After earning a doctorate in nursing education, you can teach others become a nurse.
A doctorate degree in nursing education is one type of specialty degree offered at some nursing schools. This is a degree program for those who would like to teach others become nurses. Most students who pursue this route are already nurses and may already be teaching nursing students and want to teach at a higher level. Future jobs can be at colleges or technical schools with nursing programs. Typical courses include curriculum planning, teaching strategies and sometimes apprenticeship programs working with nurse teachers.
Curriculum
Earning a doctorate degree in nursing education requires students to take courses that will prepare them to educate future nurses. Some basic courses that students are expected to complete include classes on ethics, biostatistics, research and technology. There also are courses in education, leadership, faculty roles, evaluating effectiveness of educational programs and strategies.
Job Possibilities
After completing the degree program, nurses with Doctor of Nursing Education degrees can teach undergraduate students as well as students in master's and doctoral courses. They can also teach new practices to nurses who are furthering their education.
Nurse educators have solid job security because the nursing field is growing, according to AllNursingSchools.com, and with that comes a demand for more teachers. There also are opportunities for nurse educators to conduct research while teaching classes.
Salary
Once education is completed, professionals with this degree earn a median of between $84,743 and $114,705, according to Salary.com. In most cases, nurse educators earn much more than nurses with bachelor's degrees, on par with other nurses with advanced degrees.
Universities
Fewer than 20 universities offer doctorate programs in nursing education in the United States. However, there are degree programs online as well as in most regions of the country. There are universities in Florida, California, the Midwest and East Coast that have this program.
In most cases, the program takes 90 credit hours, which can be completed in three years for students attending classes full-time. Students can apply for admission into the programs after completing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree or a Master of Science in Nursing degree. Normally, admission applications are due in late winter or early spring for a summer admissions. Applications are commonly evaluated on prior experience, references, grade point averages, entrance exams and interviews.
Alternate Certification
Nurses who want to become nurse educators do not always need to get a doctorate in nursing education. Instead, they may pursue a master's degree or doctorate in a specialized nursing field and then apply for their teaching license. This is how most nursing educators started their teaching careers. Now, universities also offer the specialized doctoral degree for educators.
Tags: nursing education, nurse educators, nurses with, become nurse, courses that, degree nursing, degree nursing education