What is available to BSN, RN needing to leave bedside nursing due to physical limitations after surgery. Nine years of bedside in MedSurg, Inpatient Rehabilitation, orthopedics, and ICU.
As mentioned earlier, school nursing is an option; so is working in a college dispensary - an NP is not always needed there. A physician's office will not pay as well but is far less stressful than a hospital. Consider a group practice or an urgicenter. Also there may be diagnostic centers such as breast imaging or cardiac testng where an RN is fine . And think about teaching LPN and nurses aides which you may do with your RN. You would not necessarily need to be in the clinical area, but could teach in the classroom. Finally, if you are computer proficient, contct insurance comapnies about their on-call nurse lines for patients who have questions and need triaging. Good luck to you1 Please stay in nursing! We need you!
In 2024 there are tons of opportunities for nurses to do work that is not at the bedside. You have a lots of experience as outlined in your question. Do the research. Nurses are working in many capacities that are not bedside--especially with your background. Some of the opportunites are just off the top of my head: government, school nurse, case management, telephonic advise, remote work, case management, quality management, compliance, risk management, consultanting work. Check out www.elitecasemanagement. I can provide some guidance to you if you desire and if you mention that you saw this site on "Incredible Health", I will consult with you for free. I am passionate about helping my fellow nurses. I have worked in many capacities in my 40+ years of nursing and I love to mentor others. I am semi retired and passionate about sharing my expertise at this time in my life. Good luck----lots of opportunities out there for you.
Never Give Up!!!
Check out https://mypivotpath.com ! I left the bedside 3 years ago for a career in healthtech and now I help nurses pivot their career away from the bedside. You have more opportunities than you may think! You've developed some really strong soft skills through your experience at the bedside - those will serve you well in all kinds of different roles! You can also listen to the "Nursing Beyond the Bedside" podcast to hear all of the ways other nurses have pivoted their careers.
Corrections or behavioral health is not physically demanding. You would enjoy it.
I had the same issue after a torn rotator cuff ended my bedside career 20 years ago. You have a wide background and years of good experience, so case management (CM) would be a good fit. Check with the insurance companies many of them have work from home case manager positions. Also consider peritoneal dialysis (PD). Many dialysis companies will train you. PD is done at home by the patient. There will be some on call but most issues can be worked out on the phone. I loved working PD. As you work 1:1 with the patients for educating and meeting with the nephrologist. Of course there is aways home health, but some days you end up driving a lot of miles, and some of the neighborhoods you go into can be very frightening; however, I never had any problems. The paperwork loads is heavy and you end up spending a lot time doing paperwork at home. I worked in a hyperbaric clinic, the physical demands are low, but you have to do it exactly correct, because you can develop a gas embolus and end up with a stroke, or an artery blockage. I have 47 years as an RN, I decided after my rotator cuff surgery to get my MS in Nursing informatics. If you can get an MSN a lot of jobs open up that will have you sitting at a desk, as a manager or in my case as the hospital Informatics RN to assist working with various departments in developing studies, like: staffing, ICU utilization, treatment, outcomes, and doing ad hoc studies regarding ways to provide nurses with better support and staffing. I hope this helps. Thank you being a nurse and taking care of God's suffering children.
Blessings,
John Fields
start working on your master's in education. Education is a great place to go, especially with your experience. some facilities will hire you as long as you are enrolled and have an estimated completion date.
Kelsey@WholeLifeNurse
Kelsey Rowell
Find her on Instagram.
You should check into Care or Case Management or documentation review.
Occupational Health Nurse, Infection Control Nurse, Case Management Nurse, Our CPRU nurses have a light patient load. They only do 2-3 patients a day with 2-4 nurses. PreAdmit Testing Nurses, make phone calls to obtain patient information prior to surgery. Surgery Prep Nursing prepare patients for surgery. Just to name a few jobs which would be less stringent. Good Luck!
Case management from home or Director of Nursing in a correctional facility, or telemedicine
Depends on your physical limitations I have been in healthcare for 47 yrs
Remote RN positions such as in case management for major insurance carriers, or virtual RN advice nurse.
Look into paralegal. There are firms that are looking for medical personnel.
You could switch to School Nursing, although less pay, but less strenuous on the body and less stressful all around. I have a BSN in Nursing and found school nursing a lot less stressful and a lit more rewarding.
