Specialization is a core aspect of advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) transition to offer quality care that meets patient needs. Specialization implores nurses to work in collaboration with others within the APRNs scope of practice. Imperatively, it is important for one to understand their roles and scope to enhance a collaborative approach to care delivery (Hemberg et al., 2018). The essence of this nursing roles graphic organizer is to discuss the different roles and scope of clinical nurse leaders and nurse educators using different areas like education and ethics. The organizer enumerates the differences and similarities concerning these roles and the scope for APRNs to offer better patient care and meet safety standards.
| Nurse Leader | Nurse Educators | Observations (Similarities/Differences) | |
| Ethics | Nurse leaders are custodians and implementers of ethical codes in their practice. They are charged with the duty of developing ethics, values and encouraging their observance in their practice (Hemberg et al., 2018). They ensure that nurses practice based on the Code of Ethics by ANA. | Nurse educators are stewards and custodians of ethical codes of conduct for nurses and even leaders (Bastable, 2019). They implement best practices and trends to help nurses adopt moral standards across the ethical continuum. | Both nurse leaders and educators are implementers and custodians of codes of conduct in practice and education. The two APRN specialties inspire and guide nurses on the use of values and ethics needed in care delivery. |
| Education | Nurse leaders are not technical experts but should possess a minimum bachelor’s degree with a Master’s degree being a desirable for executive administrative positions (Fitzpatrick et al., 2017). Nurse leaders can also get accreditation and certification from professional bodies like American Organization for Nursing Leadership. They are expected to engage in lifelong learning to enhance their competence and leadership skills. | Being a nurse educator requires one to possess a minimum of RN certification (Bastable, 2019). However, most institutions today require nurse educators to have a Master’s degree in nursing while others need doctorate degrees. Nurse educators should also have relevant certification in their areas of practice. | The two roles or specialties share the need to have RN licensure and advanced education like a Master’s degree in nursing. Both nurse leaders and educators can acquire doctorate qualifications based on their specialties. However, nurse educators do not require certain minimum hours of practicum experience as their main focus is academic work. |
| Leadership | Nurse leaders have diverse roles and scope that implore them to develop and practice leadership skills. Nurse leaders demonstrate this by effectively influencing and motivating nurses to implement innovative models like EBP, leading change and policy development as well as being patients’ and nurses’ advocates (Grace, 2018). Their specialty as leaders implores them to collaborate and form interdisciplinary teams in their settings. They are role models and mentor nurses under their supervision | Leadership is an essential component of nurse educators, especially the ability to influence change processes through the development of nursing curriculum (Bastable, 2019). The leadership role is also evident through reviewing, updating and implementing changes in curriculum. They also mentor nursing students and influence the adoption of innovative models like evidence-based practice (EBP). | Both nurse leaders and nurse educators have critical positions that demonstrate their leadership attributes. They are both mentors and role models who inspire and motivate nurses to perform better and attain quality outcomes.
Their expertise in innovative models and interactions with different professionals make their positions ideal to initiate change and lead the transformation of health care. Both nurse leaders and nurse educators engage in policy advocacy and implementation to improve access to quality care and red uce costs Order this paper |