Bedside care is an essential and satisfying component of nursing. However, it’s also stressful, emotional, and sometimes unendurable. This article comprises ten non-bedside jobs for nurses to present alternative career opportunities.
There are over one hundred unique and skilled professions for hard-working, educated nurses.
Moreover, many nursing careers do not center on bedside care; some jobs operate outside hospitals and healthcare settings.
However, I’ll keep this list limited to ten non-bedside jobs for nurses, so it’s relatively easy to read.
The following section summarizes each profession to clarify nurses’ distinct roles in these careers.
1. Legal Nurse Consultant
legal nurse consultants work with lawyers, attorneys, and licensed professionals in the legal system.
LNCs provide medical expertise to resolve cases requiring first-hand medical experience.
Responsibilities include gathering medical records, examining complex data, preparing reports and summaries, and performing other medical-legal tasks.
LNCs also participate in client interviews, simplify complicated medical jargon, obtain eyewitnesses and act as expert witnesses in some cases.
In summary, legal nursing consulting aims to determine the validity of medical-legal cases through data gathering, analysis, and outcome resolution.
Please read “what is a legal nurse consultant?” for a complete career description and summary of the profession.
2. Forensic Nurse
Forensic nurses provide medical expertise on abuse, crime, and death cases requiring first-hand medical knowledge.
These medical specialists work with law enforcement, lawyers, judges, hospitals, and medical facilities.
Forensic nurses first provide medical care to patients when managing abuse, domestic violence, human trafficking, and other crimes.
Responsibilities include examining the body for signs of abuse, providing immediate medical care, and collecting evidence.
Forensic nurses also provide emotional and psychological support to ensure they’re in stable emotional condition.
Assessing a patient’s mental and emotional state is vital before asking questions or bringing up emotionally sensitive topics.
Ultimately, forensic nurses help law enforcement and legal experts determine the cause of crimes so they take correct legal actions.
Cases Forensic Nurses Manage Include:
- Child abuse
- Company/insurance fraud
- Domestic violence
- Human trafficking
- Psychiatric/mental health
- Sexual assault
- Trauma/injuries
Please read “what is a forensic nurse?” for a comprehensive overview of their job description and responsibilities.
3. Aesthetics/Cosmetic Injection Nurse
Aesthetics/cosmetic injection nurses perform non-surgical cosmetic procedures centered on beauty and corrective care.
These medical professionals perform various procedures, including botox injectors/neuromodulators, fillers, and bio-stimulators.
They also inject compounds like local anesthetics, steroids, and vein sclerosing agents when needed.
Aesthetic nurses perform various skin treatments, including medical-grade chemical peels, micro-needling, laser treatments, and skin resurfacing.
Aesthetic nurses provide a broad assortment of services, from assisting with plastic surgery to tattoo and hair removal.
Nevertheless, they don’t perform aesthetician/cosmologist procedures focusing on non-medical cosmetic treatments.
Aesthetic Nurse Procedures Include:
- Botox injections and fillers
- Bio-stimulators
- Medical-grade chemical peels
- Micro-needling
- Laser treatments
- Skin resurfacing
- Tattoo and hair removal
Aesthetic nurses perform other treatments beyond whats listed above.
However, their procedures depend on their expertise/training and scope of practice within their state.
4. Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse
Psychiatric mental health nursing is a multi-disciplinary practice that provides comprehensive care to a broad assortment of people.
PMHNs serve individuals, families, social groups, and entire communities.
These healthcare providers operate in diverse settings to ensure everyone receives adequate assistance.
For instance, PMHNs work in welfare settings, homeless shelters, drug and alcohol services, and other areas requiring mental health assistance.
As a result, psychiatric mental health nurses must develop psychological, emotional, therapeutic, and interpersonal skills.
They must also understand how to assess correctly, monitor, and diagnose mental health conditions through screenings, evaluations, and triage.
There’s a broad range of skills mental health nurses master to improve individual and societal mental health.
Psychiatric mental health nursing promotes well-being through education, personal development, and prevention.
Please read what is a PMH advanced practice nurse to learn more about the nurse practitioner’s role in mental health.
5. Nurse Health Coach
Nurse health coaching combines a medical/nursing background with healthcare training to improve client lifestyles.
These healthcare specialists utilize their expertise to improve mental, emotional, and physical health.
Moreover, nurses develop the medical foundation and interpersonal skills to provide a better and more tailored wellness approach.
Nurse health coaches provide numerous services for weight loss, nutrition, mental health, exercise, and holistic care.
Therefore, it’s an excellent career for those interested in working with clients non-bedside.
Instead of direct patient care, you’ll work as an educator, coach, and mentor to ensure clients achieve optimal health.
6. Nurse Informatics
Nursing informatics centers on integrating people, technologies, and healthcare processes.
These medical professionals collect data through patient care, medical data, hospital feedback, and clinical systems.
The data is then converted into relevant, helpful, and meaningful data and applied to technology and nursing practice.
As a result, nursing informatics is imperative for optimal patient care and outcomes.
Overall, nurse informatics advances electronic medical records, medication records, nursing notes, progress notes, and test results.
Some experts enjoy the set schedule and work flexibility offered by nursing informatics.
For instance, nurse informatics work Monday – Friday and operate remotely (aka work from home).
However, some nurses work four ten-hour shifts depending on their employer.
7. Infection Control Nurse
Infection control nurses implement best practices and preventative measures to stop spreading bacteria and viruses.
They also train staff and healthcare specialists to minimize infections, diseases, and cross-contamination.
Accordingly, they are essential for ensuring hospitals and healthcare centers maintain healthy, clean, and sterile environments.
Infection control nurses must develop exceptional analytical, management, and interpersonal skills to analyze/research data and educate healthcare professionals.
They must also have the knowledge and expertise necessary to treat individuals with infectious diseases.
Infection control nurses work with experts, including nurses/hospital staff, physicians, scientists, public health experts, and government agencies.
As a result, infection control nurses work in diverse environments outside of a hospital setting.
Please read “what is an infection control nurse” for more information on the responsibilities and roles of these medical experts.
8. Freelance Nurse Writer
Freelance nurse writers use their medical expertise to educate individuals, medical professionals, and businesses on healthcare topics.
Blogs, education-based websites, and healthcare newsletters hire freelance nurse writers to produce relevant content.
Alternatively, medical writing provides services to medical journals, publications, and news outlets, among other data-driven sources.
Freelance writing responsibilities include researching topics, simplifying medical jargon, and producing healthcare-focused articles/reports.
Nurse writing offers numerous opportunities to earn a side income or work full time.
Nurses also determine whether to take on particular assignments based on their desire, expertise, and availability.
Freelance writers earn six-figure incomes at the high end!
Upwork is an excellent resource for freelance nurse writers looking for jobs if you’re interested.
The American Medical Writers Association is another valuable resource for becoming a medical writer.
9. Research Nurse
Research nurses study and review new medications, vaccinations, and medical procedures to implement into healthcare practice.
They also conduct trials, perform lab work, collect blood samples, administer vaccines and manage other research-related tasks.
The data that’s collected and implemented improve hospital safety and patient care.
As a result, research nurses play a fundamental role in education, nursing practice, and medical development.
10. Nurse Entrepreneur
Nurse entrepreneurs create, market, and sell products, services, and information to make money and advance healthcare.
These medical professionals identify their market’s wants, needs, and problems and build solutions to benefit those they serve.
Accordingly, the products and services created by nurse entrepreneurs depend on the business model and consumer market.
For instance, products designed for nurses will vastly differ from those created for business-to-business activities.
The following section covers four million-dollar businesses providing products and services to nurses and companies to illustrate.
1. Figs Scrubs
FIGS scrubs, founded by Heather Hasson and Trina Spears, is an excellent example of a business designed for medical staff.
These experts created a company to provide nurses, doctors, dentists, and other medical professionals with fashionable work clothing.
The company is a multi-million dollar business meeting the demands of healthcare specialists who want great-looking and feeling high-end scrubs.
Notably, the fashionable scrubs designed by Figs look great, whether inside or outside healthcare settings.
2. AllNurses
Allnurses.com is a thriving online nursing community and forum.
Brian Short founded Allnurses as one of the most popular support websites for aspiring and professional nurses.
Although there are no official numbers regarding how much AllNurses makes, it’s estimated at over a million dollars a year from Ad revenue and other income sources.
3. DollarSprout
Ben Huber, Co-Found of DollarSprout, transitioned from pursuing a career as a nurse to running a million-dollar personal finance site.
His finance side hustle eventually became his new profession by utilizing his corporate experience and interest in web design.
What’s terrific about his story is how he pivoted industries and is doing something completely different but passionate about it.
4. Incredible Health
Iman Abuzeid is the Co-founder & CEO of Incredible Health, a website helping hospitals hire nursing staff quickly with less frustration.
Incredible Health ensures hospitals meet patients’ needs by reducing hiring times and screening candidates for positions.
It also simplifies the recruitment process for hard-working recruiters through matching algorithms that vet potential employees.
Finally, Incredible Health benefits nurses by connecting them with the proper facilities and jobs based on their preferences and expertise.
Self-Employment and Small Businesses
Not all nurse entrepreneurs want to build a large-scale multimillion-dollar business.
Many nurse entrepreneurs make a full-time living running more modest-sized companies.
For example, they operate personal blogs and online stores, offer educational services, and run social media influencer accounts.
These professionals earn a living through advertising, education/mentorships, sponsorships, and creating valuable products.
Please read “business ideas for nurse entrepreneurs” to discover various ways nurses make a profitable living.
Conclusion
Not all careers require nurses to work at the bedside or focus primarily on patient care.
Accordingly, numerous nurses make money in sectors unrelated to traditional healthcare roles.
They’re influencers, educators, product designers, health coaches, writers, and business owners.
Nursing is an enriching and fulfilling career that allows medical professionals to help others directly and indirectly.
However, it doesn’t require everyone with a nursing degree to work at a hospital or healthcare facility.
Nurses have numerous approaches to serving the healthcare industry outside of the bedside.
For instance, they use their medical expertise to solve crimes, conduct medical research, and provide legal counsel.
They also develop new technologies, software, systems, and machines to improve healthcare systems and patient outcomes.
Hopefully, this list of non-bedside jobs for nurses helped you understand the many career paths available to these specialists.