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What does an instructor nurse do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted expert
Chris Robinson
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.

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Instructor nurse responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real instructor nurse resumes:

  • 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.
  • Provide engaging experiences in pediatrics and medical surgical clinical
  • Collaborate with interdisciplinary team to develop care plans for patients.
  • Facilitate distance learning education, by telecourses for sociology and psychology.
  • Develop and instruct classes on comprehensive treatment plans and review of pharmacology.
  • Authore and implement numerous medical-surgical clinical simulation scenarios used in large scale clinical simulation experiences for BSN students.
  • Instruct and mentore students on psych rotations in clinical settings utilizing extensive knowledge of psychology, pharmacology and medical-surgical assessment skills.
  • Teach ACLS and BCLS classes.
  • Coordinate and conduct BCLS and ACLS classes.
  • Head on boarding process for new nursing staff and HOSA.

Instructor nurse skills and personality traits

We calculated that 14% of Instructor Nurses are proficient in BSN, Professional Development, and MSN. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Speaking skills, and Writing skills.

We break down the percentage of Instructor Nurses that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • BSN, 14%

    Authored and implemented numerous medical-surgical clinical simulation scenarios used in large scale clinical simulation experiences for BSN students.

  • Professional Development, 11%

    Attended faculty meetings and participated in professional development activities as provided by the university.

  • MSN, 9%

    Course Number Title/Course Level Fall 2010 FNP 62015 Advanced Principals in Adult Primary Care (MSN)

  • Student Learning, 7%

    Implement evaluation devices of student learning and clinical experience to measure progress and competency.

  • CPR, 5%

    Provided training in Basic Life Support and CPR.

  • NCLEX, 5%

    Developed nursing division first proctored online unit and comprehensive test in preparation for the computer-based NCLEX.

"bsn," "professional development," and "msn" are among the most common skills that instructor nurses use at work. You can find even more instructor nurse responsibilities below, including:

Interpersonal skills. One of the key soft skills for an instructor nurse to have is interpersonal skills. You can see how this relates to what instructor nurses do because "postsecondary teachers need to work well with others for tasks such as instructing students and serving on committees." Additionally, an instructor nurse resume shows how instructor nurses use interpersonal skills: "observe the graduate nursing student in interpersonal and general patient care skills. "

Speaking skills. Many instructor nurse duties rely on speaking skills. "postsecondary teachers need good communication skills to present lectures and provide feedback to students.," so an instructor nurse will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways instructor nurse responsibilities rely on speaking skills: "developed and utilized a childbirth class for underprivileged spanish speaking patients . "

Writing skills. This is an important skill for instructor nurses to perform their duties. For an example of how instructor nurse responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "postsecondary teachers need strong writing ability to publish original research and analysis." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an instructor nurse: "test writing and nclex review. ".

See the full list of instructor nurse skills

The three companies that hire the most instructor nurses are:

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Compare different instructor nurses

Instructor nurse vs. Nursing program coordinator

A Nursing Program Coordinator typically works at universities and community colleges where they are in charge of coordinating nursing programs. Although the extent of their responsibilities depends on their employment institution, it usually includes conducting research and analyses, liaising with internal and external parties, working together with directors in developing curriculums, and overseeing committee works. Moreover, a Nursing Program coordinator leads and encourages staff to reach administrative objectives while implementing the institution's policies and regulations.

If we compare the average instructor nurse annual salary with that of a nursing program coordinator, we find that nursing program coordinators typically earn a $3,813 lower salary than instructor nurses make annually.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both instructor nurse and nursing program coordinator positions are skilled in bsn, professional development, and cpr.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between instructor nurses and nursing program coordinator. For instance, instructor nurse responsibilities require skills such as "excellent interpersonal," "msn," "ongoing support," and "student learning." Whereas a nursing program coordinator is skilled in "quality care," "icu," "compassion," and "rehabilitation." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Nursing program coordinators really shine in the non profits industry with an average salary of $66,610. Comparatively, instructor nurses tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $76,590.On average, nursing program coordinators reach lower levels of education than instructor nurses. Nursing program coordinators are 16.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Instructor nurse vs. Nursing department chairperson

Nursing faculty members are professionals who are responsible for providing education and instructional materials about topics that are related to the nursing profession. These professionals must maintain communication with the Director of Nursing to discuss the progress and concerns of their nursing students. They are required to facilitate professional development skills workshops among nursing students as well as participate in college and community service. These professionals must also negotiate and collaborate with hospital facilities to provide clinical experiences for their junior nursing students.

Nursing department chairperson positions earn higher pay than instructor nurse roles. They earn a $10,438 higher salary than instructor nurses per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Instructor nurses and nursing department chairpeople both require similar skills like "bsn," "professional development," and "msn" to carry out their responsibilities.

Each career also uses different skills, according to real instructor nurse resumes. While instructor nurse responsibilities can utilize skills like "excellent interpersonal," "ongoing support," "student learning," and "cpr," nursing department chairpeople use skills like "educational programs," "program outcomes," "ccne," and "program evaluation."

Average education levels between the two professions vary. Nursing department chairpeople tend to reach lower levels of education than instructor nurses. In fact, they're 7.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for instructor nurses in the next 3-5 years?

Chris RobinsonChris Robinson LinkedIn profile

Clinical Resource Director, NCOPE

I am of the mindset that technology isn't a separate concept, but something becoming deeply interwoven into our day-to-day lives. On the business side, I feel access to real-time data will become the relative norm, enabling employees at all levels to not only have access to critical data, but have it presented in a meaningful way. The term "data" brings with it a certain stigma, and to some, reflections of giant spreadsheets of data. A giant spreadsheet may contain critical data, but it must be visualized in a way that allows a person to quickly draw an appropriate conclusion. From a physical goods standpoint, additive manufacturing is no longer something exclusive to the prototyping and enthusiast community, but something accessible across professions. I would not be surprised if 3D printers were integrated into retailers the same way 1-hour photo labs are.

Instructor nurse vs. Nursing faculty

On average scale, nursing faculties bring in lower salaries than instructor nurses. In fact, they earn a $4,546 lower salary per year.instructor nurses and nursing faculties both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "excellent interpersonal," "professional development," and "msn," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from instructor nurse resumes include skills like "bsn," "ongoing support," "cpr," and "direct patient care," whereas a nursing faculty is more likely to list skills in "home health," "patient care," "global health," and "clinical faculty. "

Nursing faculties earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $69,115. Comparatively, instructor nurses have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $76,590.nursing faculties typically earn higher educational levels compared to instructor nurses. Specifically, they're 6.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 2.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Instructor nurse vs. Nursing professor

Nursing professors average a higher salary than the annual salary of instructor nurses. The difference is about $6,408 per year.While both instructor nurses and nursing professors complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like bsn, professional development, and msn, the two careers vary in some skills.While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "excellent interpersonal," "ongoing support," "cpr," and "nclex" are skills that commonly show up on instructor nurse resumes. On the other hand, nursing professors use skills like med/surg, dnp, role model, and blackboard on their resumes.In general, nursing professors hold similar degree levels compared to instructor nurses. Nursing professors are 3.6% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 5.8% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of instructor nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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