Hello everyone,

First, i wanted to say thank you for anyone willing to read and comment on this post. I am new to this community, however, I have been checking this site for years for guidance and direction. So here it is.....

I am currently 28 years old, have my BSN, RN, CEN, and a few other certs. I have three years of nursing experience in ICU/Trauma/ER. All the hospitals I have worked at are level 1 trauma centers in Center City Philadelphia with high acuity, so I have received some quality clinical experience. So here is my issue.....

I just can't find it in me to continue working at the bedside anymore (yeah i know another one of these posts) I am burned out, less passionate, exhausted, and just out right over it (which im sure everyone here is SO SICK OF HEARING!)

So my question for everyone is where do I go from here. I want to go back to school and believe the time is near, however, I do not want to do direct patient care or bedside nursing anymore. I already know that i do not want to pursue NP, CRNA, PA, etc. Options that I am considering are programs like MBA, MSN, MHA, etc. Salary for my new career path is my main concern and focus. Basically, as long as I am not at the bedside anymore, I am looking for new career paths that will pay me the most money, with the most growth and advancement.

So does anyone have any recommendations for me? I have come to the conclusion that grad school is a sole factor to increasing salary, but anyones opinions or advice or invaluable for me. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and I hope to hear back from some of you wonderful people!

Grad school also costs money, and unless you have a plan that leads to a higher paying job, you might not recoup the costs.

A background like yours would be great for the organ transplant procurement service. The job is not bedside, and the hours are long and unpredictable, but all the people I have dealt with love their job.

When new medical equipment like new dialysis machines are introduced, the equipment instructors are often RNs.

When our hospital went to EPIC for our electronic medical records, all the trainers for the nurses were our fellow nurses. Nursing informatics is a popular area too.

Have you considered case management. It usually doesn't require a masters and you get away from the bedside. I doubt the pay bump would be significant but the hours are usually 8-5 or 12 hour shift. Organ procurement like the previous poster suggested is a good idea. If your set on grad school what about a masters in education. Some schools hire adjunt clinical instructors with only a bsn. Most hospitals have hire nurse educators. My hospital only requires a bachelor's but some especially magnet facilities will want a master's. How do you feel about dialysis nursing at a place like davita its not technically bedside and is probably less stressful. They would jump at someone with your experience.

Apply to a few management positions and see how you like the work before you apply to grad school for MBA or MHA.

MPH? Clinical research?

MPH? Clinical research?

These positions, while rewarding, are not high paying.

These positions, while rewarding, are not high paying.

I would say it all depends.

The advanced degree would definitely help the acquiring of an advanced position which is traditionally where the $ is. But my sister was in real clinical research (not the bedside nurse kind). She was CRA dealing with FDA drug reviews for contracted researchers doing the drug trials for BIG Pharm.

While I made decent money, she was making BIG money with stock options & IPOs. She needed a passport for her international travels. And that was some years ago.

Recruiting headhunters were always calling her. And her networking circle was in touch. Lots of opp'ty there.