8 Jobs For Nurses Who Don’t Want To Be Nurses Anymore (2022)

by Sarah Jividen | Nov 21, 2019 | Nurse Career, Nurse Life

Once a nurse, always a nurse. But what if you have concluded that you don’t want to work as a nurse anymore?

Even though you don’t want to practice nursing at the bedside anymore, it doesn’t mean that you lose the RN title after your name.

After all, you struggled through nursing school. You worked your tail off as a new grad to learn challenging nursing skills alongside your peers.

You may have already spent many years in the profession, working on several different units while adding new specialties and certifications to your resume along the way.

Most importantly, you have helped humankind and even saved lives.

But now you are starting to feel it’s time to move on. And it really shouldn’t be a surprise  – nurses are burning out at a rate unparalleled to any other profession.

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For me, it started after having my children and realizing that I wanted more flexibility in my life that a traditional nursing career can’t offer me at this time. I speak with mothers all the time who are looking for alternative ways to practice nursing so that they can be more present for their children at home…  and finally stop working 12-hour shifts!

My point is that you will always be an RN.   And the best part of being a nurse: your skills are highly transferable. There are many different ways to practice nursing…   What will your next nursing pathway be?

I don’t want to be a nurse anymore. What else can I do?

One aspect of the nursing profession appealed to me when I was considering becoming a nurse as a second career: flexibility. Nurses can take so many pathways outside of the hospital setting. Now it’s time to take those critical thinking skills and apply them in a new direction!

After all, nurses are lifelong learners by nature. Taking on a new job away from the bedside can be exciting. Where will you end up next? Have you ever considered looking for a way to use your nursing degree working for a corporation or as a nurse entrepreneur?

If the answer is YES, you may be ready to embark on a new nursing career journey. It is time to open up your mind to new nursing jobs away from the bedside.

8 Awesome Nursing Jobs Away From The Bedside

#1. Medical Device Sales Representative

Alternative nurse job #1: medical device salesperson

Medical device sales representatives are sales experts who sell medical equipment to hospitals, surgery centers, or physician offices. Their job is to detail their products’ unique features and benefits and work as a liaison between the device company and the client.

Many medical device sales representatives spend time in hospital operating rooms teaching physicians and staff how to use their company’s products. However, many sales reps sell products directly to hospital units as well.

If you have an outgoing personality, a bulldog attitude, and enjoy meeting hospital and office staff around your city, this may be an excellent fit for you! It’s a lot of hard work- but medical device reps often make a high salary to match the stress.

Also, many medical device companies hire “clinical nurse specialists” to work as educators for specific products. CNSs travel to business accounts and do in-services. That is a great way to get your foot in the door as a medical device sales representative when you have a clinical background as a nurse.

How to get a job in medical device sales:

• MedReps
• Work with a medical device headhunter
• Network on Linkedin
• Polish up your resume and upload it online to job boards

#2. Pharmaceutical Sales Representative

Alternative nurse job #2: pharmaceutical sales representative

Pharmaceutical sales is very similar to medical device sales. However, pharmaceutical reps sell drugs, not devices. (Although some companies have reps that sell both). Pharma reps provide drug information and product samples to physicians. Also, pharmaceutical reps monitor physicians’ prescribing patterns within a specific geographical territory.

Pharma reps go door-to-door and meet physicians who work in specialties that may be interested in prescribing their products. For example, a drug rep who sells a medication for atrial fibrillation would focus on selling drugs to cardiologists.

#3. Nurse Freelance Writer

Alternative nurse jobs #3: nurse freelance writer

Do you enjoy writing? Nurse freelance writers write about healthcare topics and work on a self-employed basis. Most nurse freelance writers are independent business owners who manage their work right out of their own homes.

As a freelancer, your clients hire you to write articles, and you are generally paid per writing assignment or a group of writing assignments. Nurse freelance writers often have clients with recurring projects that they pay for per diem.

There are many different types of nurse freelance writing, depending on what you want to do, such as:

• Ghostwriter-  write under a client’s name (not your name) for blog posts, eBooks, or webpages.
• Freelance blogger-  write blog posts for other healthcare bloggers.
• Content writer-  write for various websites and online magazines.

How to be a nurse freelance writer:

• The Savvy Scribe Podcast:  One way to start as a beginner nurse freelance writer is to learn from other nurses who have made the transition. Listening to the Savvy Scribe podcast with Janine Kelback and Carol Bush is a great way to learn how to be a nurse freelance writer when you already have a busy schedule.

Additional recommended reading:  5 Non-Bedside Nurse Jobs Your May Not Know About 

#4. Nurse Blogger

Alternative nurse job #4: nurse blogger

Nurse bloggers generally create and manage a website with a specific nursing niche they write about. For example, I am a nurse mom blogger who writes about working mom & nurse lifestyle topics – things I have directly dealt with myself as a working mother. Over time you can grow an audience interested in the topics you like to write about.

Advertising, affiliate links, and creating & selling products are a few ways that bloggers make money. In general, bloggers have to start their work as a side hustle for many months or years before making an income. It’s more of a long game – you can start it as a side hustle or work as a per-diem nurse until you get things moving along.

How to be a nurse blogger:

Health Media Academy:  Health Media Academy is managed by two very experienced nurse influencers:  Brittany Wilson and Kati Kleber. They help nurses harness the power of social media, blogging, and other methods of online influence to create an audience of your own as a nurse blogger.

In addition to influencing positive change on the healthcare blogging front, Health Media Academy aims to promote wealth-building strategies and business focus for healthcare influencers while maintaining their profession’s dignity and integrity. Check out their nurse Blogger 101 course!

#5. Legal Nurse Consultant

Alternative nurse job #5: legal nurse consultant

#6. Lactation Consultant

Alternative nurse job #6: lactation consultant

If you believe that breastfeeding is an essential start to babies’ life and want to help develop the bond between mothers and babies, then becoming a lactation consultant might be a great next career step for you! Especially if you have had your own experiences with breastfeeding and want to share both your clinical knowledge and personal experience as a breastfeeding mother. Breastfeeding can be a highly personal and emotional experience – helping a new baby get a positive start in life could be a fulfilling and exciting career.

What a lactation consultant does:

• Helps mom and baby develop a healthy bond
• Shows mom what a good latch looks like
• Helps position the baby correctly for feeding
• Performs weight checks with the baby to assess sufficient intake
• Offers emotional support to breastfeeding mothers

Lactation consultant’s work can work in hospitals, for private businesses, and even for themselves. They do both individual appointments and classes for larger groups.

#7. Nurse Health Coach

Alternative nurse job #7: nurse health coach

Nurse health coaches can actualize their patient’s healthcare goals outside of the hospital setting by helping them develop the healthiest version of themselves. By teaching patients how to take optimal care of themselves and holding them accountable, the nurse health coach can inspire clients to achieve even greater results.

Nurse health coaches work with patients to provide guidance and resources to assist their patients in living a more healthy and balanced lifestyle. In terms of nursing experience, nurse health coaches generally have many years of direct patient care in the hospital setting and have the desire to have a more direct and positive health impact on their patient’s lives.

Many nurse health coaches are entrepreneurs who work in private practice, although some hospitals and doctor’s offices hire nurse health coaches as well. According to some surveys, nurse coaches can earn similar or even more income than they do working in hospitals.

• Understanding their patients’ unique healthcare dynamics
• Holding patients accountable for their pre-established goals
• Assessing patients’ readiness for change
• Identifying client opportunities and issues for improved health
• Identifying and setting goals to achieve optimal health
• Empowering patients to reach their goals

In addition, nurse health coaches can decrease healthcare spending by:

• Helping insurance companies reduce the cost of disease management, and
• Assisting patients to improve their overall health and well-being by decreasing the incidence of chronic illness and the healthcare costs associated with them

Resources to become a nurse health coach:

• Jessica Smith, Life Coach for nurses at Jessica Smith RN Coach 
• Donnie Alvarenga, Health People, Inc.

#8. Nurse Recruiter

Alternative nurse jobs #8: nurse recruiter

You don’t need to be a nurse to become a nurse recruiter. However, most employers prefer working with candidates with a nursing background. In fact, experienced nurses may have more career opportunities in this field than those without prior nursing experience. This is because nurses already understand the qualities needed to be a successful nurse.

Some of the roles of nurse recruiters include: 

• Marketing- It is the nurse recruiter’s job to find great nurse candidates to hire for the company. This may include attending professional conferences, designing and implementing media advertising campaigns, attending job fairs, and developing relationships with student work advisers.
• Interviewing – Screening candidates, setting up interviews, and performing telephone interviews
• Collaborating with departments to fill job vacancies quickly

Additional recommended reading: 

• Alternative Nursing:  Unique Careers Within Nursing
• Nurse Health: Self Care For 12 Hour Shifts
• How Adopting A New Specialty Reignited My Passion For Nursing
• 3 Reasons Why Nurses Quit