How To Become An Instructor Nurse: What It Is and Career Path

What is an instructor nurse and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Amy Bruce

Instructor nurses are trained nurses with a Master of Science or Ph.D. degree in Nursing or Care Education. They work in colleges and nursing schools and perform many of the same functions as college faculty. When they work for a medical facility teaching in-service classes, their job title might be nurse educators, staff development officers, or continuing education specialists.

Instructor nurses train nurses, from the new student nurse in a community college to the experienced nurse in a hospital or other health care facility. You must be a registered nurse with clinical experience to qualify for this post. You often need to have training in education theory and teaching practice from a Master of Science in Nursing or other related master's or doctoral degree program.

Many Instructor nurses work part-time teaching and spend the remainder of their time in clinical practice. The pay is often better in nursing practice, especially for Instructor nurses with advanced practice certifications. So, typically their median annual income lies around $74,324.

What general advice would you give to an instructor nurse?

Amy Bruce

Chair, Program Director, University of Charleston

Remember to exercise humility with your colleagues and peers in a healthy way. Know that you have a plethora of knowledge, but are still seeking understanding, support, and guidance from senior nurses in the field that have a lot to offer from years of practice and experience-partner with those who are willing to foster your professional growth and development. Do not seek out or stay in destructive peer-mentor relationships.

ScoreInstructor NurseUS Average

Salary

5.3

Avg. Salary $68,098

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.6

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 11.22%

Black or African American 7.29%

Hispanic or Latino 10.37%

Unknown 4.96%

White 65.88%

Gender

female 87.68%

male 12.32%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.9

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an instructor nurse

Explore instructor nurse education requirements

Most common instructor nurse degrees

Bachelor's

46.5 %

Master's

30.0 %

Associate

16.2 %

Start to develop specific instructor nurse skills

Skills	Percentages
BSN	13.61%
Professional Development	10.94%
MSN	8.64%
Student Learning	6.64%
CPR	4.96%

Complete relevant instructor nurse training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New instructor nurses learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an instructor nurse based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real instructor nurse resumes.

Research instructor nurse duties and responsibilities

Assess clinical education deliver to patients and clients utilizing a variety of health education delivery methods.
Serve as clinical instructor in Med-Surg, TCU and ICU settings.
Provide clinical instruction in community health nursing in the downtown Orlando area to first year BSN students.
Provide program syllabus per requirements.

Prepare your instructor nurse resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your instructor nurse resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an instructor nurse resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable instructor nurse resume templates

Build a professional instructor nurse resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your instructor nurse resume.