Registered nurses, or RNs, have a wide variety of possible career paths once they finish their initial training and become licensed to practice. Two of these paths -- nursing education and clinical nurse specialists -- require advanced degrees. A master’s degree is the minimum educational requirement, and nurses in these specialties may also obtain a doctorate. A clinical nurse specialist may also focus in a particular area of care, such as obstetrics.
A nurse educator, as the name implies, is primarily a teacher. She may be the nursing instructor who teaches the next generation of nurses or occupy an administrative educational position, such as nursing dean. Nurse educators work in both classrooms and clinical settings, and may teach in technical-vocational schools, colleges or universities. Some nurse educators specialize in teaching graduate nurse programs in continuing education, which helps practicing nurses keep up with new information and remain competent in their profession. A nurse educator who specializes in obstetrics teaches students how to examine a pregnant woman, support her though labor and delivery, and care for a newborn infant.
An Educator's Duties
A nurse educator’s daily duties include the direct supervision and instruction of student nurses in the classroom, clinical lab or a clinical work setting, such as the labor and delivery unit of a hospital. She may help to design the maternal-child nursing curriculum, as well as evaluate its effectiveness, or develop specific courses or programs of study. Nurse educators also have duties typical of other faculty, such as performing research, presenting at conferences or writing grant proposals. Nurse educators also must maintain their clinical skills; a nurse educator who specializes in obstetrics may spend the summer working in a maternity ward.
Clinical Nurse Specialist
A clinical nurse specialist, or CNS, is an advanced practice nurse who may perform the duties of a physician; many also prescribe medications. As an expert clinician, the CNS often specializes in a particular field. An obstetrical CNS specializes in the clinical management of women during pregnancy, labor and childbirth. She may provide direct, hands-on care to a laboring mother or expert clinical advice to obstetrical nurses in a labor and delivery ward.
Licensing, Certification and Salaries
Both nurse educators and CNSs are required to maintain an RN license. A clinical nurse specialist in OB is also required to be certified by many organizations or states, and the nurse educator may also be certified. Master’s-prepared nurse faculty earned an annual average salary of $72,028 in 2011, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Clinical nurse specialists earned an average $83,787 a year for 2008, the last year the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services surveyed RNs. However, Explore Health Careers says the average salary of a CNS is $50,800 to $100,000 a year, as of 2012.
- Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow: Labor and Delivery Staff Nurse
- Explore Health Careers: Clinical Nurse Specialist
- Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow: Nurse Educator
- The College of St. Scholastica: Advanced Practice Nursing Roles Clinical Nurse Specialist vs Nurse Practitioner
- American Association of Colleges of Nursing: Nursing Faculty Shortage
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: The Registered Nurse Population Findings from the 2008 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses
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