Given that nursing is my background and primary career, I had to share some nursing jobs that people may never have considered. Nursing is such a rewarding career and it honestly has thousands of avenues you can take, that I feel it is important to help nurses realize that bedside isn’t where you have to to start and end. The options are endless and the ones I will list below are all jobs I have come across personally and thought they would be great opportunities.
- Cardiac Device Nurse – I HAD to share this one, because this my new role and I freaking love it. Essentially in this role, I interrogate pacemakers, but there is so much more to it than what you are taught in nursing school. It is extremely specific and niche, but I have found it to be fascinating. The level of technology that pacemakers and ICDs contain is baffling and it is obvious that sky is the limit.
- Rep from a product developer – I came across this while working in the cardiac device clinic. This position would essential be a representative for a a company that develops some sort of tool or device that physicians utilize in patient care. For example, you can represent a stent company, pacemaker company, device company, or even a medication manufacturer. Representatives are not be hired directly by the hospital, but will be present within hospitals to teach staff how to use their product most effectively and efficiently. I like this type of position because it allows for upward mobility which is something that can be difficult when you are working in a hospital setting. Also, once hired for a company like this, you can typically move within it to represent different products. For example, a company that may develop stents for heart attacks, may also develop knee replacements. There is typically travel involved in that you will most likely be assigned a region. You may also have to take call, but that will vary on product you represent.
- School Nurse – I feel like this is a position that is underrated and undervalued. All schools need a nurse. Some systems may hire a nurse to cover multiple locations, while others may hire one specifically for one school. I love this position though because you are typically contracted by a company either than the school so the pay is fairly good, you are working the hours of your children (if you have them), so you won’t miss events and things, and in some cases you get all of the time off that students get off. This will be school dependent but regardless you are guaranteed weekends and holidays and any other time schools are closed. People I know that are school nurses love the work they do. They know their kids, they get to help them, and you have a lot of work flexibility which is important.
- Cruise ship nurse – I actually stumbled across this one from one of my sisters’ sister-in-laws (hope that makes sense). She has actually been a cruise ship nurse for quite some time and absolutely loves it. Not only do you get to travel the world, but the care can be anything from a cut on a finger to a heart attack. You truly need to know all systems in order to do this job, which is why I find it appealing. I love anything that provides a good challenge. From what I was told, their work is very autonomous in that they can actually prescribe medications and everything, but this also means that you may be running the unit solo. You do have to contract out for a set amount of time for this position, but I think if this worked for your life, it would be an amazing opportunity.
- Patient Navigator – I actually applied to a navigator position when I was beginning to transition. I love these types of positions because their primary purpose is to support patients and their families in as many facets possible. A lot of the purpose is revolved around education, but I feel that in doing this type of work, you would really form a strong bond with the patients you work with. This title is fairly vague in that you can be a navigator in many different ways. Some involve educating patients on their diagnoses and how to prevent re-admittance, while others involve helping walk families through the process of surgery on their child. It is truly job position dependent, but I feel it would extremely interesting and rewarding.
I hope you found this post interesting and if you are interested in more random jobs, leave a comment below!
xxoo,
Melissa
