Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary Salary

The median health specialties teachers, postsecondary salary in the United States is $107,310 per year. Salaries range from $59,270 at the entry level to $322,020+ for the top 10% of earners. There are 221,270 health specialties teachers, postsecondary jobs nationwide. Employment is projected to grow 17.3% through 2034.

Last updated: June 2026 Β· Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Median Salary
$107,310
per year
Employment
221,270
jobs in the U.S.

Salary Distribution

10th percentile
$59,270
25th percentile
$75,690
Median
$107,310
75th percentile
$210,370
90th percentile
$322,020

Job Growth (2024-2034)

+17.3%
Much faster than average

Annual Openings

27,400
jobs/year (growth + replacements)

Education Required

Doctoral or professional degree
+ Less than 5 years experience

Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary Career Guide

Interview questions, resume templates, and a career ladder written specifically for health specialties teachers, postsecondarys.

Health-specialties postsecondary teachers train the next generation of nurses, physicians, PAs, PTs, OTs, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, and other clinical professionals at universities, medical schools, and nursing programs. Compensation is bifurcated: clinical-track faculty (M.D., D.O., D.N.P.) often hold joint appointments where the medical center salary dominates and the teaching salary is a supplement, while tenure-track Ph.D. faculty rely primarily on the academic salary plus grant funding. BLS reports median $107,310 with p10 at $59,270 (entry clinical instructor and community-college adjunct roles) and p90 at $322,020 (endowed-chair medical school professors and clinical department chairs). Total employment 221,270. Nursing faculty at Johns Hopkins, Duke, and Vanderbilt earn $95-175k; clinical medical faculty at Mayo Clinic Alix, Cleveland Clinic Lerner, and Harvard Medical earn $215-485k blended.

Core Skills Hiring Managers Screen For

Clinical practice + academic credential (M.D., D.N.P., Ph.D., DPT, Pharm.D., PA-C)
The credential ceiling is real. Community-college nursing programs accept M.S.N. minimum; university BSN and MSN programs typically require D.N.P. or Ph.D. Medical school clinical teaching requires an unrestricted state medical license and specialty board certification. Continue clinical practice at 20-40% effort to keep the teaching credible and to satisfy accreditation like LCME, CCNE, ACEN, CAPTE, or ACOTE.
Curriculum design and course architecture
Design a 15-week didactic course with weekly objectives, formative and summative assessments, and clinical or simulation touchpoints. Map every course to program outcomes and to the licensing exam's blueprint (NCLEX for nursing, USMLE Steps for medical school, NPTE for PT, NBCOT for OT). Curriculum mapping tools like eLumen, EAB Navigate, or Elentra are the standard.
Clinical instruction and preceptorship
Supervise students on real hospital floors, in outpatient clinics, or in surgical suites. Ratios are set by accreditation: CCNE requires 1:8-1:10 in clinical nursing; CAPTE requires 1:1 or 1:2 in PT clinical education. Progress rounds, real-time feedback, and formal weekly evaluations. Preceptor training and appointment as adjunct clinical faculty is often a separate credential.
Assessment design (OSCE, high-fidelity simulation, standardized patients)
OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Exam) stations for medical, nursing, PA, and PT programs; high-fidelity simulation using SimMan or Laerdal manikins; standardized patients (trained actors) for physical exam and interviewing skills. Passing thresholds tie to licensing exam pass rates that accreditors like LCME and CCNE monitor annually β€” a 3-year pass rate below 80% triggers a review.
Research and grant funding (tenure-track path)
Ph.D. faculty on the tenure track are expected to publish 4-8 peer-reviewed papers/year and hold 1-3 active grants. NIH R01 ($250-500k/year direct costs), R21, K-award, and AHRQ grants are the currencies. Grant funding often covers 20-50% of faculty salary directly β€” a well-funded lab is a promoted lab. Clinical-track faculty typically publish 1-3 papers/year with less grant expectation.
Accreditation and program compliance (LCME, CCNE, ACEN, CAPTE, ACOTE, ARC-PA)
Every clinical program undergoes accreditation cycles (typically 7-10 years). Faculty must document teaching effort, publication productivity, clinical hours, and student outcomes. Failure to demonstrate compliance can put a program on probation and threaten Title IV eligibility, which shuts off federal financial aid to students. Faculty coordinate self-study writing during accreditation years.
Interprofessional education (IPE) and team-based care
LCME, CCNE, and CAPTE all require IPE experiences β€” nursing, medical, PT, pharmacy, and social-work students learning together in simulated care teams. Faculty co-design and co-teach these sessions, which is where the collaboration muscle across professions gets built.

How to Become a Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary

  1. 1
    Complete a clinical doctorate or terminal credential in the field
    M.D. or D.O. for medical school faculty (7-9 years post-undergrad + residency 3-7 years). D.N.P. or Ph.D. in nursing (3-5 years post-BSN or MSN, $75-165k tuition). DPT for PT faculty (3 years, $95-165k tuition). Pharm.D. for pharmacy faculty (4 years, $125-215k tuition). PA-C plus DHSc or Ph.D. for PA faculty. Program requirements vary by accreditation β€” LCME requires terminal degree for medical school; CCNE requires doctorate for tenure-track BSN and MSN faculty.
  2. 2
    Build 5-10 years of active clinical practice before pursuing academic role
    Real clinical time is the credibility currency. Students smell theoretical-only faculty within one week of a course. Nurses in academic careers typically practice 3-8 years at the bedside plus advanced practice roles before transitioning. Physicians typically complete residency, fellowship, and 3-8 years of attending practice. PT and OT faculty often practice 5-12 years before moving into faculty roles.
  3. 3
    Enter as clinical instructor or assistant professor (non-tenure clinical track)
    Entry pay for community-college nursing faculty $60-75k (near BLS p10 $59,270). University clinical-instructor nursing $75-110k. Medical school clinical instructor $145-215k (blended with practice). PT/OT clinical faculty $75-105k. Roles typically 60-80% teaching + 20-40% practice; scholarship expectations lighter than tenure track.
  4. 4
    Choose tenure track vs clinical track fork
    Tenure track (Ph.D. path) β€” 6-year clock, expectation of 3-6 R01-level publications and 1-2 grants for tenure, salary $85-155k for assistant professor rising to $135-235k for tenured full professor. Clinical track (M.D., D.N.P., DPT path) β€” no tenure clock but promoted on teaching, clinical productivity, and administrative service; salary often exceeds tenure track when clinical practice component is factored.
  5. 5
    Advance to associate professor, then full professor, then endowed chair or department chair
    Associate: 6-8 years post-hire (BLS median $107,310 range). Full: 10-15 years, $155-235k tenure track, $215-385k clinical track blended. Endowed chair or department chair: 15-25 years, $265-485k+ (approaching BLS p90 $322,020 at medical schools like Mayo Clinic Alix, Cleveland Clinic Lerner, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard).
  6. 6
    Consider administrative leadership (program director, associate dean, dean)
    Program director for a BSN or DPT program $135-215k. Associate Dean for Education $165-285k. Dean of a nursing school or medical school $315-785k+ base plus performance and clinical incentive; top academic medical center deans clear $850k-$1.6M total comp.

Career Progression

Adjunct / Clinical Instructor
0-4 yrs$60-95k (BLS p10 $59,270; adjunct rates $2,800-5,500/course)
  • β€’Teach 1-3 didactic courses/semester or supervise 6-12 students in clinical rotation.
  • β€’Coordinate clinical site placements at partner hospitals (University of Phoenix Nursing, community-college programs) or supervise medical students at teaching hospitals like Cleveland Clinic Lerner.
  • β€’Grade coursework, exams, and clinical evaluations; document to accreditation standards (CCNE, ACEN, LCME).
  • β€’Continue 40-70% clinical practice; adjunct roles rarely benefit-eligible unless credit load hits FTE minimum.
Next: Assistant Professor (clinical or tenure track) at year 3-6 once you have a terminal degree and consistent teaching evaluations.
Assistant Professor (clinical or tenure track)
3-8 yrs$85-155k tenure track; $145-235k clinical track at medical schools (blended with practice)
  • β€’Teach 2-4 courses/year in the didactic and clinical curriculum.
  • β€’Publish 2-6 peer-reviewed papers/year (tenure track); 1-3 papers/year (clinical track).
  • β€’Serve on program committees (curriculum, admissions, evaluation) with 10-20% administrative effort.
  • β€’Advise 4-15 students; supervise capstone or dissertation projects at MSN, DNP, or Ph.D. levels.
Next: Associate Professor at year 6-8; tenure decision at year 6 for Ph.D. faculty; promotion at year 5-8 for clinical faculty.
Associate Professor
6-14 yrs$115-195k tenure track; $185-315k clinical track (blended)
  • β€’Lead a course or course sequence; contribute to curriculum revision every 2-3 years.
  • β€’Chair or co-chair a research team (tenure track); hold 1-2 active NIH, AHRQ, or foundation grants.
  • β€’Mentor junior faculty; serve on the medical school or nursing school promotions committee.
  • β€’Consultant or external reviewer for peer institution's accreditation self-studies.
Next: Full Professor at year 12-18; program director, associate dean, or endowed-chair positions become options.
Full Professor / Program Director
12-20 yrs$155-265k tenure track; $245-425k clinical track and program director roles (approaching BLS 75th-90th percentile at academic medical centers)
  • β€’Lead a program (BSN, MSN, DNP, DPT, medical school clerkship) with 20-100 students per cohort.
  • β€’Own accreditation self-study writing during CCNE, ACEN, LCME, or CAPTE cycles.
  • β€’Publish 6-15 papers/year; hold 2-4 active grants totaling $500k-$3M in direct costs (tenure track).
  • β€’External representation β€” society presidencies, editorial boards, board reviewer for NCLEX, USMLE, or NPTE.
Next: Endowed Chair, Associate Dean, or Department Chair at year 17-25.
Endowed Chair / Department Chair / Associate Dean
17-30 yrs$265-485k+ (BLS p90 $322,020; top medical school clinical chairs regularly exceed this)
  • β€’Lead a department of 20-80 faculty at a medical school, nursing school, or health-professions college.
  • β€’Own $8-45M annual departmental budget including research indirect-cost recovery.
  • β€’Set research priorities, hire senior faculty, own accreditation outcomes for the department.
  • β€’External representation at national level (AAMC, AACN, APTA, AOTA) and legislative advocacy.
Next: Dean of School of Nursing or School of Medicine; Vice President for Health Sciences; Chief Academic Officer at academic medical center.
Dean / VP Health Sciences (rare, senior)
25+ yrs$385k-$1.6M+ total comp (base + clinical incentive + performance)
  • β€’Cabinet-level leader for a nursing school, medical school, or health-sciences college.
  • β€’Own $50M-$450M+ annual budget; hire and evaluate department chairs.
  • β€’Long-horizon strategy (10-year facility, faculty, and research investment plans).
  • β€’External representation at legislative, regulatory (CMS, HRSA), and industry level.
Next: Chancellor, university president, or industry executive (chief medical officer, chief nurse executive).

Interview Questions & Answers

5 free questions below. Career Kit unlocks 15 total plus resume bullets for every level.

Q1. Walk me through how you'd design a 15-week clinical nursing course.case
Anchor in outcomes β€” start with the NCLEX-RN test plan and CCNE Essentials, then work backward. Week 1-2: foundational content plus a diagnostic assessment to place students on skill spectrum. Weeks 3-10: paired didactic-plus-clinical weeks where Monday lecture directly precedes Wednesday and Friday clinical rotation on the same content (medication administration, patient assessment, communication). Weeks 11-13: complex simulation using SimMan or Laerdal manikins in scenarios matching NCLEX categories (safe and effective care, health promotion, psychosocial integrity, physiological integrity). Weeks 14-15: high-stakes OSCE + summative exam that maps to the NCLEX blueprint. Post-course: report pass-rate correlation data to the CCNE annual report. At a place like Johns Hopkins School of Nursing or University of Phoenix Nursing, this level of blueprint-alignment isn't optional β€” it's what accreditation cycles measure.
Q2. How do you handle a student who is failing clinical but passing didactic?situational
Slow down and document β€” this is one of the highest-risk situations in nursing and PT education. First, assess: is the student unsafe (medication error risk, patient-safety judgment gap), or are they simply anxious and clinical-shy? Meet with the student within 48 hours of the second unsatisfactory clinical evaluation. Present a formal remediation plan with signed goals β€” usually 2-4 weeks of additional simulation practice, direct-observation shadowing, and a return-to-clinical checkpoint. Loop in the program director if the student is at risk of failing the rotation and needs to repeat. Document every conversation contemporaneously in the LMS. Follow due process exactly β€” programs like the DPT at USC, the BSN at Vanderbilt, and the MSN at Duke have written remediation policies that carry legal weight. Students who successfully remediate become strong practitioners; students who bypass remediation and enter practice unsafe become sentinel-event risk.
Q3. Describe your research or scholarship trajectory.behavioral
Depends on your track. For a tenure-track Ph.D. faculty: name your active grants (NIH R01, R21, K-award, AHRQ, foundation), your publication cadence (I'd say something like '4-6 first- or senior-author peer-reviewed papers per year in journals like Nursing Research, JAMA Internal Medicine, or Physical Therapy'), and your specific research program (something like 'hospital-acquired-infection reduction in ICU nursing workflow'). For a clinical-track faculty: name your teaching innovations (curriculum redesign, simulation program development), quality-improvement publications (Journal of Nursing Education, Academic Medicine, Journal of Physical Therapy Education), and any national committee service (AAMC, AACN, APTA education committees). At Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, the clinical-scholarship track is well-developed and legitimate; at Johns Hopkins, tenure track dominates. Know which track the interviewing program values before you walk in.
Q4. How do you incorporate interprofessional education (IPE) into your teaching?technical
IPE is required by every major clinical accreditor (LCME, CCNE, CAPTE, ACOTE, ARC-PA). Concrete example: I co-teach a simulation module where second-year medical students, second-year nursing students, third-year PT students, and second-year pharmacy students form 5-person care teams to manage a simulated patient with heart failure through admission, medication reconciliation, ambulation, and discharge planning. Standardized patient (trained actor) role-plays the patient. Structured debrief afterward using the TeamSTEPPS framework β€” mutual support, situation monitoring, communication, leadership. Institutions like the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine and Cleveland Clinic Lerner build entire IPE curricula around this model. It's not optional programming β€” it's core curriculum with accreditor sign-off.
Q5. Why our institution specifically?closer
Do the homework and answer with specifics. For Johns Hopkins School of Nursing: reference the school's recent NIH T32 training grant renewal, the DNP practice-improvement track, and a named faculty member whose research adjacent to yours. For Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine: reference the 5-year problem-based curriculum, the mandatory research thesis, and the integration with the Cleveland Clinic system. For University of Phoenix Nursing: reference the working-nurse RN-to-BSN pipeline, the online-plus-clinical hybrid model, and the specific state-partnership programs. Close with a documented contribution you'd bring on day one β€” a course you've taught before, a grant you're bringing with you, or a clinical partnership you can help build.

Resume Template β€” Adjunct / Clinical Instructor (0-4 yrs)

Copy these bullets into your resume as a starting point. Career Kit includes bullets for every level of the ladder.

Adjunct / Clinical Instructor (0-4 yrs)
  • β–ΈTaught 3 sections of Adult Health Nursing II (MSN-level) at [university] with 87% NCLEX-RN first-attempt pass rate on the cohort (school average 82%).
  • β–ΈSupervised 12 BSN students per rotation across 4 clinical sites (Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, VA Medical Center); zero medication-error incidents across 320 student-shift-hours.
  • β–ΈMSN + D.N.P. from [university], active RN license and AACN clinical instructor endorsement, ACLS + PALS current.
  • β–ΈPublished 2 peer-reviewed papers in the Journal of Nursing Education; presented at 2 national AACN conferences.

What Gets You Rejected

  • βœ—No active clinical practice or credentials β€” accreditors require faculty maintain currency.
  • βœ—Cannot cite a scholarship trajectory (publications, grants, or teaching-innovation record).
  • βœ—Doesn't know the accreditation body for the target program (CCNE, ACEN, LCME, CAPTE, ACOTE, ARC-PA).
  • βœ—Weak simulation and OSCE experience β€” modern health-sciences programs require both.
  • βœ—No experience with IPE β€” every major accreditor now requires it.
  • βœ—Cannot map course content to a licensing-exam blueprint (NCLEX, USMLE, NPTE, NBCOT, NAPLEX).
  • βœ—Confuses tenure-track and clinical-track expectations β€” signals a candidate who hasn't researched the role.

Salary Negotiation Levers

  • βœ“Terminal degree in the specialty commands 20-40% premium β€” DNP or PhD for nursing faculty, MD + fellowship for medical school, DPT for PT.
  • βœ“Active NIH funding ports with you β€” a hire with a portable R01 negotiates $30-90k above listed base plus startup package.
  • βœ“Clinical practice buyout β€” many academic medical centers let you keep 20-40% clinical effort with productivity RVU incentive layered on academic base. This is where medical faculty comp exceeds BLS p90 $322,020.
  • βœ“Startup packages for tenure-track hires β€” $250k-$1.5M covering lab equipment, postdoc salary, and protected research time for 2-3 years.
  • βœ“Endowed chair or named professorship β€” a fully endowed chair funds 20-100% of your salary in perpetuity and provides discretionary research funds.
  • βœ“Signing bonuses of $25-125k are standard at senior levels, especially when leaving unvested retirement contributions.
  • βœ“Sabbatical eligibility β€” most tenure-track roles offer sabbatical every 7 years at 50-100% of salary. Confirm terms before signing.
  • βœ“Metro premium β€” NYC, Boston, San Francisco, and Washington DC academic medical centers pay 15-30% above BLS median $107,310.

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Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary Salary by State

Best Cities (cost-adjusted) β†’

Salary Map β€” Click a state for details

$60K
$168Kβ–  No data

Top Paying States

Utah
$168K
+57%
District of Columbia
$168K
+56%
California
$165K
+54%
Washington
$138K
+28%
Mississippi
$137K
+28%
Colorado
$137K
+28%
New Mexico
$135K
+25%
Massachusetts
$135K
+25%
New York
$131K
+22%
Missouri
$130K
+22%
Vertical line = national median. Click a state for full details.
StateMedianvs. National
Utah$168,060+56.6%
District of Columbia$167,520+56.1%
California$165,110+53.9%
Washington$137,520+28.2%
Mississippi$137,220+27.9%
Colorado$136,930+27.6%
New Mexico$134,600+25.4%
Massachusetts$134,520+25.4%
New York$131,220+22.3%
Missouri$130,490+21.6%
1–10 of 50

Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary Salary by Metro Area

Metro AreaMedianvs. National
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$357,220+232.9%
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR$214,790+100.2%
Greenville, NC$181,290+68.9%
Albuquerque, NM$178,290+66.1%
Jackson, MS$175,090+63.2%
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO$168,720+57.2%
Salt Lake City-Murray, UT$168,060+56.6%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$164,860+53.6%
College Station-Bryan, TX$164,660+53.4%
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$164,450+53.2%
1–10 of 201
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Data reflects the most recent annual survey.
How does this compare to pro athletes?
A health specialties teachers, postsecondary earning $107,310/year would need 555 years to match Stephen Curry's NBA salary, or 596 yearsto match Patrick Mahomes' NFL contract.
See all sports & celebrity salaries β†’
πŸ“ˆ See how health specialties teachers, postsecondary salaries have changed over the past decade.
View Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary salary trend (2011–2024) β†’