Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary

Salary Overview

Job Outlook (2024–2034)

Key Skills

Knowledge Areas

What They Do

• Supervise students' laboratory and clinical work.
• Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
• Assess clinical education needs and patient and client teaching needs using a variety of methods.
• Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
• Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
• Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
• Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
• Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.

Tools & Technology

★ = Hot Technology (in-demand)

Education Requirements

Typical entry-level education: Master's Degree

Related Careers

Featured In

Careers with the highest skill compatibility from Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary.

A Day in the Life

A typical day for a Nursing Instructor varies between classroom teaching, clinical supervision, and academic responsibilities. Morning hours might involve delivering lectures on pathophysiology, pharmacology, or nursing theory to undergraduate or graduate nursing students. They design and update course curricula to reflect current evidence-based practice and evolving healthcare standards. Simulation laboratory sessions occupy significant time, where instructors guide students through realistic patient care scenarios using high-fidelity mannequins and standardized patients. Clinical rotation days take instructors to hospitals and healthcare facilities where they supervise small groups of students providing direct patient care, offering real-time feedback and skill assessment. Office hours provide dedicated time for advising students on academic progress, career planning, and personal challenges that may affect their studies. Faculty meetings, committee work, and program assessment activities round out the academic calendar. Many nursing instructors maintain clinical practice, working part-time in hospitals or clinics to keep their skills current and their teaching grounded in real-world experience.

Work Environment

Nursing Instructors work across a variety of academic and clinical settings that provide intellectual stimulation and professional variety. University and college campuses serve as the primary workplace, with modern classrooms, simulation centers, and faculty offices providing comfortable professional environments. Clinical teaching sites include hospitals, community health centers, long-term care facilities, and public health departments where instructors supervise students. The academic calendar provides a structured schedule with defined semesters, though clinical supervision may require early morning starts and occasional weekend commitments. Workload expectations extend beyond teaching hours to include course preparation, grading, committee service, student advising, and scholarly activity. The intellectual environment is collaborative, with faculty working together on curriculum development, accreditation preparation, and research projects. Stress factors include managing large student cohorts, ensuring patient safety during clinical rotations, and meeting institutional expectations for scholarship and service simultaneously. Many nursing programs offer flexible or hybrid teaching arrangements, with some didactic content delivered online, providing schedule flexibility.

Career Path & Advancement

Becoming a Nursing Instructor typically requires extensive clinical nursing experience combined with advanced education in nursing and education. Most postsecondary nursing programs require faculty to hold at minimum a Master of Science in Nursing, though many universities increasingly require or strongly prefer doctoral preparation, either a Doctor of Nursing Practice or a PhD in Nursing. Clinical experience is essential, with most programs expecting five or more years of active nursing practice in a relevant specialty area. Many nurses transition into teaching after building successful clinical careers, pursuing graduate education concurrently or after establishing their practice expertise. New faculty members often start as clinical instructors or adjunct lecturers before moving into full-time tenure-track positions. Advancement follows the traditional academic path from assistant professor through associate and full professor ranks, with tenure decisions based on teaching effectiveness, scholarly contributions, and service to the institution. Leadership opportunities include department chair, program director, and dean positions within schools of nursing. Some nursing educators pursue joint appointments that allow them to maintain clinical practice while fulfilling academic responsibilities.

Specializations

Nursing Instructors often focus their teaching and scholarship within specific nursing specialties that align with their clinical experience. Medical-surgical nursing educators teach foundational clinical skills and disease management that form the backbone of most nursing curricula. Critical care and emergency nursing instructors bring intensive care expertise to prepare students for high-acuity clinical environments. Pediatric nursing faculty educate students on child development, pediatric disease processes, and family-centered care approaches. Psychiatric-mental health nursing educators address the growing need for nurses prepared to manage behavioral health conditions and therapeutic communication. Maternal-child health instructors teach obstetric nursing, labor and delivery care, and postpartum management. Community and public health nursing faculty focus on population health, health promotion, and addressing social determinants of health. Simulation education specialists concentrate on designing and facilitating immersive learning experiences using advanced technology and simulation methodology. Nursing education researchers investigate best practices in teaching and learning, contributing to the scholarship that advances nursing education nationally.

Pros & Cons

Industry Insight

The nursing education field faces a critical faculty shortage that paradoxically limits the number of students that nursing programs can admit, directly impacting the nation's ability to address the broader nursing workforce crisis. Schools of nursing turn away tens of thousands of qualified applicants annually due to insufficient faculty, clinical sites, and classroom space. Competitive salaries in clinical practice often draw experienced nurses away from academia, where compensation typically lags behind bedside or advanced practice roles. Innovative teaching methods including virtual reality simulation, online learning platforms, and interprofessional education models are transforming how nursing is taught. The push for doctoral preparation of nursing faculty is raising educational standards while creating additional barriers for clinicians transitioning to teaching. Grant funding for nursing education research and program development is available through federal agencies and private foundations. Many institutions are adopting creative approaches to faculty recruitment including clinical partnership models, loan repayment programs, and practice-faculty joint appointments. The growing emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion in nursing education is shaping curriculum content and faculty recruitment strategies to better serve diverse student populations.