. Educators will have to balance the demands of teaching and any other responsibilities they may be taking on outside of the workplace. Balancing the needs of students, employer expectations and personal time requires clear boundaries and self-care to prevent burnout. Although this is true for many professions, careers in education for nurses can offer flexible schedules, especially with the option to teach online, which may help. Part-time or remote educators may find more flexibility and control over their schedule and work hours.