Competencies for Nursing Education
As the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education, the NLN developed competencies to address both the specialized role of the nurse educator and competencies for graduates of all types of nursing programs.
NLN Core Competencies
Note: The task statements that accompany each competency can be found in The Scope of Practice for Academic Nurse Educators (2012).
Competency I: Facilitate Learning
Nurse educators are responsible for creating an environment in classroom, laboratory, and clinical settings that facilitates student learning and the achievement of desired cognitive, affective, and psychomotor outcomes.
Competency II: Facilitate Learner Development and Socialization
Nurse educators recognize their responsibility for helping students develop as nurses and integrate the values and behaviors expected of those who fulfill that role.
Competency III: Use Assessment and Evaluation Strategies
Nurse educators use a variety of strategies to asses and evaluate student learning in classroom, laboratory and clinical settings, as well as in all domains of learning.
Competency IV: Participate in Curriculum Design and Evaluation of Program Outcomes
Nurse educators are responsible for formulating program outcomes and designing curricula that reflect contemporary health care trends and prepare graduates to function effectively in the health care environment.
Competency V: Function as a Change Agent and Leader
Nurse educators function as change agents and leaders to create a preferred future for nursing education and nursing practice.
Competency VI: Pursue Continuous Quality Improvements in the Nurse Educator Role
Nurse educators recognize that their role is multidimensional and that an ongoing commitment to develop and maintain competence in the role is essential.
Competency VII: Engage in Scholarship
Nurse educators acknowledge that scholarship is an integral component of the faculty role, and that teaching itself is a scholarly activity.
Competency VIII: Function Within the Educational Environment
Nurse educators are knowledgeable about the educational environment within which they practice and recognize how political, institutional, social, and economic forces impact their role.
"NLN Core Competencies." Nurse Educator Core Competency, National League for Nursing, 2019, www.nln.org/professional-development-programs/competencies-for-nursing-education/nurse-educator-core-competency.