The health care challenges of the past two years have left many nurses considering whether or not they’d like to continue on in their current careers.
Recent studies have found that over the next year, 33.7% of nurses are planning to reduce their hours. Two in five nurses intend to leave their current practice altogether within the next two years.
Thankfully, the nursing field has broadened, allowing nurses to use their skills beyond the bedside.
If you’re a nurse debating a career change, specifically one that takes you outside of the hospital setting, Nurse.org offers these for your consideration.
Nurse Educator
Nursing education could be a fitting field for nurses interested in academia and more scholarly work.
Nursing educators work directly with nursing students as they begin applying what they’ve learned in the classroom to a clinical setting. They also build out coursework, develop nursing curriculum, teach classes, conduct research and oversee clinical rotations.
More information on nurse education.
Nursing Informatics
Informatic nurses are registered nurses who get to apply their skills to help develop health systems that nurses can use in their clinical practice.
Nursing informatics combines nursing with communications, technology and data and computer science, allowing nurses to write the computer programs and build out the systems RNs use to process patient data and improve health outcomes.
More information on informatics nursing.
Legal Nurse Consultant
Legal nurse consultants work directly with lawyers and law practices, offering expert knowledge about medical issues for use in legal cases.
A legal nurse consultant often helps bridge gaps between medical science, patient outcomes and the legal system. Nurses interested in legal nurse consultation may find themselves working in law firms, at insurance companies or as independent consultants.
More information on legal nurse consultants.
Forensic Nurse
If you’re interested in using your nursing skills to use helping law enforcement solve crimes, consider forensic nursing.
Forensic nurses assist law enforcement officers in collecting evidence. They also work with coroners in determining cause of death, can be called on to testify in criminal trials and provide care to crime victims.
To begin your job search in this unique field, Nurse.org recommends checking with your local city and county law enforcement agencies or speaking with city leaders about adding forensic nursing to your local police department.
More information on becoming a forensic nurse.
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