While there are a lot of benefits to becoming a nurse, you need to make sure that you are able to find the right career that will give you the best benefits, the best pay, and the most reward for your talents and skills.
The long hours, poor management, and poor benefits can be just some of the reasons that a nurse professional will choose to leave their job and look for a high-paying alternative to give them some of the satisfaction that they need. And there are many careers that will work just well for these professionals. Some of the top career change options for nurses include:
Nurse Education
As an RN, you already know how the field of nursing works. You have all the hands-on experience. With just a little more training, you could take a role as a nurse educator and spend your time continuing the education that the healthcare industry needs the most.
Your BSN and a few years of nursing could be enough in some places. But you will increase your chances more if you are willing to earn a graduate certificate or an MSN. These professionals also need to have a nursing license that is valid to do this career.
Nurse educators are valuable because they take charge of ensuring that caregivers and nursing staff will get the education that they need. They can work with the administrators of the hospital to develop evaluations and some of the best in continuing education for the staff. They can also work in a nursing school to help educate the next generation of nurses. They have the information and can guide students on their nursing journey. They can for instance let their students know about the Osmosis app on App Store and inform them about the benefits of using online tools.
Social Worker
When you choose a career as a social worker, you get to spend time working with a number of different people. This may include:
- People who were formerly incarcerated
- Those with a severe illness
- Low-income individuals
- Those with substance use disorders
- Elderly
Your goal will be to give them advice and connect them with some of the services they need to see improvements in their lives. Social workers may work with other healthcare providers as necessary and can communicate on behalf of the client as well. Many can get into this field with just some experience and a bachelor’s degree, though a master’s can help.
Clinical Manager
A clinical manager will work in a medical office or a clinic. They will have the authority to help manage some of the treatment strategies that are used for patients from day to day. They need to ensure that the scheduling and care is done in the most effective way. They may also go by the title of departmental managers in larger facilities.
A clinical manager is responsible for scheduling and making sure that the department will run smoothly. They may coordinate with the doctors to meet the needs of the patients. They can arrange for the purchase of needed supplies. The best benefit is that they can work regular business hours, which is a nice break for many nurses.
Director of Case Management
Directors of Case management are often going to need at least a bachelor’s degree to do their job and will be either a registered nurse or a licensed social worker. The similarity in educational requirements to do this job can be one of the biggest appeals for a nurse who would like to make a major career change.
Directors of case management will make sure that all of the patients at the facility are getting the best quality of care. They can manage other case managers and provide feedback and guidance on the care offered. They may develop more policies and procedures to improve the experience for the patient and can oversee the budget as well.
Clinical Document Specialist
These professionals are going to help healthcare facilities when it comes to their recordkeeping. They will ensure that the primary healthcare provider will have access to the information necessary to treat all patients. clinical documentation specialists will work for larger facilities that tend to have a huge amount of records.
These specialists need to not only handle records, but must also understand the rules concerning HIPAA and other regulations about the privacy of medical records. They need strong computer skills to help work through databases. A healthcare background or an IT background can help make this job a little easier for the professional who takes it.
Nursing Quality Improvement Coordinator
These professionals will often work in hospitals, though there are times when they may need to work in other types of facilities. Their goal is to perform quality audits and make sure that the nurses there will adhere to the standards related to keeping medical records to keep the patient safe.
This job is often going to require that the professional has a BSN and an RN license. Having five or more years of experience in nursing can help as well. These professionals may have to work odd hours, which can be a drawback of choosing this job over one of the others on the list.
These professionals may have to spend some time responding to complaints about quality and they can do periodic reviews to ensure that necessary standards are met. They can document and investigate complaints, compile quality improvement reports, and develop corrective action plans for the healthcare facility if it is necessary.
Choosing the Right Career for You
There are many great career options for nurses, ones that allow them to help out the patient and do something good in the world. When a nurse is tired of the long hours and hard work, they may look for a career change.
As a nurse, you can choose the right career choice that will help you get ahead. Whether you move into a better position doing the same work or you would like to find a new career that values your skills and takes care of you, there are lots of options available. Take a look at the high-paying career change options above to find the right one for you.
