Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary
The occupation Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary covers people who demonstrate and teach patient care in classroom and clinical units to nursing students. You may also need to evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory and clinic work, assignments, and papers. The strongest interest signal is Social (7.0 of 7), then Investigative (4.9) and Artistic, which gives it the code SIA. Plan on graduate school and often five years or more of related experience; O*NET labels this extensive preparation. Strength in instructing, speaking, and learning strategies helps most here. A regular part of the work is to supervise students' laboratory and clinical work. If you want helping, teaching or caring for people, keep it on your list. If you need leading, persuading and making business decisions, it may feel thin.
What they do
Demonstrate and teach patient care in classroom and clinical units to nursing students. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Main tasks
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory and clinic work, assignments, and papers.
- Supervise students' laboratory and clinical work.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Assess clinical education needs and patient and client teaching needs using a variety of methods.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as pharmacology, mental health nursing, and community health care practices.
Skills
- Instructing
- Speaking
- Learning Strategies
- Writing
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
Who this career fits
May suit you if
- You get energy from helping other people move forward.
- You enjoy working out why something happens, not just what happened.
- You are prepared for graduate-level study and a long training path.
- You are comfortable relying on instructing and speaking.
May not suit you if
- You find a full day of dealing with people draining.
- You want to lead people or run the business side. Enterprising rates 2.1 out of 7 here.
- You want to be working in the field within the next few years.
Interest profile
O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code SIA takes the three highest, and Social comes first here.
Preparation
Extensive preparation. Many jobs here need graduate study, and people often spend five years or more building specialist experience.
Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Master's Degree. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.
Also called
- Assistant Professor
- Associate Professor
- Clinical Nursing Instructor
- Faculty Member
- Instructor
Related careers
Is this your direction?
See how your interests line up with SIA and 906 other careers.
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.