If you want to help people as a nurse but are looking for options that allow you to work primarily away from patients’ bedsides, you can pursue one of many other nursing specialties that take you outside of that traditional setting. Read on to learn about 21 non-bedside nursing positions to discover your potential dream job.
1. Research Nurse
As a research nurse, you perform clinical research for medical and scientific teams with the goals of improving healthcare and developing or discovering new treatments. You may also play an active role in screening participants for clinical trials and collecting relevant data.
2. Nurse Writer
If you enjoy writing and sharing health-related information with others, consider becoming a nurse writer. You can write blogs and articles for medical websites or write educational materials for nurses and other healthcare professionals.
3. Telehealth Nurse
Becoming a telehealth nurse allows you to continue caring for patients and educating them about their health. However, instead of fulfilling your nursing role at patients’ bedsides, you do it remotely by video or telephone.
4. Infection Control Nurse
As an infection control nurse, your primary duties revolve around preventing infectious diseases from spreading in healthcare settings. You educate other medical workers about ways to prevent and reduce infections, and you may notify agencies such as the CDC when outbreaks occur.
5. Flight Nurse
As a flight nurse, you still technically care for patients at their bedsides, except you do so on emergency-transport aircraft like helicopters or airplanes while en route to a medical facility. Your workspace is far smaller than that at a hospital, and you’ll likely perform urgent care.
6. School Nurse
Consider becoming a school nurse if you enjoy providing healthcare to children and teens in a school or college setting. Your job duties include providing preventive care, giving referrals, and contacting social services in situations in which parental abuse or neglect is suspected.
7. Forensic Nurse
Forensic nurses work mainly in legal settings to collect and present evidence in the courtroom and to care for victims of violent crimes. As a forensic nurse, you may also work directly with coroners to determine causes of death and collect evidence from deceased victims.
8. Public Health Nurse
As a public health nurse, you serve as an advocate to prevent disease and improve the health of people in your community. Some of your duties may include spreading awareness about health issues that affect your community members and overseeing local vaccination programs.
9. Nurse Health Coach
A nurse health coach is responsible for educating people about the importance of staying healthy and helping them meet their personal health goals. You may also advise patients about how to modify their lifestyles to achieve better health.
10. Nursing Case Manager
As a nursing case manager, your primary role is to work with doctors to develop care plans for new patients. You also help patients and their families understand care plans.
11. Occupational Nurse
Occupational nurses typically work in corporate settings to help businesses promote safe and healthy workplaces. Depending on the industry you work in, you may care for employees who become injured on the job, oversee wellness programs, and/or investigate workplace injuries.
12. Cosmetic Nurse
As a cosmetic nurse, you work in medical day spas to perform services such as Botox injections, chemical peels, and other skincare treatments. You may also work alongside cosmetic surgeons who do facelift surgeries and similar procedures.
13. Operating Room Nurse
As an operating room nurse, you spend most of your time working alongside physicians as they perform surgical procedures. You may be responsible for cleaning surgical equipment, recording events that occur during surgery, and monitoring patients’ vitals after surgery.
14. Informatics Nurse
If you enjoy analytics and problem-solving, consider becoming an informatics nurse. This position requires you to study new technologies that can improve patient care and then present your findings to other healthcare professionals who can implement those technologies or practices into their care.
15. Nurse Educator
As a nurse educator, you work mostly in classroom settings educating aspiring nurses who are working toward their degrees. You also teach veteran nurses about new nursing techniques or technologies. You may also be responsible for developing nursing curriculums.
16. Mental Health Nurse
Mental health nurses work with behavioral health professionals to care for patients who have mental health disorders, substance use disorders, and other behavioral health conditions. Your job duties may involve working with psychologists to create treatment plans for patients and teaching patients new coping methods.
17. Legal Nurse Consultant
If you like the idea of working alongside lawyers, consider becoming a legal nurse consultant. This gives you the opportunity to share your medical knowledge and expertise with legal professionals. Lawyers and judicial workers may work with you to interpret medical paperwork and gain insight into how to handle medical-related court cases.
18. Nursing Home Administrator
As a nursing home administrator, you oversee the operations of a residential living facility or nursing home. You may also be responsible for hiring healthcare workers and delegating tasks among staff.
19. Correctional Nurse
Working as a correctional nurse requires you to care for inmates in prisons, county jails, and other correctional facilities. Your main role is to help inmates maintain their health.
20. Cruise Ship Nurse
Although working as a cruise ship nurse may still place you at bedsides, you’re caring for patients while they’re at sea on vacation. Your primary responsibility is to treat acute injuries and illnesses that affect passengers and/or cruise ship staff.
21. Certified Diabetes Educator
Diabetes affects an estimated 37.3 million people in the United States, or 11.3% of the population. As a certified diabetes educator, you educate patients and communities about causes and risk factors of diabetes and ways to prevent it.
The above 21 nursing careers are just some of the many that do not require you to work at a patient’s bedside. Nurses continue to be in high demand, so regardless of the type of nursing career you pursue, you’re bound to find a workplace that values both you and your skills.
Resource Links
- “Top 20 Non-Bedside Nursing Jobs” via Nurse.org
- “Diabetes Statistics” via Diabetes Research Institute Foundation