There are many careers in nursing that don’t require you to do bedside care and hospital work. Each position in nursing is unique and plays an important role in patient care. You may be great at patient care, but you may find there are many other areas in nursing that suit you. There are a variety of non-clinical nursing careers and job options available for those who don’t want to be limited to the hospital as a nurse. You can even create your own consulting service, nursing agency or work from home.
Reasons for Working in Non-Clinical Nursing
- Nursing can be very demanding work. Clinical nursing work at times can be physically, mentally and emotionally challenging. One of the main reasons nurses leave the patient care setting is mental and physical stress. There are plenty of other areas in nursing that do not involve direct patient care and are much less demanding.
- Nurses can experience burnout. Nursing care can become repetitive and boring, especially if hospital based. Some people may want to leave the confines of the hospital and exercise their creative mind in other, non-hospital based fields that they are passionate about.
- Expand your knowledge of other areas. Some nurses want to experience as many healthcare settings as possible leading up to possible administrative nursing later on. Once you have gained one to two years of experience in acute care, you can rotate to other healthcare settings and then move on to another. This will broaden your knowledge of the entire healthcare field preparing you for advancement in the future. One way to do this is through a nursing registry; you can take a skills assessment test and be sent out on new and exciting nursing assignments.
Non-Clinical Nursing Jobs and Their Requirements
If you have clinical experience in a variety of settings, you will find that you can easily adapt to a lot of different types of jobs in the field of health care. Once you begin practicing nursing, most non-clinical areas will require you to have one to two years of experience in an acute care setting, such as hospital, long term care unit or rehabilitation center. Once you have completed your floor experience you can easily transfer to a number of different positions. Here are some examples of non-clinical nursing positions:
- Case Management – This position is usually on the hospital floor, but this nurse does not provide direct patient care. Case managers are responsible for reviewing patient cases and assisting with directing their day-to-day care. They work with doctors, insurance companies and other outside agencies to make sure the patient receives adequate care. This usually requires two years experience in case management and/or case management certification. Case manager salaries range from $55,000 a year and up.
- Quality Improvement – These nurses review medical records to find areas that can be improved. They watch for trends in certain diagnoses, monitor infection rates, incident reports and pain management. Nurses need to have good analytical and communication skills. For this position, a bachelor’s degree or higher is preferred. Annual quality improvement salaries range from $45,000 to $89,000.
- Health Information Technology (HIT) – These nurses audit medical records for errors and return them to the writer for correction. They are also responsible for making sure that all orders from physicians are correct and call them for clarification. This does not usually require higher education or training. Nurses need to have floor experience, experience with charting and reading physician orders and knowledge of computers. Health information technology nurses’ salaries average $98,000 more or less depending on the area and job responsibilities.
- Legal Consultant – Nurses assist with gathering evidence in malpractice cases, reviewing the case and serving as an “expert witness” when the case goes to trial. You can provide your skills and expertise in the gathering of data and evidence, as well as the resolution of legal cases. Your background in nursing will allow you to provide analysis of data and give medical expert testimony. It requires one to two years of experience in the field and a good knowledge of medical law. You can get certification, but it is not required. Nurse legal consultant rates start at $125 an hour.
- Health Education – A nurse educator teaches about disease processes to patients in an outpatient setting, for example a diabetic educator, an educator instructing about respiratory equipment and nurse educators in many specialized disease clinics. You may also teach nursing courses in a nursing or adult school and one time continuing education classes in a hospital classroom. The different degrees and experience needed depend on the teaching position you are looking at. For example, a diabetic educator requires a bachelor’s degree, but a Certified Nursing Assistant instructor only needs to be an LVN or higher with experience in the field. Health educators make $35,000 and up.
- Patient Advocate – A patient advocate facilitates communication between patients and their doctors or other medical providers. Patient advocates are also employed by major insurance companies and are involved in reviewing medical records and comparing them with claims for payment. Direct patient care and hospital floor nursing is important in this position, as these nurses understand the patients’ needs and how the healthcare system works. This position requires good communication skills and experience in direct patient care. It requires one to two years of experience and most insurance companies have classes to train nurses on this process. The salary for this position is $50,000 and up.
- Medical Writer - If you choose to become a medical writer, you can assist in the dissemination of information from the health care specialists and experts to patients. You can also assist in writing medical examinations and teaching materials for medical schools. Medical writers should have a good working knowledge of diseases and treatments, good English and grammar skills, and be able to type. Working with medical terminology is important, as well. Medical writer salaries start low at $35,000 but can go as high as $65,000.
Upper Level and Management Positions
Nurses with a number of years of experience may easily transition from the front lines of health care nursing jobs to administrative work. As a health care executive or administrator, you can assume the title of the Chief Nursing Officer, Director of Nursing (DON) or Director of Clinical Services (DOCS). These positions usually require a number of years experience in a variety of clinical settings, bachelor’s or master’s degrees and excellent supervisory skills. Administrative nursing salaries start at around $100,000 and go as high as $200,000 a year.
The opportunities in the field of non-clinical nursing are endless. You can enjoy many rewards while working in a nursing career and, regardless of what area you choose to enter; you will be helping those who are ill achieve the best quality of life possible.