Nursing
Nurse Educator
The AACN Preferred Vision of the Professoriate in Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Programs (2008) states that “courses in the nursing program will be taught by faculty with graduate-level academic preparation and advanced expertise in the areas of content they teach.” There is national recognition, however, of the growing shortage of nursing educators to fill faculty and other educator roles within the healthcare delivery system. Master’s programs that prepare graduates for nurse educator roles are designed to meet these needs. Nurses with a master’s degree may teach patients and their families and/or student nurses, staff nurses, and a variety of direct-care providers. As outlined in Essential IX, all master’s-prepared nurses will develop competence in applying teaching/learning principles in work with patients and/or students across the continuum of care in a variety of settings. However, as recommended in the Carnegie Foundation report (2009), Educating Nurses: A Call for Radical Transformation, those individuals who choose a nurse educator role, as do all master’s graduates, require preparation across all nine Essential areas, including graduate-level clinical practice content and experiences in an area of nursing practice.
A program preparing individuals for a nurse educator role, in addition to focusing on the competencies in all nine Essential areas, should include course work in curriculum design and development, teaching methodologies, educational needs assessment, and learner-centered theories and methods. The master’s prepared nurse educator differs from the baccalaureate nurse in depth of his/her understanding of the nursing discipline and nursing practice in addition to the added pedagogical skills. Further, in order to teach students, patients, and caregivers regarding health promotion, disease prevention, or disease management, the master’s curriculum for the nurse educator builds on baccalaureate knowledge with graduate-level
The AACN Preferred Vision of the Professoriate in Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Programs (2008) states that “courses in the nursing program will be taught by faculty with graduate-level academic preparation and advanced expertise in the areas of content they teach.” There is national recognition, however, of the growing shortage of nursing educators to fill faculty and other educator roles within the healthcare delivery system. Master’s programs that prepare graduates for nurse educator roles are designed to meet these needs. Nurses with a master’s degree may teach patients and their families and/or student nurses, staff nurses, and a variety of direct-care providers. As outlined in Essential IX, all master’s-prepared nurses will develop competence in applying teaching/learning principles in work with patients and/or students across the continuum of care in a variety of settings. However, as recommended in the Carnegie Foundation report (2009), Educating Nurses: A Call for Radical Transformation, those individuals who choose a nurse educator role, as do all master’s graduates, require preparation across all nine Essential areas, including graduate-level clinical practice content and experiences in an area of nursing practice.
A program preparing individuals for a nurse educator role, in addition to focusing on the competencies in all nine Essential areas, should include course work in curriculum design and development, teaching methodologies, educational needs assessment, and learner-centered theories and methods. The master’s prepared nurse educator differs from the baccalaureate nurse in depth of his/her understanding of the nursing discipline and nursing practice in addition to the added pedagogical skills. Further, in order to teach students, patients, and caregivers regarding health promotion, disease prevention, or disease management, the master’s curriculum for the nurse educator builds on baccalaureate knowledge with graduate-level