All nurses spend a lot of their working time on patient and family education and it is an important part of their daily activities.
All medications, treatments, and procedures require a proper explanation about the disease, process, and possible outcomes.
Nursing educational programs include patient teaching training.
LPNs programs have excellent training for this purpose.
Nurses interested in embracing education as their primary task and developing a full-time career out of it, have several pathways.
LPNs can complete bridge program to RN to BSN, which will offer opportunities for comprehensive patient teaching.
Students on Bachelor’s studies can focus on teaching skills as well, and focus on the public health sector, healthcare maintenance, and disease prevention.
Ambitious nurses who are interested in obtaining advanced degrees, such as Nurse Practitioner can also focus on teaching.
NPs are often seen as a patient’s primary care providers and it is why preventive care and education on health maintenance is such an important part of their scope.
Another APRN who focuses on education and teaching is the role of the Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS).
CNS focuses on population segments, such as pediatrics or adult/gerontology.
Their job is to serve as educators for other healthcare workers, patients, and their families.
Next, nurses can purse an Ed.D degree or doctorate of education.
They can work as nurse educators in various healthcare facilities, schools, and local communities.
Some nurses prefer to specialize as diabetes nurse educators, as diabetic patients need continuous education on their condition and lifestyle.
A Ph.D. degree isn’t as focused on education on Ed.D., but it is more focused on research and academic elements than DNP and Ed.D.
Ph.D. nurses utilize their education and methods to conduct better research and informative presentations.
Lastly, nurses who prefer education and teaching as their primary career path can become an instructor in nursing school.
To become an instructor, the nurse needs a minimum of BSN.
However, LPNs are sometimes employed as instructors for nurse aides, MAs, and other LPNs.
The job of a nursing instructor is very rewarding and it is more of a mentoring process than traditional teaching.