Instructor nurse vs staff nurse

The differences between instructor nurses and staff nurses can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an instructor nurse, becoming a staff nurse takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a staff nurse has an average salary of $68,342, which is higher than the $68,098 average annual salary of an instructor nurse.

The top three skills for an instructor nurse include BSN, professional development and MSN. The most important skills for a staff nurse are patients, BLS, and CPR.

Instructor nurse vs staff nurse overview

	Instructor Nurse	Staff Nurse
Yearly salary	$68,098	$68,342
Hourly rate	$32.74	$32.86
Growth rate	12%	6%
Number of jobs	50,341	699,636
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	46	44
Years of experience	4	2

What does an instructor nurse do?

Nurse educators are instructors in the medical field. Usually, they are a registered nurse with additional education in the area of teaching. They serve as an educator, teaching different courses to nursing students. They also develop lesson plans and instructional materials such as syllabi or course outlines, assess student learning, and give exams.

What does a staff nurse do?

Staff nurses are registered nurses who are usually assigned to work in a care home, a company, or in a clinical setting. They advise the physical assessments of patients, employees, and residents. They also handle the checking of vital signs, providing basic medical procedures, giving first aid, and, if possible, providing over the counter medication. Staff nurses provide medical attention to the people in their place of assignment. They help pave the path to their patients' full recovery. Staff nurses are expected to be patient and have good interpersonal skills.

Instructor nurse vs staff nurse salary

Instructor nurses and staff nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Instructor Nurse	Staff Nurse
Average salary	$68,098	$68,342
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $107,000	Between $42,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Burlingame, CA
Highest paying state	North Dakota	California
Best paying company	University of Mississippi Medical Center	Washington Hospital Healthcare System
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between instructor nurse and staff nurse education

There are a few differences between an instructor nurse and a staff nurse in terms of educational background:

	Instructor Nurse	Staff Nurse
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Instructor nurse vs staff nurse demographics

Here are the differences between instructor nurses' and staff nurses' demographics:

	Instructor Nurse	Staff Nurse
Average age	46	44
Gender ratio	Male, 12.3% Female, 87.7%	Male, 12.3% Female, 87.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 11.2% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	16%	9%

Differences between instructor nurse and staff nurse duties and responsibilities

Instructor nurse example 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.
Develop courses and assist in syllabus development.
Specialize in medical-surgical, fundamentals and pediatrics.

Staff nurse example responsibilities.

Manage and further help stabilize elective and urgent care surgical patients in their post-operative/post PACU admission to the floor.
Accomplish extensive critical care course with EKG interpretation and yearly critical care medication exam.
Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
Participate in discharge planning including teaching family members and patients wind care and medication administration process after discharge.
Provide direct nursing care to patients in a variety of settings with an emphasis in critical care and PACU settings.
Prepare patients for surgery and endoscopy procedures including initiating intravenous lines, physical assessments and administering medications.

Instructor nurse vs staff nurse skills

Common instructor nurse skills

BSN, 14%
Professional Development, 11%
MSN, 9%
Student Learning, 7%
CPR, 5%
NCLEX, 5%

Common staff nurse skills

Patients, 28%
BLS, 9%
CPR, 6%
Acls, 5%
Acute Care, 4%
Direct Patient Care, 3%

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Education, Training, and Library Industry
Instructor Nurse
Instructor Nurse vs Staff Nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

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