Many nurses believe they must work at the bedside to be considered “real nurses.” However, this is not the case. As a nurse, you have a world of opportunities that don’t require you to work nearly as hard as you would as a bedside nurse. Luckily, in today’s age, nurses are not confined to traditional roles. Instead, we are tapping into innovative and non-traditional career paths that maximize a work-life balance. Here are ten ways you can maximize your nursing degree away from the bedside!
Strike Contracts
Strike contracts are a unique and often overlooked opportunity for nurses who want to diversify their career experiences while increasing their earning potential. These contracts involve nurses providing temporary coverage when permanent staff go on strike. This allows nurses to work in different environments without the 13-week commitment of a traditional travel nurse contract.
What Are Strike Contracts?
Strike contracts are temporary employment agreements for nurses to fill in during labor disputes. Due to the urgency of the situation, everything from flights to accommodations is paid for. These positions usually last about a week or the duration of the strike.
Benefits And Challenges
Working under a strike contract can be financially rewarding, as hospitals offer premium pay to attract nurses quickly. Additionally, it allows one to experience different clinical settings, expand professional networks, and enhance one’s resume. However, it comes with challenges, such as adapting quickly to new environments, potential tension from striking staff, and the unpredictability of strike durations.
Securing Strike Contract Opportunities
Nurses interested in strike contracts can find opportunities through specialized staffing agencies like Krucial and AMN. Keeping your certifications up to date and being ready to mobilize quickly is essential, as these opportunities arise suddenly and require immediate availability.
Clinical Trial Management
Clinical trial management allows nurses to contribute to medical research, playing a significant role in developing new treatments and medications. This field allows nurses to apply their clinical skills in a research setting, overseeing the execution of clinical trials, ensuring compliance with protocols, and safeguarding participant welfare.
A Nurse’s Role In Clinical Trials
Nurses who work in clinical trials are responsible for coordinating and overseeing clinical studies, ensuring that they are conducted in accordance with the trial protocol, regulatory requirements, and ethical standards. They are typically involved in patient recruitment, informed consent procedures, data collection, and monitoring of participants’ health throughout the trial.
Types Of Clinical Trials And Responsibilities
Nurses can work in many clinical trials, from pharmaceutical studies to medical device trials. Their responsibilities include ensuring participant eligibility, administering treatments or interventions, monitoring side effects, and collecting and documenting trial data accurately.
Skills And Qualifications Needed
Success in clinical trial management requires a solid foundation in nursing, attention to detail, and strong organizational skills. If you’re interested in clinical research, you may need additional training in research methodology, regulatory compliance, and specific therapeutic areas. This is typically offered on the job. However, it does help to pursue certifications in clinical research to enhance your qualifications in this field.
Mobile IV Hydration Business
This is one of my personal favorites. A mobile IV hydration business is highly lucrative and low maintenance for nurses interested in entrepreneurship. This business model involves providing IV hydration and nutrient therapies directly to clients in their homes, offices, or at special events. It caters to individuals seeking quick recovery from dehydration due to various causes like intense workouts, hangovers, or illness and those seeking a wellness boost.
Concept And Services Offered
Nurses interested in IV hydration can either start their own venture or join existing mobile IV hydration companies. This service provides convenience to clients, as they receive personalized care without the need to visit a healthcare facility. Additionally, these services can be combined with bonuses such as vitamin b-12 injections or botox.
Business Opportunities And Client Benefits
This business allows nurses to work on their own schedule, providing services that promote wellness and preventative care. Additionally, this business is highly lucrative, with nurses charging $200-$300/per IV bag or more. It’s a great chance to build a business within the growing health and wellness sector. For clients, it offers the advantage of receiving tailored IV hydration services in the comfort of their chosen locations.
Aesthetic Nursing
Aesthetic nursing is a specialized field where nurses focus on providing cosmetic and skin care treatments. Working in medical spas, dermatology clinics, or plastic surgery centers, aesthetic nurses assist with procedures that enhance appearance. These include Botox injections, fillers, laser treatments, post-op lymphatic drainage, body contouring, and other skin rejuvenation techniques.
Roles And Procedures
Aesthetic nurses perform the previously mentioned procedures under the supervision of a physician. Nurses who want to open their practice must look at the specific requirements for their specific location. However, if you want to get your feet wet, starting in an established med spa is a great way to get your training and experience.
Training And Certification
Aesthetic nursing has become increasingly popular over the years. As a result, positions in med spas are becoming quite competitive. Increasing your qualifications would help you get certified through an injector course. Ongoing education in the latest aesthetic techniques and technologies is essential for success in this field.
Content Creation
Content creation, especially on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, is an excellent opportunity for nurses who want to share their experiences and knowledge while making money. Wile the benefits of content creation aren’t immediate, this path can be highly lucrative and even life-changing for those who can stick it out. Nurses can reach a broad audience by engaging in blogging, podcasting, video production, or social media, providing health education and insights into nursing, and much more.
Exploring Different Platforms
Nurses can choose the content medium that best suits their skills and interests. For example, if you love writing, like me, you should start a blog or contribute articles to healthcare publications. Those more comfortable speaking might benefit from starting a podcast or creating long-form content for YouTube. TikTok and Instagram reels are perfect for those who want to share their knowledge without being on camera for long periods of time.
Benefits Of Content Creation
Content creation allows nurses to establish themselves as thought leaders, share valuable information with the public or peers, and advocate for essential healthcare issues. Additionally, it can provide an alternative revenue stream through advertising, sponsorships, or paid speaking engagements. This method requires a lot of patience and consistency, but it can be worth it in the end.
Concierge Nursing
This opportunity is great for nurses who want to provide personalized one-on-one care to clients who prefer care in their homes or other environments. This model requires nurses to cater to the specific needs of their clients, ranging from routine health assessments to post-operative care and chronic disease management.
Services and Clientele
Concierge nurses offer various services, including wellness consultations, personalized health coaching, medication management, and more. Their clientele often consists of individuals seeking convenience, including busy professionals, high-profile clients, or those with specific health needs.
Building A Concierge Nursing Business
To succeed in concierge nursing, nurses need to establish a clear business model and target audience, define their services, and market themselves effectively to grab the attention of their clients. Building solid relationships with clients and maintaining a high standard of care is necessary for constant success in this field.
Career Growth And Satisfaction
Concierge nursing offers financial benefits due to the services’ personalized and often premium nature, as well as a high degree of job satisfaction. Nurses in this field can enjoy more meaningful interactions with clients, flexible working conditions, and the autonomy to practice nursing in a way that aligns with their values and expertise.
Healthcare Consulting
Healthcare consulting allows nurses to leverage their clinical expertise and insight to advise healthcare organizations, improving efficiency, patient care, and compliance with healthcare regulations. This role allows nurses to impact healthcare on a systemic level, working with organizations such as hospitals, clinics, insurance companies, and more.
What Can A Nurse Do As A Healthcare Consultant?
Nurses in healthcare consulting analyze and solve complex problems, provide strategic planning, and implement best practices in patient care and operations. They might be involved in workflow efficiency, quality improvement, policy development, and technology integration. Their clinical experience gives them a unique perspective, enabling them to offer practical, patient-centered solutions.
What Skills Are Needed?
Success in healthcare consulting requires strong analytical skills, effective communication, and a deep understanding of healthcare systems and regulations. Nurses may increase their qualifications with additional certifications in healthcare management or a Master’s degree in a related field like healthcare administration or public health.
Film Set Nurse
A film set nurse provides healthcare services to cast and crew members on movie, television, and commercial sets, ensuring medical needs are promptly addressed during production. This role combines emergency nursing, occupational health, and primary care elements. On a film set, nurses must be prepared to address various issues, from minor injuries and illnesses to emergency situations, ensuring the well-being of cast and crew while minimizing production downtime.
Skills And Path To Entry
Nurses looking to enter this field should be adaptable, quick-thinking, and comfortable working independently. Experience in emergency nursing or a similar fast-paced healthcare setting is advantageous. Contacting a staffing agency can be beneficial to find opportunities as a film set nurse.
Career Benefits
Working as a film set nurse offers a unique blend of healthcare and entertainment, providing an alternative to traditional nursing roles. It allows nurses to apply their skills in a more dynamic setting, with the added benefit of potentially traveling to different filming locations. Since this type of work is inconsistent, this option should be considered more of a side hustle.
Telehealth Nursing
Telehealth nursing is an increasingly popular field where nurses provide care and consultation through digital platforms. This role allows nurses to leverage technology to deliver healthcare services remotely, addressing the needs of patients with limited access to traditional healthcare settings or prefer the convenience of online consultations.
A Nurse’s Role In Telehealth
Telehealth nurses interact with patients via video, phone, or chat platforms to provide clinical services, health education, and support. They assess patient symptoms, offer advice, monitor chronic conditions, and can even guide patients through specific procedures or tests remotely.
What Skills And Training Are Needed?
Effective telehealth nursing requires strong communication skills, proficiency in digital health platforms, and the ability to assess patients’ conditions without in-person interactions. To excel in this role, nurses may need additional training in telehealth protocols and technology.
Opportunities And Benefits
The demand for telehealth services has surged, offering nurses a flexible and innovative career path. Telehealth nursing can provide a better work-life balance, reduce the stress of traditional clinical roles, and allow nurses to reach a broader patient population.
Nursing Education And Simulation
Nurses with a passion for teaching and a wealth of clinical experience can find fulfilling careers in nursing education. This role involves training the next generation of nurses in academic settings or through simulation-based training, where they can apply their knowledge in creating realistic clinical scenarios for students.
What Does A Nurse Educator Do?
Nursing educators develop and deliver curricula, teach courses, evaluate student performance, and stay on top of the latest in nursing practice and education. Simulation educators create and facilitate immersive, hands-on scenarios that mimic real-life clinical situations, allowing students to hone their skills in a controlled, supportive environment.
Skills And Qualifications
Nursing educators typically need advanced nursing or education degrees and substantial clinical experience. Skills in curriculum development, teaching, and assessment are crucial. Expertise in technology and an understanding of effective simulation strategies are essential for simulation.
Career Growth And Satisfaction
Nursing education is critical for advancing the nursing profession, offering educators a chance to make a lasting impact on the future of healthcare. This career path allows for intellectual growth and knowledge sharing and provides a sense of fulfillment from mentoring and shaping aspiring nurses.
As you can see through these alternative career paths, nursing is highly versatile. Now, we’d love to hear from you. Are you a nurse who has entered one of these non-traditional roles, or are you considering such a transition? What other unconventional nursing paths have you encountered or are curious about? Share your experiences, thoughts, and questions in the comments below. Your insight could inspire or guide fellow nurses seeking something different from their professional journey! Leave a comment down below!
