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School nurse vs nurse educator

The differences between school nurses and nurse educators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a school nurse and a nurse educator. Additionally, a nurse educator has an average salary of $67,983, which is higher than the $54,998 average annual salary of a school nurse.

The top three skills for a school nurse include CPR, school health and health education. The most important skills for a nurse educator are patients, BLS, and BSN.

School nurse vs nurse educator overview

School NurseNurse Educator
Yearly salary$54,998$67,983
Hourly rate$26.44$32.68
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs282,124537,803
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age4444
Years of experience22

What does a school nurse do?

A school nurse is in charge of advocating and providing healthcare services to students, faculty, and staff daily. Their responsibilities revolve around providing necessary treatments to someone in need, developing programs that promote students' health, and administering proper medication. When a school nurse must reach out to parents to inform them of their children's visits or any emergencies, it must be documented. Furthermore, a school nurse must appropriately store all equipment and medication in adherence to the school's safety and health standards.

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.

School nurse vs nurse educator salary

School nurses and nurse educators have different pay scales, as shown below.

School NurseNurse Educator
Average salary$54,998$67,983
Salary rangeBetween $39,000 And $77,000Between $47,000 And $97,000
Highest paying CityProvidence, RIJersey City, NJ
Highest paying stateRhode IslandRhode Island
Best paying companyPreston High SchoolGradyHealth
Best paying industryHealth CarePharmaceutical

Differences between school nurse and nurse educator education

There are a few differences between a school nurse and a nurse educator in terms of educational background:

School NurseNurse Educator
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common majorNursingNursing
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

School nurse vs nurse educator demographics

Here are the differences between school nurses' and nurse educators' demographics:

School NurseNurse Educator
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 6.3% Female, 93.7%Male, 10.7% Female, 89.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 8.8% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between school nurse and nurse educator duties and responsibilities

School nurse example responsibilities.

  • Create and manage care plans for students with chronic health conditions (such as diabetes, food allergies and depression).
  • Evaluate and manage post-exposure of blood-borne pathogens.
  • Administer medications, evaluate prescription needs and facilitate prescription management, chemotherapy teaching, assess and manage chemotherapy side effects.
  • Perform employee physical exams including hearing and spirometry as required.
  • Provide patient care for PCI patients, mechanically-ventilate patients and an overall variety of critically ill patients.
  • Perform drug testing, physicals, PFT and xrays.
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Nurse educator example responsibilities.

  • 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.
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School nurse vs nurse educator skills

Common school nurse skills
  • CPR, 13%
  • School Health, 10%
  • Health Education, 6%
  • Health Problems, 5%
  • Health Services, 5%
  • Emergency Care, 4%
Common nurse educator skills
  • Patients, 19%
  • BLS, 8%
  • BSN, 7%
  • Professional Development, 6%
  • CPR, 5%
  • Educational Programs, 5%

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