FAQs (frequently asked questions)

 
  1. What kind of education do I need to become a nurse educator?
  2. Can experienced clinicians or administrators teach in schools of nursing?
  3. What is the difference between the titles of adjunct and clinical faculty?
  4. What do the various academic titles signify?
  5. What is tenure?
  6. Why do baccalaureate and higher degree programs prefer/require the doctorate?
  7. What is a typical workload for a nursing instructor in a school of nursing?
  8. Why should a nurse in the practice setting consider becoming a nurse educator in light of salary differences?
  9. How can experienced staff nurses and clinicians become preceptors for students?
  10. What is the difference between a nurse educator and a health educator?
  11. What are the job responsibilities of a nurse educator in the practice setting?
  12. What is a typical workload for a nurse educator in a health care agency?

Answer 1: Usually, the master's degree is required to teach in a school of nursing, however, if you would like to teach in a school of nursing, you must have a minimum of a baccalaureate in nursing. However, many state boards of nursing require the master's degree and nurses with a baccalaureate usually teach under the supervision of an experienced teacher with a master's or doctorate. In some states, it is possible to teach with a master's in a related discipline but the majority of nursing schools require a master's in nursing. A person who wishes to teach should have a content area in which she/he is expert and certification in that specialty is preferred. The doctorate is preferred for all schools of nursing and required for teaching in baccalaureate and higher degree programs. Doctorate degrees that are accepted for tenure-track in most schools of nursing include the PhD (Doctor of Philosophy), DNSc (Doctor of Nursing Science), EdD (Doctor of Education), and the DPH (Doctor of Public Health). The DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice), which is a practice-based degree, may not be accepted for tenure-track in some schools of nursing. Nursing graduates with master's and doctorate degrees that do not include an education major or minor are encouraged to earn a certificate in nursing education. Nurse educators in the practice setting may hold a baccalaureate in nursing, however, a master's is preferred. While educators need advanced knowledge in a clinical specialty, it is advantageous to have knowledge in educational processes. Nurses wishing to enter the educator role can earn a Master of Science in Nursing with a major or minor in education. Those with master's or doctorate degrees can earn a post-graduate Certificate in Nursing Education.

Answer 2: Experienced clinicians and administrators in nursing are welcome additions to the faculty in schools of nursing. However, they must have minimal education qualifications to be eligible for appointment, e.g., master's degree or doctorate depending upon the school's requirements. Unless they had previous academic experience with an academic title, they usually start at the lecturer, instructor, or assistant professor levels.

Answer 3: Schools of nursing use titles to differentiate between paid and volunteer faculty. Each school chooses the titles they assign to nurses who volunteer their expertise to the program and for those who are paid to teach and clinically supervise students in the practice setting. Usually, 'adjunct', means a volunteer instructor, while a clinical faculty member is paid. However, some schools of nursing assign the adjunct title to paid part-time or fulltime non-tenure track faculty. Volunteer faculty must meet certain requirements including educational qualifications and experience. Their credentials are reviewed to assure qualifications and an appointment is made to the school of nursing. In exchange for their volunteer services, many schools of nursing provide library privileges and other perks to show their appreciation for service to the school. In some schools, paid clinical instructors can earn rank within the track such as Clinical Assistant Professor, Clinical Associate Professor, and Clinical Professor. The clinical track for faculty is usually non-tenure. Non-tenure means that faculty do not have to meet as rigorous standards that tenure track faculty have, particularly in the area of research. However, they are still expected to participate in committee work in addition to teaching and they must maintain clinical, scholarly, community service, and professional activities.

Answer 4: Academe, as in health care organizations, industry, and the military, designate rank according to faculty's education and experience. Usually the length of time in rank averages from 3 to 5 years to provide enough time for the faculty member to gain experience in teaching and build a record of research, scholarly activities, and community service. These ranks usually apply to tenure-track positions, although, there are some universities and colleges that do not have the tenure system and instead, appoint faculty to 1, 2, 3, or 5-year contracts. Some schools have Lecturer positions, usually for part-time faculty that are not tenure-track or permanent.

Academic ranks and specific requirements for each are:
Instructor: initial level with little or no teaching experience requires a graduate degree specific to the discipline and the institution. Job performance expectations include teaching and clinical supervision of students. Instructors are expected to attend committee and other academic-related functions and to maintain clinical expertise.
Assistant Professor: initial level with some teaching experience requires a graduate degree specific to the discipline and the institution. Job performance expectations include teaching excellence, participation in school, community and professional service, scholarly activities including research and usually, a specified minimum of publications in professional journals over the 5 year period.
Associate Professor: usually a doctorate is required and at least three years teaching experience. Job performance expectations include teaching excellence, leadership in school governance and program development, and a few leadership activities in regional, national, and/or international professional service, scholarly activities including research, funded grants, and a record of continuing publications in professional journals.
Professor: experienced educator with at least 8 years experience in education and a doctorate. Job performance expectations include teaching excellence, leadership role in the school of nursing, leadership recognition in regional, national, and international professional activities, scholarship activities including research, funded grants, and extensive and current publications in professional journals.

Answer 5: Tenure is awarded to faculty members who demonstrate teaching excellence, leadership in academic committee work, educational program development and evaluation, expertise in the discipline that is recognized by regional and national organizations, and scholarly activities including research, grants, and publications. Tenure usually occurs 5 to 6 years after initial appointment into an academic rank. Tenure assures permanent appointment subject to satisfactory performance and demonstration of professor level activities. Tenure review occurs periodically according to the institution's established policies to assure quality performance. Tenure can be lost owing to incompetence, unethical behavior, neglect of professional duties, or if the program is discontinued and there is no longer a need for the professor's expertise.

Answer 6: There is a 'rule of thumb' in academe that teachers in higher education programs should hold one degree higher or at least equal to the program in which they are preparing graduates. Thus, associate degree programs require the master's degree and baccalaureate and higher degree programs prefer the doctorate (although master's prepared faculty can teach in undergraduate programs and in some advanced practice programs, e.g., clinical specialists and nurse practitioners). Most disciplines in higher education require the doctorate as it signifies an expert in the field with a record of research, grants, and publications and therefore, qualified to prepare the next generation of scientists, theorists, researchers, practitioners, clinicians, etc.

Answer 7: Faculty members in associate degree and baccalaureate or other entry-level nursing programs typically have a mixture of theory, lab, and clinical courses. Traditionally a theory course has as many contact hours as credits/units awarded. The typical theory course is 3 credits and requires 3 hours of contact time between the instructor and the students. The same holds true no matter the method of delivery of the course, i.e., on-campus, online, or in seminar. Practice lab and clinical courses usually require more hours per unit. Typically, practice lab classes require 2 hours per credit, while clinical practice hours require 3 or 4 hours to 1 unit of credit. Therefore, instructors are assigned to the lab and clinical courses according to the hours, not credits. Each school of nursing has its own formula for the assignment of hours and courses according to the level of the program and the instructor. New tenure-track instructors are usually assigned less hours of teaching to facilitate their need to start building a scholarly and research record. However, a typical schedule per semester for undergraduate teachers includes a theory course (3 hours/week), a practice lab (4 hours/week), and a clinical lab (12 hours/week). These are contact hours and do not include preparation time for classes and clinical, committee meetings, and personal scholarly activities. The credit load is 9, however, the lab and clinical courses carry additional hours that could be calculated as 3 to 4 additional credits. Faculty members in graduate programs usually carry no more than 9 credits per semester to account for supervising master's theses/projects and doctoral dissertations and the scholarly and research activities expected of graduate faculty who usually hold associate professor or professor ranks.

Answer 8: At first glance, faculty salaries seem much less that those in the practice setting. However, several factors should be taken into consideration. Nurses without teaching experience are entering a different 'specialty' and as with all new roles, start at the novice level. For example, a clinical specialist wishing to practice in primary care needs to become certified as a nurse practitioner and enters that role as a novice in spite of years of experience as a clinical specialist. However, those years of experience enrich the new role and provide opportunity for the nurse to accelerate in that position to a higher salary and rung on the clinical ladder. The same principles apply to academe. Master's or doctorate prepared clinicians/practitioners/ administrators enhance their opportunities for accelerating in academic rank if they add a nurse educator certificate to their credentials. Another benefit is the typical academic schedule with summers free, spring breaks, and holidays off. These perks are friendly to nurses with family responsibilities and offer the opportunity for earning additional income to maintain clinical expertise, consult, or to produce scholarly works that are income producing. The time-off affords faculty with the opportunity to conduct research and write grants that provide released time from usual teaching assignments for program development and research activities. Some schools of nursing operate year round. In these cases, faculty salary increase according to required workload. Benefits are usually equal to or better than those in the practice arena. As nursing faculty rise in rank, the salaries increase as well, and at the Associate Professor and Professor levels, are often equal to those in practice.

Answer 9: Schools of nursing work in partnership with practicing nurses to provide high quality clinical experiences for students. Staff nurses, clinicians, practitioners, administrators, and nurse educators are eligible to serve as preceptors depending upon the nature of the clinical experience. Qualifications for preceptors depend upon the specific need for example, entry-level students need experienced preceptors who are prepared at the baccalaureate level, advanced practice students are paired with master's prepared specialists or practitioners, administration/management students have master's prepared nurse administrators, and nurse educator students have faculty or staff educators. If you have education and experience that you believe meets the qualifications, contact your local school. While these positions are voluntary, payback includes satisfaction in the preparation of future nurses, a taste of the educator role, and potential for hiring the graduates whom you mentor.

Answer 10: A health educator is an expert in the development, implementation, and evaluation of health education programs. The health educator is usually master's prepared and often found in public health and other community-based agencies. A nurse educator in the practice setting brings her/his clinical expertise as well as knowledge to the development, delivery, and evaluation of educational programs. Nurse educators are usually prepared at the master''s level and practice in acute care and community-based health care agencies.

Answer 11: Nurse educators in the practice setting develop and implement staff orientation programs, coordinate clinical placements for health profession students, arrange internships, monitor staff education and development needs and develop programs to meet the needs, develop patient education programs, and manage the agency's educational programs.

Answer 12: Nurse educators work the usual 35 to 40 hour week required of employees in health care agencies. However, their schedules are flexible according to the needs of the educational program. For example, they may need to present staff development classes to the night shift or weekend staff. A typical week for a nurse educator in a hospital might look like this:

  • Monday: OFF
  • Tuesday: 8AM to 4PM
    • Office work
    • Planning for orientation of new graduates and staff
    • Meeting with unit managers and staff regarding orientation program
    • Preparing materials for orientation program
  • Wednesday: 6AM to 2PM
    • Staff development session with night shift staff
    • Meeting with administrator regarding to discuss needs for education program
    • Meeting with schools of nursing representatives for clinical placements
    • Office work
  • Thursday: 3PM to 11PM
    • Review of budget with chief financial officer
    • Staff development session with 3 to 11 staff
    • Analysis of evaluation of education programs
    • Office work
  • Friday: 10AM to 7PM
    • Guest lecture at school of nursing
    • Meeting with student preceptors and faculty
    • Patient education session
    • Office work
  • Saturday: 9AM to 5PM
    • Staff development session
    • Review of new media
    • Future planning for programs
    • Office work

  • Sunday: OFF