Interested in becoming a Clinical Instructor

[kbearn]

Hello, my name is Kim and I was just wondering if anyone knew what the requirements are to be come a nursing clinical educator/instructor. I have been a nurse for three years, with a BSN and recently got certified in Orthopedic nursing. I have been precepting new grads and new hires and absolutely love it. I would appreciate any information. Thank you.

[eatmysoxRN, ASN, RN]

I think you could currently do LPN classes. For ADN/BSN, I think you need a MSN, and could focus on Education to become a CNE.

[medic9872]

Go to your local school and talk to the faculty. They can tell you what the specific requirements are. In most medical fields you need to be at or above the level your students will be when they graduate.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

[BlueDevil,DNP, DNP, RN]

In my area, you need a MSN to qualify as an adjunct instructor at a community college. If you want your foot in the door at a small college, you probably need a DNP or PhD (at least be ABD) but do not need to have done a lot of independent research or have written grants, etc. If you want to get into a a large or research university you need a DNP or PhD, and to have published chapters, articles, successfully navigated multiple grant proposals. It is quite a gauntlet. There is a reason they are desperate for faculty, lol. With a BSN only, I assume they would let you teach LPNs and CNAs.

[brillohead, ADN, RN]

I know to be a CLINICAL (not classroom/lecture) instructor right now at my ADN college, you can be a BSN. My current BSN clinical instructor has stated that if she wants to keep teaching, she'll need to get her MSN, but I'm not sure if she intends to move up into classroom/lecture instruction, or if she means she'll need to have her MSN in order to continue on as a clinical instructor.

Best advice is what was said above -- contact any schools that do clinical rotations in your area, and ask what their requirements are for clinical instructors. I'm sure that the rules vary from state to state and from school to school.

[kbearn]

Thank you all for the responses. I appreciate them. I will definitely get in contact with the schools here. :)

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

Check the schools or contact your state BON. I know in Ohio, you could be a CLINICAL instructor with a BSN. To teach a nursing class, though, you needed an MSN.

[DebCRNBSN]

I recently (in the past 3 weeks) started school to get my Masters of Nursing in Nursing Education. That's what we need to teach. Some of the colleges allow you to have a BSN to do clinicals but not to teach in a class room.