[buzzard86]

Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum and was hoping to solicit ideas from you on non-bedside options for nursing careers.

After about two years of bedside experience in both ICU and OR positions, I've come to the realization that I really don't want to work at the bedside much longer. It's not that I don't like patient care -- I really do -- but I've found that the reasons that got me into nursing are not realistic in today's nursing world. Quite simply, the rewards of the job are not outweighing the sacrifices that I'm making at the expense of my family in terms of hours, stress, additional mandatory on-call shifts, working holidays, etc. I'm not blasting bedside nursing in any way... just realized that it's not for me.

I do love being a nurse and want to remain in the industry. I changed careers to become a nurse, and would like to find something that would allow me to combine my nursing knowledge along with my previous businsss and writing experience.

Can anybody share ideas on other general options in nursing that might meet these objectives? Incidentally, I'm pursing an MSN in Nursing Informatics but am still several years away from completion.

Not looking for specific job openings, just wanted to get a sense from you about what other options are out there and how happy people are in non-traditional nursing roles. I'm contractually tied to my current position through late summer so I'm just trying to establish a game plan.

Thanks for any and all info.

[MagRedC5]

Click the link below, then look at the drop down menu for nursing careers in the middle of the screen;

Nursing Careers -> Look for ... To learn more about the wide range of nursing specialties available, select from the drop down menu below:

[cassioo]

How about home health with the hospital you are employeed with if they have a home health office then you keep your seniority. Make sure it's a pay by the hour not a pay by the visit. Home health can still get hairy and some call involved. When I worked home health I didn't do overtime, did have call, 1 weekend per month but had extra days off during the week and weekend was just those had to visits ie daily dressing changes, BID insulin, hospital discharge. Basically it was 8-4 M-F. I did a rural area so drove lots but I had books on tape and would listen to them but didn't miss lunches, took a break when I wanted, scheduled my visits when I wanted. Made a nice break for about 4 years.

[nursesong]

I totally understand. To me being a nurse is about helping people with medical issues work through those issues. It is about providing comfort of physical body as well as spirit. Being a nurse is being aware of trends and changing assessments and reporting those changes to the doctors. It's about being aware of what kind of meds we give if they are correct for the situation and their possible adverse effects. Being a nurse is being aware that doctors are tired as well and capable of making mistakes. Being a nurse is about keeping our patients safe, educating them of their choices so they can make informed consent. It's about being aware of the whole picture and caring! What a tremendous responsibility we are saddled with!
I have considered teaching classes, nursing advocate classes to help people make better choices of where to seek care and what kinds of questions to ask when they visit a doctor. I dont know if there is any money in this but I believe there is a strong need. For example, people don't realize they should seek care of chest pain in a facility that can intervene and fix rather then medicate with morphine until they infarct and then ship. A lot of people are clueless that there IS a big difference in care provided at various facilities. Best of Luck to you!

[ang82]

Perhaps you could get a job at the local health department? I know a nurse that worked at ours and loved it. At our hospital we have what is called Discharge planners. They deal with the discharge end of things such as getting patients to nursing homes and finding community agencies and resources for the patient or perhaps financially. Teaching is definately an option as they are highly sought after, you could do clinical teaching or in class teaching. Have you thought about dialysis? Thats kind of bedside but not. Perhaps in an OR at an outpatient surgery center. Best of luck to you though! I'm sure with nursing you'll find something, there's always something out there!

[ang82]

I just thought of this...check out the specialty group threads in the forum. I saw there's a forum for legal nurse consultant, school nurse. They may also give/have ideas if you browse around there

[hsieh]

school nurse, public health, nursing school instructor, clinicals instructor, cruise ship nurse, ski resort nurse, do they employ nurses in the park system? telephone triage.

[Mom-n-More]

You could do occ med. I used to work at a large trucking company making sure that drivers had their physicals done and following up with drivers who had medical issues. Just because someone is on the road doesn't mean he can't have an MI or get hurt. There was a lot that went with the job and it was enjoyable talking to the people on the phone.

[Carol]

Be careful before going through the expense of getting certification in school nursing. I went to grad school and after I received my certification in school nursing, I found how hard it was to actually get a job. School nurses usually stay put until they retire and then when they do the hiring of a new school nurse is very political. Basically, where I live you have to know someone in the district you are applying at before they will even look at your application. I had a lot of years experience...active duty Army nurse, clinic , hospital med/surg. pediatrics, LTC, etc...that didn't matter at all.....they hired a younger RN with less experience.....came to find out she was related to someone on the Board of Ed. It was a lot of money and time wasted.

[hppygr8ful]

Try looking into a job with the companies that do Drug Studies - a lot of nurses like the work and it's usually 8-4 with weekends and holidays off

hppy