A nursing instructor job description should show that the hire is both a practicing expert in patient care and a teacher of the nursing program of study: classroom, skills lab, simulation, and clinicals with industry partners. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 counts 77,960 Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary, with a national median annual wage of $80,250. Copy the blocks below and replace the bracketed parts with your setting and schedule.
| Fact | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. employment, Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary (BLS) | 77,960 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Annual median wage, Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary (BLS) | $80,250 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Annual mean wage, Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary (BLS) | $86,410 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
BLS counts nursing instructor within Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary (SOC 25-1072), covering instructors who teach nursing in postsecondary classroom, skills-lab, and clinical settings.
How to use this nursing instructor job description template
Paste each block into your posting and replace every [bracketed] phrase. The duties, skills, and tools come from O*NET OnLine for SOC 25-1072 (accessed September 25, 2026). Edit them so they match your nursing program of study, skills lab, simulation days, and clinical sites.
Keep must-have patient-care and teaching skills separate from what you will teach on the job, such as your learning management system and clinical calendar. A dean or program chair also hiring along the health career pathway can reuse this structure from the health science teacher job description template.
Job summary
Use two or three sentences. Name the setting, the nursing program of study, and the mix of classroom, skills-lab, and clinical time.
[Technical college / community college / career center] seeks a nursing instructor for the [nursing program of study]. The instructor teaches the program of study in [classroom / skills lab / clinical] settings, runs the skills lab and simulation safely, supervises students at clinical sites with industry partners, and advises students on career pathway and clinical performance. The instructor often advises a student organization and works with the advisory committee to keep instruction aligned with bedside practice. Schedule: [term-based or year-round]; [day / evening / weekend clinicals].
That summary tells a bedside nurse considering a move into instruction what the job actually is. If the hire will also coordinate work-based learning or dual-enrollment sections, say so here so applicants can see the load.
Duties and responsibilities
Copy this list. Strike lines that do not apply and add the bracketed program-specific duties at the end.
- Demonstrate and teach patient care in classroom, skills-lab, and clinical units.
- Prepare and deliver lessons on topics such as pharmacology, mental health nursing, and community health.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise course content, materials, and methods of instruction.
- Evaluate class work, laboratory and clinic work, assignments, and performance tasks; compile, administer, and grade examinations.
- Supervise students' laboratory and clinical work; enforce safety in the skills lab and at clinical sites.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions; assess clinical education needs and patient-teaching needs.
- Advise students on the program of study and career issues; maintain regularly scheduled time to advise and assist students.
- Coordinate clinical learning with hospitals, clinics, and other industry partners.
- Work with the advisory committee to keep the program of study aligned with industry practice.
- Keep attendance, grade, and clinical-performance records.
- Keep current in the field by reading, conferring with colleagues, and attending professional conferences.
- Maintain a clinical practice as assigned.
- [Advise the student organization.]
- [Run simulation days and skills-lab check-offs.]
- [Cover evening or weekend clinicals.]
- [Teach dual-enrollment sections.]
- [Coordinate work-based learning with industry partners.]
Screen for the duties you will actually assign in the first term. Pair this list with your nursing instructor interview questions so every prompt maps to a posted task.
Experience to list
Write patient-care practice as a [years] placeholder you fill in for the pathway you teach, not a generic clinical-background line.
Must-haves
- [Years] of patient-care practice in [medical-surgical / maternal-child / mental health / community health / other pathway].
- [Years] teaching, skills-lab instruction, or clinical precepting.
- Can demonstrate a nursing skill to a lab group, give clinical feedback, and work with industry partners at clinical sites.
You will teach on the job
- Your learning management system, gradebook, and clinical calendar.
- Your advisory-committee process and clinical-site onboarding.
A posting that treats your local LMS as a must-have screens out strong clinicians who have taught in another system. Put those tools in onboarding, not in the required list. For the sequence around this posting, see how to hire a nursing instructor.
Skills and tools
O*NET lists these skills for SOC 25-1072: instructing, speaking, reading comprehension, active listening, learning strategies, writing, critical thinking, monitoring, and complex problem solving. Ask for evidence of those in the skills lab and at the bedside, not a generic communicator line.
Tools and technology named on O*NET OnLine for this occupation include medical software (including MEDITECH); computer-based training software and learning management systems (including Moodle, Sakai, Common Curriculum, and Blackboard); word processing (including Microsoft Word and Google Docs); spreadsheets (including Microsoft Excel); email software (including Microsoft Outlook); and presentation software (including Microsoft PowerPoint).
Name the equipment in your skills lab only if the hire will use it in week one. Do not pad the posting with software or devices you do not own.
Working conditions
O*NET work context for this occupation: 87% of respondents use email every day; 70% have face-to-face discussions every day; 72% work indoors in an environmentally controlled setting every day. Seventy-five percent said being exact or accurate is extremely important. Sixty-eight percent reported constant contact with others. Time pressure is common (48% once a week or more but not every day). Fifty-three percent reported exposure to disease or infections once a week or more but not every day. Seventy-eight percent reported a typical work week of more than 40 hours.
The work sits in indoor classrooms, skills labs, and clinical units, with standing and movement on lab and clinical days and frequent contact with students, colleagues, and clinical-site staff. Telephone and email both figure in the week.
Schedule placeholders: [term-based or year-round]; [day / evening / weekend clinicals]; [skills-lab days vs. clinical-site days]. State the clinical-site days and any evening or weekend clinicals in the posting so candidates can see the calendar before they apply.
Pay range guidance
Use the BLS figures for Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary as the market reference when you set your range. BLS reports a national annual median of $80,250 and an annual mean of $86,410. Across the occupation, annual wages run $48,800 at the 10th percentile, $63,510 at the 25th, $80,250 at the median, $101,090 at the 75th, and $129,500 at the 90th percentile.
| Percentile | Annual wage, Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary (BLS) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $48,800 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| 25th | $63,510 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Median | $80,250 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| 75th | $101,090 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| 90th | $129,500 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Mean | $86,410 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
Insert your own range after you check the OEWS state and metro tables for the job location. Put that range in the posting. For a fuller pay walkthrough, use how much to pay a nursing instructor.
Before you post
Keep the title matching the real job: nursing instructor, plus the program of study and setting (for example, Nursing Instructor, Associate Degree Nursing, Skills Lab and Clinicals). Candidates search those words.
Do not list preferences tied to age or other protected traits. Under the laws enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (accessed September 25, 2026), it is illegal to publish a job advertisement that shows a preference for or discourages someone from applying because of race, color, religion, sex (including transgender status, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information. Interview questions must be job-related. Verify any license or credential the candidate lists with the body that issues it before the start date. Follow your district's or college's own clearance process. This guide is general information as of September 25, 2026, not legal advice.
When the description is ready, post the opening.
FAQ
What should a nursing instructor job description include?
Include a short job summary that names the setting and nursing program of study, a duties list covering classroom, skills-lab, and clinical teaching, must-have experience versus what you will teach on the job, skills and tools from the lab and clinical sites, working conditions and schedule, and a pay range. Keep the title specific so candidates can find the posting.
What are the main duties of a nursing instructor?
Main duties include demonstrating patient care in classroom, skills-lab, and clinical units; preparing lessons on topics such as pharmacology, mental health nursing, and community health; evaluating laboratory and clinic work; supervising students at clinical sites with industry partners; advising students on the program of study; and keeping attendance, grade, and clinical-performance records.
What experience should I list for a nursing instructor?
List [years] of patient-care practice in the pathway you teach and [years] of teaching, skills-lab, or clinical-precepting experience. Require that the hire can already demonstrate a skill, run a lab group, give clinical feedback, and work with industry partners. Treat your LMS and advisory-committee process as on-the-job training.
Should I include a pay range in the posting?
Yes. Use BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, as the market reference: the national median annual wage for Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary is $80,250. Check the OEWS state and metro tables for your location and insert your own range.
How long should the job description be?
Long enough to cover summary, duties, experience, skills and tools, working conditions, and pay, and short enough that a candidate can scan it in one sitting. The copy-ready blocks in this template are the right length for a posting.
