With the continuing nursing shortage, there remains a dire need for nurses who want to teach. But educating nurses goes beyond the classroom.

"We have a great need for clinical faculty," said David Bennett, RN, Ph.D., chair of Kennesaw State University's WellStar School of Nursing. "While clinical nurses have some classroom time, the job is very flexible for both full-time and part-time employees."

Clinical teaching nurses serve in a variety of roles, including working one-on-one with students to help them learn clinical skills and acting as liaisons between nursing students, preceptors and their colleges.

"A clinical nurse may supervise seven or eight students in a nursing unit," Bennett said. "They serve as student advocates, but their objective is to evaluate, coach and generally help them [to] learn and to be their best."

Bennett said that teaching usually comes naturally to nurses, although some sell themselves short.

"Some nurses in clinical practice don't think they'd have the teaching skills to work in an academic setting," he said. "However, a good clinician can bring the same mentoring skills they use with new employees, and the teaching skills they use daily with their patients, to nursing education."

Academic clinical nurses should possess problem-solving abilities to help troubleshoot problems with students. They must also be flexible in their approach to nursing so they can recognize a student's potential and help develop that student's abilities. Being detail-oriented is a must.

"Sometimes it requires more physical work and direct supervision of students and patients, but at other times the nurse is more innovative and a problem-solver," Bennett said.

The hours are often flexible. At Kennesaw State, full-time clinical nurses typically work eight-hour shifts in the hospital or in clinics two to three days a week, along with their classroom responsibilities. Part-time clinical instructors generally supervise a group of students in the clinical setting one to two days a week. The compensation for an eight- to 10-week assignment, with an average of two days per week, is approximately $4,800 to $6,000.

"Compensation really depends on the level of the students, the difficulty of the work and the specific assignment," Bennett said.

To become a clinical nurse in academia, contact nursing schools. In general, the Georgia Board of Nursing requires master's degrees, but some associate degree or LPN programs may accept nurses with baccalaureate degrees. The schools will request a résumé, and the candidate will undergo interviews.

"A lot of clinicians are doing teaching already in their jobs," Bennett said. "It's not out of their reach. Just give it a try."