The Role of Nursing Educators

April 12, 2010 - PRLog -- Many nurses with years of nursing experience behind them are turning toward the next stage of their professional medical careers - as nursing educators. Nursing educators play an essential role in the nursing profession, as they bring a wealth of actual clinical experience to bear in their mission to train the next generation of nurses. If you are a nurse in the twilight of your career, or one who is just looking for the next in a long line of challenges, a career as a nursing educator may be just the change you need. It is definitely something that the rest of the country needs, as the impending shortage of qualified nurses may be even more severe than most experts predict due to a corresponding shortage of qualified nursing instructors.

There are few career options more rewarding than that of a nursing educator. There are few in the industry that have more of an impact on the minds of new nurses than these educators, as they are able to impart not only tried and tested nursing techniques, but their own unique insights into the joys and challenges of life as a nurse. For many nurses who take up teaching as a new career, the opportunity to engage their students in intellectually challenging exercises on a daily basis helps to reinvigorate their own personal interest in nursing and stave off the effects of burnout.

You can find nursing educators at every level of the educational process, from undergraduate studies to master's programs. They serve the critical function of preparing every type of nurse - from licensed practical nurses to future nurse educators and industry leaders. And with that level of responsibility there is a high level of job security. The fact is that there are too few nurses in this country, and far too few teachers to educate the nurses we need to close the gap. That makes every nursing educator's job safer, since the industry can ill afford to lose any of the teachers it now has.

Even if you are thinking about a career in teaching, but want to work with patients as well, there are opportunities for you to pursue your interests. In fact, there are many nurse instructors who manage to teach nursing students the profession, while at the same time providing nursing care to patients within a hospital or clinical setting. The ability to maintain their direct contact with patient care not only helps to make the transition from nursing to teaching easier, but also helps the educator to keep up with new techniques and technologies as they are developed.

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