Hire a nursing instructor for postsecondary nursing instruction in classroom, skills lab, and clinical settings. Hire a health science teacher for a secondary health science career pathway. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 reports 77,960 Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary with a median annual wage of $80,250. Health science teachers sit inside Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School, with 111,420 jobs nationwide.
| Fact | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary (SOC 25-1072), U.S. employment | 77,960 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary, median annual wage | $80,250 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School (SOC 25-2032; includes health science teachers), U.S. employment | 111,420 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School, median annual wage | $66,270 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
Nursing instructor vs health science teacher: the short answer
These are two occupations, not two titles for the same healthcare educator. BLS counts nursing instructors as Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary (SOC 25-1072). Health science teachers are counted inside Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School (SOC 25-2032), not as a standalone health-science series.
Post a nursing instructor when the load is postsecondary nursing: classroom teaching, skills-lab demonstration, and clinical supervision of nursing students. Post a health science teacher when the vacancy is a secondary health science career pathway covering medical terminology, anatomy, introductory clinical skills, a student organization, and work-based learning with hospitals and clinics.
One posting cannot cover both. O*NET OnLine task lists and work contexts for nursing instructors and for secondary CTE teachers (accessed September 25, 2026) differ, and BLS treats the work as different occupations. If you have both a college nursing seat and a high school or career-center health science seat, write two openings so candidates can self-select.
What each role actually does
A nursing instructor, per O*NET for Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary, demonstrates and teaches patient care in classroom and clinical units to nursing students, supervises students' laboratory and clinical work, and evaluates class, laboratory, and clinic work, assignments, and papers. The same summary lists planning, evaluating, and revising curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction; preparing and delivering lectures on topics such as pharmacology, mental health nursing, and community health care practices; and demonstrating patient care in clinical units of hospitals.
A health science teacher is a secondary CTE teacher applied to a health science program of study. O*NET for Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School lists instructing students in the knowledge and skills required in a specific occupation through lectures, discussions, audio-visual presentations, and laboratory, shop, and field studies; instructing and monitoring students in the use and care of equipment and materials; preparing, administering, and grading tests and assignments; and maintaining accurate student records.
Do not mix those lists. Clinical-unit nursing demonstration belongs on a nursing-instructor posting. Pathway teaching, lab management, and secondary recordkeeping belong on a health science posting. If you are filling the secondary seat, use the screening frame in How to Hire a Health Science Teacher.
Who they teach and where they work
Nursing instructors teach postsecondary nursing students. The O*NET work context is classroom, laboratory, and clinical sites, often as part of a technical college or college nursing faculty team. Contact is close: 43% of respondents reported physical proximity as very close (near touching), and 53% reported exposure to disease or infections once a week or more. Teamwork is central—73% said working with a work group or team is extremely important.
Health science teachers teach secondary students in a career center or high school health science lab. The program of study explores many health careers, not only nursing. The teacher works with an advisory committee and industry partners across those careers. O*NET work context for secondary CTE teachers includes constant contact with others (82% of respondents) and public speaking every day (73%).
Name the student level and the site in the first lines of the posting. A candidate who wants a hospital clinical group will not thrive as the sole teacher of a ninth- and tenth-grade health science pathway, and the reverse is also true.
Skills, tools and student organizations
Name tools that match the O*NET summaries. Nursing instructors work in skills labs and clinical units. On the technology side, O*NET lists medical software such as MEDITECH software; learning management systems including Moodle and Blackboard software; computer-based training software; Microsoft Office software; Microsoft PowerPoint; Microsoft Outlook; and information-retrieval tools such as iParadigms Turnitin. Their work activities center on training and teaching others, assisting and caring for others, and evaluating student class, laboratory, and clinic work.
Health science teachers work in a secondary lab with computers, audio-visual aids, and occupational equipment and materials. O*NET tasks include instructing and monitoring students in the use and care of equipment, using computers and audio-visual aids to supplement presentations, and selecting, ordering, storing, issuing, and inventorying classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.
Secondary health science teachers commonly advise a student organization (for example HOSA) and help place students in work-based learning. O*NET lists sponsoring extracurricular activities such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests; planning and supervising work-experience programs in businesses, industrial shops, and school laboratories; and placing students in jobs or making referrals to job placement services. Nursing instructors' O*NET list centers on teaching, clinical supervision, and course design. Do not copy student-organization duties onto a nursing-instructor posting unless your local load actually includes them.
Screen for the lab you run and the student group you serve, not a generic healthcare-educator skill set.
Pay and pool size from BLS OEWS May 2025
Use BLS as the market reference for your range. The figures below are national annual wages for wage-and-salary workers from OEWS, May 2025. BLS publishes annual wages only for these occupations. Wages and employment for SOC 25-2032 cover all secondary CTE teachers, so they are a proxy for health science teachers, not a health-science-only series. Do not blend the two series when you set an offer.
| Measure | Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary (SOC 25-1072) | Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School (SOC 25-2032; includes health science teachers) |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. employment | 77,960 | 111,420 |
| Annual 10th percentile | $48,800 | $50,040 |
| Annual 25th percentile | $63,510 | $60,590 |
| Annual median | $80,250 | $66,270 |
| Annual 75th percentile | $101,090 | $80,060 |
| Annual 90th percentile | $129,500 | $101,340 |
| Annual mean | $86,410 | $72,680 |
Read the 10th, 25th, median, 75th, and 90th percentiles as the spread of pay across each occupation. Set the posted range from the series that matches the vacancy, then follow your district's or college's own pay practice.
When a nursing instructor is the better hire
Hire a nursing instructor when the program of study is postsecondary nursing and the load is classroom plus skills lab plus clinical supervision, matching O*NET tasks for SOC 25-1072. Success looks like students practicing nursing skills under supervision and progressing through nursing courses, not a broad secondary health science pathway.
The hiring manager is typically a technical college dean, nursing program chair, or similar postsecondary leader. Title the job Nursing Instructor or Clinical Nursing Instructor and keep secondary pathway language out of the duties. For the wider postsecondary search, see How to Hire a Technical College Instructor.
When a health science teacher is the better hire
Hire a health science teacher when the vacancy is a secondary health science career pathway at a high school or career center: introductory clinical skills, anatomy, medical terminology, and career exploration across health fields. The teacher will run a lab, work with an advisory committee, place students in work-based learning, and often advise a student organization.
The hiring manager is a principal, CTE director, or career-center director filling a CTE teaching seat counted in SOC 25-2032. Title the job Health Science Teacher or CTE Health Science Teacher and keep hospital-unit clinical-instructor language out of the duties. Follow the steps in How to Hire a Career and Technical Education Teacher, then narrow the duties to the health science program of study.
How to write the posting so you attract the right person
Name the setting and the program of study in the first lines—postsecondary nursing versus secondary health science—so candidates self-select. Pull four to six duties from the matching O*NET task list instead of mixing clinical-nursing language into a secondary CTE posting or pathway language into a nursing-instructor posting.
For a nursing instructor, use duties such as demonstrate patient care in clinical units, supervise laboratory and clinical work, evaluate class, laboratory, and clinic work, and plan and revise course content. For a health science teacher, use duties such as instruct students in occupational knowledge and skills through laboratory and field studies, monitor equipment use, plan and supervise work-experience programs, sponsor a student organization, and maintain student records. Start from a Health Science Teacher Job Description Template or a Nursing Instructor Job Description Template rather than blending the two.
Keep interview questions job-related. Under the laws enforced by the EEOC, it is illegal to discriminate against an applicant because of race, color, religion, sex (including transgender status, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information, including in job advertisements. Verify any license or credential the candidate lists with the body that issues it before the start date. This guide is general information as of September 25, 2026, not legal advice.
When the posting is ready, post the opening on ACTE Job Bank. Do not write one blended healthcare-educator role.
FAQ
What is the difference between a nursing instructor and a health science teacher?
A nursing instructor (SOC 25-1072) teaches postsecondary nursing in classroom, skills lab, and clinical units. A health science teacher is a secondary CTE teacher counted in SOC 25-2032 who runs a health science career pathway across health careers, not a nursing-only load.
When should I hire a nursing instructor instead of a health science teacher?
Hire a nursing instructor when the vacancy is postsecondary nursing instruction with classroom, skills-lab, and clinical supervision of nursing students. Hire a health science teacher when the vacancy is a secondary health science career pathway at a high school or career center.
How do the day-to-day duties differ?
Nursing instructors demonstrate patient care, supervise laboratory and clinical work, and evaluate class, lab, and clinic work. Health science teachers instruct a secondary occupational program through lectures, laboratory work, work-experience programs, and student-organization advising.
Which role typically pays more?
BLS OEWS, May 2025 reports a median annual wage of $80,250 for Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary and $66,270 for Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School, the series that includes health science teachers.
Can one posting cover both a nursing instructor and a health science teacher?
No. O*NET tasks and work contexts differ, and BLS treats them as different occupations. Write two postings if you have both vacancies.
