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What does a nurse educator do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted expert
Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D.
What does a nurse educator do

A nurse educator is responsible for teaching aspiring professional nurses, designing courses according to the curriculum, and organizing activities to practice and enhance the students' knowledge. Nurse educators manage clinical activities and observe the students' performance in actual training. They must have excellent knowledge of the medical industry, as well as its practices, to respond to the students' inquiries and concerns accurately. A nurse educator identifies the students' strengths and weaknesses, develop comprehensive lesson plans, and strategizing various nursing programs.

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Nurse educator responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real nurse educator resumes:

  • Achieve instructor level for both BLS and ACLS, supporting needs of nursing staff to maintain competency.
  • Demonstrate clinical competency and compassion in providing care, using technology, administering medications, performing procedures, and managing emergencies.
  • Provide nursing education and clinical expertise to novice nurses entering ICU setting.
  • Assist with maintaining staff certification in ACLS and BLS, advocate keeping current with unit specific certifications.
  • Involve in program development for the cardiology and cardiovascular surgery departments.
  • Develop standardized patient care plans for medical diagnoses and oncology patients for use with the hospital computerize documentation system.
  • Assist in providing ACLS courses.
  • Direct interaction with patients for persistence and compliance.
  • Full ACLS unit equipment including ventilators, invasive lines.
  • Plan and implement education programs that meet ANCC, TJC and OSHA standards.
  • Assist in audits and ensure compliance to HIPAA, Medicare and Medicaid regulations.
  • Provide continuing education programs to RN's, scrub techs and radiology techs.
  • Demonstrate knowledge and skills necessary to provide instruction appropriate for adult learners in the BSN nursing program.
  • Maintain and update nursing staff files, annual competencies, TB, licensing and CPR compliance records.
  • Assist with lectures, lesson plans, exams, and activities for RN to BSN students and LPN students

Nurse educator skills and personality traits

We calculated that 19% of Nurse Educators are proficient in Patients, BLS, and BSN. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.

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

  • Patients, 19%

    Provide training/education to a group of very diversified patients providing guidance with different learning styles and different levels of competency.

  • BLS, 8%

    Achieved instructor level for both BLS and ACLS, supporting needs of nursing staff to maintain competency.

  • BSN, 7%

    Assisted with lectures, lesson plans, exams, and activities for RN to BSN students and LPN students

  • Professional Development, 6%

    Spearheaded, promoted, and planned the Professional Development Day for employees in order to stimulate educational interests and professional advancement.

  • CPR, 5%

    Administered hospital-wide CPR certification program.

  • Educational Programs, 5%

    Developed and implemented educational programs for pediatric nursing staff, as well as general hospital orientation for newly hired employees.

Common skills that a nurse educator uses to do their job include "patients," "bls," and "bsn." You can find details on the most important nurse educator responsibilities below.

Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a nurse educator to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and evaluate their health conditions." Additionally, a nurse educator resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "utilize effective verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills with staff, patients, and families. "

Compassion. Many nurse educator duties rely on compassion. "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when working with patients.," so a nurse educator will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways nurse educator responsibilities rely on compassion: "received numerous awards and positive feed-back from peers and supervisors for my listening skills, compassion and thoroughness. "

Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of nurse educators is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday nurse educator duties, as "registered nurses must be precise because they must ensure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "oriented and worked on multiple units throughout the organization, including telemetry, icc, msp, and ed. "

Emotional stability. nurse educator responsibilities often require "emotional stability." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stressors." This resume example shows what nurse educators do with emotional stability on a typical day: "provide emotional support to patients and caregivers. "

Organizational skills. Another crucial skill for a nurse educator to carry out their responsibilities is "organizational skills." A big part of what nurse educators relies on this skill, since "nurses often work with multiple patients who have a variety of health needs." How this skill relates to nurse educator duties can be seen in an example from a nurse educator resume snippet: "assist in the strategic management of branch processes and performance improvement activities to meet organizational goals"

Physical stamina. Lastly, "physical stamina" is an important element of what a nurse educator does. Nurse educator responsibilities require this skill because "nurses should be comfortable performing physical tasks, such as lifting patients." This resume example highlights how nurse educator duties rely on this skill: "administered annual staff and residents' physical, flu, and tb testing. "

See the full list of nurse educator skills

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Compare different nurse educators

Nurse educator vs. Clinic registered nurse

A clinic registered nurse is responsible for providing immediate care and treatments to patients while working alongside physicians and specialists. Assigned in a clinic or similar setting, they are mostly responsible for obtaining patient information and medical history, administering appropriate medication, and coordinating with health care experts. Moreover, they must thoroughly discuss necessary information to patients and their guardians and respond to any inquiries under the physician's guidelines. It is essential to make patients feel at ease and implement the policies of the clinic.

The annual salary of clinic registered nurses is $2,092 higher than the average salary of nurse educators.Even though nurse educators and clinic registered nurses are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require patients, bls, and acls in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, nurse educator responsibilities require skills like "bsn," "professional development," "cpr," and "educational programs." Meanwhile a typical clinic registered nurse has skills in areas such as "quality care," "surgery," "patient safety," and "discharge planning." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Clinic registered nurses tend to make the most money working in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $66,197. In contrast, nurse educators make the biggest average salary, $94,493, in the pharmaceutical industry.clinic registered nurses tend to reach lower levels of education than nurse educators. In fact, clinic registered nurses are 13.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Nurse educator vs. Clinical research nurse

A clinical research nurse is responsible for conducting research studies on various health conditions, illness treatments, and healthcare methodologies, analyzing existing scientific research to make new reports. Clinical research nurses also communicate with other health professionals and health organizations for their insights and recommendations for a specific medical study, ensuring to report their findings to doctors and medical researchers for further validation and clinical trials. A clinical research nurse must have excellent knowledge of communication, both written and spoken, as well as expertise in the medical industry.

Clinical research nurse positions earn lower pay than nurse educator roles. They earn a $7,636 lower salary than nurse educators per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both nurse educators and clinical research nurses have skills such as "patients," "bls," and "acls. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, nurse educator responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "bsn," "professional development," "cpr," and "educational programs." Meanwhile, a clinical research nurse has duties that require skills in areas such as "surgery," "quality care," "patient outcomes," and "icu." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Clinical research nurses earn a lower average salary than nurse educators. But clinical research nurses earn the highest pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $61,917. Additionally, nurse educators earn the highest salaries in the pharmaceutical with average pay of $94,493 annually.clinical research nurses earn lower levels of education than nurse educators in general. They're 11.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

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

Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D.Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Dean of the School of Nursing Professor of Nursing, Quinnipiac University

Telehealth will continue to play an essential role in the delivery of high-quality patient care. As nursing professionals, RNs must be familiar with the delivery of digital health, including issues such as the scope of practice, regulation, delivery platforms, and patient privacy to name a few.

Nurse educator vs. Senior registered nurse

A senior registered nurse is a superior healthcare professional who provides high-quality palliative care to patients and their families. Senior registered nurses are required to liaise between patients and other healthcare professionals, such as physicians, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists. They lead a team of registered nurses and care assistants to ensure that they follow the hospital's best practice care standards. Senior registered nurses also administer and order medicines as required by patients and the hospital's policies and procedures.

An average senior registered nurse eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of nurse educators. The difference in salaries amounts to senior registered nurses earning a $6,278 higher average salary than nurse educators.By looking over several nurse educators and senior registered nurses resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "patients," "bls," and "cpr." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from nurse educator resumes include skills like "bsn," "professional development," "educational programs," and "staff development," whereas a senior registered nurse is more likely to list skills in "care coordination," "discharge planning," "community resources," and "triage. "

Senior registered nurses earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $85,104. Comparatively, nurse educators have the highest earning potential in the pharmaceutical industry, with an average salary of $94,493.Most senior registered nurses achieve a lower degree level compared to nurse educators. For example, they're 14.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Nurse educator vs. Private duty nurse

A private duty nurse is responsible for providing quality health care services for a specific patient's medical needs. Private duty nurses work within a large health care institution or in a private household setting, depending on their scope and availability. They assist the medical staff in administering medications for the patients, conducting medical procedures, evaluating the patients' condition, and reporting progress and any updates to the attending physician for immediate attention. A private duty nurse must be highly attentive, especially on supporting the patient's daily activities and self-care needs.

Private duty nurses tend to earn a lower pay than nurse educators by an average of $12,465 per year.According to resumes from nurse educators and private duty nurses, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "patients," "home health," and "patient education. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A nurse educator uses "bls," "bsn," "professional development," and "cpr." Private duty nurses are more likely to have duties that require skills in "hospice care," "trach care," "adl," and "tracheostomy care. "In general, private duty nurses earn the most working in the government industry, with an average salary of $58,981. The highest-paying industry for a nurse educator is the pharmaceutical industry.private duty nurses reach lower levels of education compared to nurse educators, in general. The difference is that they're 17.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of nurse educator

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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