Guidance on becoming a University Nursing Instructor

llg, PhD, RN · Nov 20, 2013

Assuming you are in the United States ....

1. There is no separate licensure for university faculty. RN is sufficient.

2. The better schools will require a Master's Degree in Nursing (either in a clinical area or Nursing Education) for an entry level instructor position. Be prepared, those types of positions pay less than many staff nurses make: so you might have to take a significant pay cut at that stage of your career unless you continue to pick up some shifts as a staff nurse in addition to your teaching activities.

3. To advance beyond the lower levels of the faculty positions, you will need a doctorate (either a PhD, DNP, or some other related doctorate, depending on your particular area of focus.)

4. Because most beginner-level faculty start their educational careers by teaching clinical courses (before getting the often more desirable classroom (or online) course assignments, the better schools will want you to be strong clinically and have a few accomplishments in the practice arena -- maybe certification in your specialty, promotion into a staff education or management position, service on committees, etc. Simply being a staff nurse who has stayed out of trouble for a couple of years + a MSN will only be sufficient for schools that are desparate for faculty -- and they may not be the most desirable jobs.

5. It's hard to start out teaching classroom courses at the university level. So be prepared to teach clinicals first if you want a university career. The better online programs look for faculty with prior teaching experience.

So ... continue what you are doing and be patient. Build your resume with education and professional experiences that show you are more than competent, better than average, etc. in your current job. Get certified, participate in projects, present your clinical projects at poster fields, publish, win awards, etc. Consider getting involved in staff education to give you experience with teaching. etc. Then when you finish that MSN, you'll be able to present yourself as an expert nurse with teaching experience along with the right educational credentials to begin a teaching career.

Good luck to you.

3sMrN · Nov 21, 2013

Thank you so much for responding to me this is very helpful and makes me feel a lot better! :) They really don't explain to much when going through your nursing programs as how to climb the ladder to which area of nursing you choose to focus on. I have spent my break trying to look through the department of education as I mentioned earlier and whatnot and google which really did not help me at all. Again thank you! and I plan on doing just that building my resume and gaining my experience before moving on! :)

Thanks,

Lyndsay