How to Become a Nurse Educator

As a nurse, there are many roles to explore based on options from your experience and education. Between the diverse types of practice and the ongoing nursing shortage, nurses have the opportunity to work with specific patient populations, in specific settings and even have a schedule that they prefer.

There are also several options for you to advance your nursing career after you've gained clinical experience. One option is the nurse educator role.

Nurse educators in academic settings are responsible for teaching the next generation of nurses to ensure that quality patient care continues in the healthcare field. When working in the clinical setting, nurse educators are focused on the professional development and educational competencies of practicing nurses.

To become a nurse educator, you'll need a master's in nursing with either a specialty in nursing education, a post-master's certification in nursing education or coursework in specific nursing education topics. The National League for Nurses (NLN) offers a certification for nurse educators — the Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) certification — which is a nationally recognized credential that represents expert knowledge and ability in this role.

As a graduate of some Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Nursing Education programs, such as the one at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), you are eligible to sit for the CNE exam upon graduation.

What is an MSN, exactly? An MSN is a graduate degree in nursing that offers many areas of study such as nursing education or family nurse practitioner, among others. This education can open the door to more career opportunities as well, including potential leadership roles.

Can an RN Become a Nurse Educator?

Advancing into an educator role can happen naturally for some nurses. As you grow in clinical experience and welcome new nurses to your team, you might pass along advice and tips to your colleagues. Should you enjoy this experience, you may decide to pursue a mentor or preceptor role and, with the right mix of experience and credentials, become a nurse educator formally teaching pre-licensure nursing students or training experienced nurses in clinical settings.

Dr. Crissy Hunter, RN, CHSE, CNE, a clinical faculty member of graduate nursing programs at SNHU, never expected to become a nurse educator. However, as she and her physician husband began adding to their family, the pathway was a perfect and rewarding fit for her.

“It's not on everyone's radar that they can or are called to teach," she said.

Hunter began as a preceptor for new graduates in her unit, and she enjoyed the difference she made and the way it challenged her.

"Teaching is definitely a skill, but with experience and advancing my degree, it was a skill that I became good at," she said. "I couldn’t imagine a different profession, and I wish more nurses knew about this specialty.”

What is the Role of a Nurse Educator?

Nurse educators play an invaluable role in preparing new nurses to enter the healthcare field and provide ongoing continuing education to experienced nurses in a fast-moving environment. It's their responsibility to ensure their students are equipped with a broad spectrum of nursing knowledge and skills so that they can translate their academic learning to the responsibilities of patient care in a clinical setting.

"Nurse educators play a vital role in the profession of nursing," Hunter said. "Regardless of the setting, academic or clinical, our primary role is advancing the profession of nursing through education."

Mentorship is an important part of the nurse educator role, so you'll have the privilege of advising and guiding students as they grow into nursing professionals. Other daily responsibilities of certified nurse educators working in academia include lesson planning, curriculum building, writing and proctoring examinations, coaching students, preparing lectures and providing feedback on projects.

Another important responsibility of the nurse educator is to stay up to date with changes in the field and nursing professional development, according to Dr. Britni Camino, CNE, DNP, RN, a clinical faculty member of SNHU's graduate nursing team who holds a Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) and has worked as a nurse educator for almost 15 years.

"Like nursing, nursing education is a profession that requires lifelong learning," she said. "As the healthcare industry continues to grow and evolve, so must nursing education."

In hospitals and other clinical locations, nurse educators "must keep up with the rapidly changing healthcare environment and are tasked with ensuring current practicing nurses are knowledgeable, competent and safe, always," Hunter said. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, nurse educators around the world worked hard to prepare all types of nurses from different units to care for infected patients.

When you become a nurse educator, there are several options relating to who and where you teach. According to Hunter, there are generally two levels in which you might teach, and what you choose is mainly dependent on your educational credentials:

1. Pre-licensure: This includes students pursuing a nursing certificate or associate degree or those in a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program who have not yet sat for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX).
   
   
2. Post-licensure: This includes BSN, MSN or doctorate students and practicing nurses who have already achieved their RN designation (Note: SNHU does not currently offer a doctorate in nursing).

Many academic and clinical settings, such as colleges, hospitals and other healthcare facilities, need qualified educators to help train the next generation of nurses. Some advanced degree programs, such as SNHU’s MSN in Nursing Education, allow you to explore both academic and clinical options. You can spend some of your required practicum hours at a clinical site and the rest in an academic institution to see which fit is better for you.

How Do I Become a Nurse Educator?

If you’d like to pursue a career as a nurse educator, be it in the academic or clinical setting, for pre- or post-licensure nurses, there are four steps you’ll want to take.

Obtain Nursing Licensure

If you're currently working as a nurse, you're already well on your way to meeting the qualifications required to become a nurse educator. Educators need to bring real-world experiences to their lessons. Aspiring, new and practicing nurses alike should be taught by RNs who have encountered the challenges of working in healthcare firsthand.

“Most people go into the nursing profession to be a bedside nurse to take care of patients and families, and that's where a nurse educator should start anyways,” Hunter said.

To become a practicing nurse, you’ll need to sit for the NCLEX to obtain licensure. While an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) can prepare you to become a registered nurse (RN), you might also consider a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).

Is a BSN degree worth it? Learn more.

Gain Clinical Experience as a Mentor or Preceptor

Do you enjoy helping new nurses translate their academic knowledge to workplace expertise? Do colleagues turn to you for advice and insight? Once you gain clinical experience as an RN, start to explore your interests and passions to ensure a nurse educator goal is a good fit.

You might consider mentoring other nurses or pursuing a preceptor role.

"If you are a nurse doing direct patient care, one way you can gain experience is through precepting new graduate nurses," Camino said. "This is a great way to help to start your nursing education experience."

In fact, that's how Camino first discovered her interest in teaching.

"This passion was sparked in me when I started precepting new nurses when I was working as a bedside registered nurse," Camino said. "I loved helping new graduate nurses connect what they learned in nursing school to what they saw at the bedside."

Teaching and guiding others will help you understand if you have the characteristics and interests necessary to make teaching your career.

“That's a really good way to start to know if you have the characteristics of being an educator,” Hunter said. "It's not for everybody. I feel like there is a big learning curve. It's really easy as a nurse to just jump in and do it yourself because you're so used to doing it, instead of stepping backwards and mentoring someone else to do it.”

Earn an Advanced Nursing Degree

While a BSN and preceptor experience can help you open doors in the workplace, you'll need to take it a step further if you want to become a nurse educator. Most teaching roles in the nursing field require you to have at least an MSN.

“(Nurse educators) are specially trained,” Hunter said. “So, most faculty hold a master’s in nursing and then they have an emphasis in nursing education within that track, or they have a nursing education certificate.”

Attending a college with an MSN in Nursing Education focus can provide you with the knowledge required for advanced nursing practice while simultaneously equipping you with the skills necessary to be an effective educator.

With an MSN in Nursing Education in hand, you'll be qualified to teach in various settings, including community colleges, universities, hospitals, community health agencies, long-term care facilities, technical colleges and more. Within these organizations, you may be able to fill many roles, such as clinical nursing faculty, staff development and training, curriculum designer, educational administrator and even patient educator.

Depending on your career goals, you may also choose to go on and earn a doctorate in nursing. Although these programs are not currently offered at SNHU, earning your MSN before starting a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or Doctor of Education (EdD) program is required. Some nurse educator roles require a doctorate degree.

To lead and train the next generation of nurses, you'll take courses on general advanced nursing topics, such as biostatistics, leadership in healthcare, global health and the use of evidence-based practices. You may also complete coursework on topics more specific to nursing education, such as teaching and learning assessments and curriculum design. The program's courses at SNHU are based on the core competencies set forth by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the NLN.

Some programs also offer practicums that allow you to gain hands-on experience in nursing education before graduation. At SNHU, for example, you'll need to complete 135 supervised hours in the field.

Already Have an MSN?

If you're interested in teaching nursing but already hold an MSN degree, you might consider a nursing education post-master's certificate. "Obtaining this post-master’s certificate will efficiently and successfully prepare you to lead and teach future nursing professionals," Camino said.

The certificate includes four courses:

• "Strategies for Online Instruction"
• "Healthcare Quality and Improvement"
• "Facilitating Learning and Teaching Innovation in Nursing Education"
• "Curriculum Foundations in Nursing Education"

"SNHU’s online nurse educator certificate program utilizes evidence-based teaching pedagogy to help students obtain the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively transition into a nurse educator role," Camino said.

Consider a Nurse Educator Certification

Ultimately, the MSN in Nursing Education and the nursing education post-master's certificate program both have a major goal in mind: to prepare students to become certified educators. To be certified to teach in academic settings, you must achieve certification through the NLN by meeting certain criteria and passing the rigorous Certified Nurse Educator examination.

According to the NLN, the criteria include:

• Nursing licensure
• Advanced education
• Recent and relevant experience

Some nursing programs, such as SNHU's, are specifically aligned to the competencies defined by the NLN and will prepare students to sit for the exam upon successful degree completion.

While the CNE credential is not a requirement of the nurse educator role, Hunter said all nurse educators — clinical and academic — should want the certification. "It is a certification that demonstrates achievement and expertise to peers, students and self," she said.

Camino agreed. "Certification is not mandatory, but it will definitely put you a step ahead of others who don’t hold the certification when it comes to applying for nursing educator job opportunities," she said.

She also noted that some employers may exclusively hire candidates with a certification. "Many institutions require that their nurse educators hold their CNE certification," she said.

Earning the CNE credential tells employers you have the knowledge and professional experience to work in the profession. Hunter said employers prefer candidates who have sat for and passed the exam. “That credential really lifts you higher for the jobs that you want,” she said. "It shows an expertise, and it's very, very respected in our community.”

According to Camino, you might also consider other NLN certifications, including the Academic Nurse Educator certification or the Academic Clinical Nurse Educator certification. "Once any of the three certifications are obtained, there are certain renewal credit activities that are required to keep up the certification," she said.

So, How Many Years Does It Take to Become a Nurse Educator?

That depends entirely on your schedule, goals, college and whether you intend to become certified. If you're considering a role as a certified nurse educator, you'll want to review the examination eligibility criteria of the NLN, which may include work experience, education and specific content areas. Look for an MSN program that will help you meet the criteria.

If you are a registered nurse and don't have your BSN but are ready to pursue a nursing education degree, that's okay. There are also accelerated programs to fast-track you from the RN to MSN level.

When you pursue your master’s degree online, you may find that remote learning gives you the flexibility to advance your nursing education while simultaneously growing your professional career in the workplace. SNHU's nursing programs, for example, give you the ability to schedule your learning during times that are most convenient for your week, whether that means participating in course discussions after your shift ends or completing assignments on your day off.

The online program doesn't only mold to fit with your day-to-day schedule. It can also allow you to divide your education into attainable terms. The 36-credit program is split into short 10-week terms, which can make it easier to stay on track. But, if professional or personal challenges arise, you can take a term off instead of sitting out an entire semester or year.

Is There a Demand for Nurse Educators?

Nurse educators are in high demand, according to the the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), with an 18% growth rate projected through 2033 — that's more than four times faster than the average 4% growth projected for all occupations.*

Hunter contends that the nurse educator shortage in academic settings is largely responsible for the overall increasing demand for more nurses in the field.*

"The nurse educator is really a specialty that is focused on educating the new nurses,” she said. “So, if you do not have enough nurse educators, you can't increase your capacity of teaching nurses.”

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) notes that a nursing shortage is expected to intensify as the Baby Boomer generation ages, and BLS projects approximately 194,500 job openings for registered nurses each year through 2033.*

As the demand for well-educated nurses increases, so does the need for a more significant number of qualified educators in this field of healthcare.*

“We do not give enough attention to the role of a nurse educator and how rewarding it is to be giving back to our profession and to be growing the future nurses of tomorrow," Hunter said.

What is the Best Thing About Being a Nurse Educator?

A career in nurse education can be hugely rewarding, according to Camino.

"I love seeing those 'light bulb' moments with students when they grasp concepts, or where they begin to see the art of nursing come to life by connecting with patients in a profound and meaningful way," she said. "As nurse educators, we are at the forefront for shaping the future of nursing."

Another reason Hunter chose to enter this profession is that it gave her the opportunity to give back and form meaningful connections with her students, even after they leave her class.

“One of the things I love about being a nurse educator is my relationship with students. Being a nurse educator is not just about teaching but also about being a role model. Sometimes I have students who struggle or feel like they're inadequate because they're adult learners and they're juggling their families and jobs and (are) also trying to complete their degree,” Hunter said. “Not only do I feel like I'm teaching them, but I also feel like I'm serving as a role model and mentoring them through their program because really, they're my peers. I was able to do it and so can they.”

In addition to the satisfaction that comes from passing on your expertise to the new and practicing nurses, weekly calendars differ. One of the reasons Hunter moved into nursing education was that she had four young children at home. Nursing education allowed her to trade her 12-hour shifts for a schedule more accepting of her family’s needs.

“I loved precepting in my department, so that was kind of my motivation for looking into a nurse educator role as maybe this is something that I can do that would have a better schedule for a family,” Hunter said.

And if you still love working with patients, your new career as a nurse educator doesn't mean you need to give up your previous nursing duties altogether. Many educators teach part-time while still dedicating many hours a week to patient care and clinical practice, Hunter said.

She said most employers of nurse educators often encourage this continued professional development and connection to bedside care.

Nursing education may also be an unplanned but enjoyable pathway for many nurses. “Most often, I feel like someone does not go into (nursing) to be a nurse educator," Hunter said. "They actually find the calling later on within their career. It is my hope that nurses see that the nurse educator role is an amazing option. That somehow we can bring more attention to this specialty and the rewarding benefits of choosing to be a nurse educator."

*Cited job growth projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions and do not guarantee actual job growth. Actual salaries and/or earning potential may be the result of a combination of factors including, but not limited to: years of experience, industry of employment, geographic location, and worker skill.

Rebecca LeBoeuf Blanchette '18 '22G is a writer at Southern New Hampshire University, where she fulfills her love of learning daily through conversations with professionals across a range of fields. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a minor in Professional Writing at SNHU’s campus in Manchester, New Hampshire, and followed her love of storytelling into the online Master of Arts in English and Creative Writing at SNHU. Connect with her on LinkedIn.