Let’s say you’re a registered nurse (an RN), and you’re interested in contributing to your profession in a new way. Or maybe you’re just looking for a side gig to bring in a few extra dollars. What can you do with your nursing skills, your knowledge, and your passion? You can teach nursing to college students as an online adjunct.

Wait, online? Really? Nursing?

As a matter of fact, online programs in nursing are thriving. Why? Growth, basically. Because of the fact that the healthcare industry is expanding, teaching jobs for college nursing programs are proliferating as well. Many college programs hire for online classes in nursing, and the job outlook for those teachers is good.

You might ask of nursing programs, why online? Why not strictly teach classes in traditional classrooms? Like anything else, many of the people going into nursing programs will be adults. They may already have a profession—they may be someone looking to shift into nursing as a profession, or they could well be a nurse looking to get a graduate degree—and need to set their own college class schedule around work, kids, you name it. That’s where you come in.

What does it take to become an online adjunct instructor of nursing? What is required of you? How much can you expect to get paid? Let’s answer these questions, each in turn.

Healthcare Growth Means a Need for Online Teachers

Let’s start with a basic fact: there is a real need for nurses. The healthcare industry is growing and will continue to grow far into the foreseeable future. And a growth in the health care industry means, naturally, an increasing need for nurses—and obviously, that means a need to train nurses. Here is your foot in the door, as it were.

The numbers tell a lot of the (ever developing) story. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 16% growth in healthcare occupations between 2020 to 2030, which they figure will add about 2.6 million jobs. This growth is due, as you might suspect, to a large and aging population—the Baby Boomers, basically. The median annual wage, they report, for professions such as nurses was $69,870 in May, 2020.

The growth of the healthcare industry will mean greater employment opportunities in healthcare professions than any other occupation, and that is coupled with the fact that the median wage for these professions—including nurses, physicians, dental hygienists—is also higher, on average, than any other wage in this country.

With wages above average and the mass opportunity for jobs, you can see why teaching will be a part of that growth. Colleges know this all too well, and so nursing programs are likewise growing. Many of the new jobs in teaching tomorrow’s nurses are actually taught online.

Now, you may ask, can you actually teach nursing online? The answer is an unqualified yes. Chamberlain College of Nursing, for example, is looking for candidates to begin teaching in March, 2022. They consider applicants with nursing licenses from any state—which is great! Remember, this is remote teaching, so losing the encumbrance of where you live is a plus.

Other schools may require state residency. Trine University in Indiana is an example. Other colleges hire for graduate programs. The Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) is looking for teachers to do just that.

So what do you need to do next? What can you expect of teaching nursing online? Let’s have a look.

Credentials Needed to Teach Nursing Online

First off, you’ll need the right credentials to teach as an online adjunct, and that will mean having the appropriate degrees, licensure, and experience—experience, that is, both as a teacher and as a nurse. Like any other area of teaching, requirements will vary according to the college you apply to. But here are some basics you can expect.

1. In some cases, you may need only a BSN degree, but more likely you’ll need an MSN degree. In some cases, a doctorate may be preferred or outright expected by the college.
2. You’ll need an unencumbered RN nursing license—after all, the professional skill matters! In some cases, a college may ask for a multi-state license, and that would allow you, as I’ve suggested, to teach classes in another state.
3. You’ll need to have practice experience, which is to say practice on-the-job—a hospital, a private practice, a clinic. Three years of experience is a good starting point.
4. If you can get it, it’s good to have online teaching experience (or even teaching experience in general), which could amount to as little as one or two years—even as low as six months! Remember, there are more ways to get teaching experience and online teaching experience than through teaching college courses alone. If you have developed your own online course through a hospital you’ve worked at, that is experience that counts.
5. You’ll want to indicate your subject matter expertise. This is a no-brainer, but this gives you something to think about as you craft your CV and cover letter. Emphasize your expertise!
6. Some colleges require a CNE, which is a certification in nurse education. This may be something you’ll want to get in the long run, as it could well open you up to other opportunities.

Every college is different, and specific job postings for teaching positions as an online adjunct faculty member will readily detail specific requirements asked for by this or that college.

What Can I Teach?

A quick look at some listings for jobs may suggest the classes that need to be taught. MCPHS, in its graduate program, has courses to be taught in Family Nurse Practitioner specialties, and also in Advanced Pathophysiology, Advanced Pharmacology, Advanced Health assessment, and Advanced Role Development or Research. Chamberlain needs instructors for Nutrition, Health & Wellness. Nursing programs will likely want to be specific about advertising their needs, as nursing is a rigorous and extensive practice.

Courses may be introductory or higher level. The bottom line is, there are a lot of aspects of nursing to teach, and those can go for both undergraduate and graduate students. If you’re just starting out as an online adjunct (or even in the first couple years of your nursing career), you can look at undergraduate courses first, and then, as you gain experience in both teaching and nursing, and even manage to get a higher degree, you can begin to search for assignments teaching graduate students.

What Does an Online Adjunct Nursing Instructor Actually Do?

Again, a look at job listings will often tell you what you will be asked to do. Like any other teacher—especially of online classes—there are some key responsibilities. Address these in your cover letter.

One responsibility is advising and assisting students. This can be done through “office hours” (which can be flexible, as far as an online class goes, and many colleges will expect you to adhere to posted office hours) and, more specifically, through phone, email, and videoconference. No matter how you do it, as faculty you will schedule appointments with the student. Above all, you will act as a mentor.

You will deliver instruction through any combination of lecture, laboratory, and experiential instruction. You’ll create assignments that help students apply the knowledge you teach them to real-world applications. You may also maintain a discussion board, where you will post questions and respond to student answers.

You will use some sort of learning management system (an LMS), whether it be Blackboard, Moodle, or a system the college maintains. This is where your discussion board may reside, and it’s also where students can post assignments and where you will keep student grades.

Finally, you’ll need to do some basic teacher things: create a syllabus, make rubrics, and help develop and improve curriculum.

How Much Does an Online Nursing Instructor Get Paid?

ZipRecruiter reported, as of late October of 2021, that the average annual pay for an online nursing instructor in the U.S. is $65,353 a year. They found that the majority of the jobs range between $39,500 and $82,000 a year.

Here in Louisville, Kentucky, the outlook seems very good. ZipRecruiter says that for this area, the job market for online nursing faculty is “very active,” making only 5% less in salary than the national average. Among the highest paying cities are three cities in California’s Bay Area: San Francisco, Fremont, and San Jose. San Francisco pays some 24.8% more than the national average—more than $81,000 a year!

In fact, of the ten highest paying cities (six of which are in California), two are in Arkansas, one in Wyoming, and one in Connecticut. As ZipRecruiter points out, the lower cost of living in some states really stretches that salary. But again, you will be looking for remote teaching jobs, and you may already have a great cost-of-living!

First Steps to Getting an Online Nursing Teaching Job

As with any online adjunct teaching job, you’ll need to gather materials. More often than not, you’ll need a CV and a cover letter. With teaching nursing being a very particular kind of teaching—as opposed to, say, philosophy or poetry—you can expect a rigorous scrutiny over your credentials.

Your CV should demonstrate everything the college is asking of their applicants as requirements. List your college degrees. Include what kind of license you have, and in what state—if you have a multi-state license, tell them. All professional experience as a nurse should be included. Secondly, you’ll need to indicate any teaching experience. If you have taught for a college, if you have taught online, or both, include that information. As I’ve written before, “teaching experience” need not come only from college courses; leading workshops and courses on the job are important additions to your CV.

Your cover letter should make clear that you match the position’s qualifications. How do you engage students? In what ways do you honor diversity in the classroom? How do you moderate discussions? What is your experience with technology, and how does your industry knowledge factor into your teaching? Job descriptions will make explicit these questions; review them carefully.

If you can get certification in teaching online, do that! Some colleges ask for that certification. If they ask for a multi-state license, or if they simply ask you to get a license for their state (because you may live, of course, in another state), start the process to secure that license.

Once you have your CV and cover letter complete, be sure to line up your job references, and you’re ready to begin applying for jobs. Adjunct world posts online adjunct teaching jobs daily.

There is enormous opportunity to teach nursing, and because so many programs are online, that can make it easier for you. Being a nurse yourself, you know it’s a busy job. But with the right preparation—and a good dose of organization—you can make online adjunct teaching work for you.