[melissar121]

Can someone tell me some other career options for a nurse besides bedside care, for someone who is more scientifically driven.
thanks for your help!!

[TheCommuter]

You can work in medical research if you have your RN-BSN.

[jjjoy]

While there are non-beside RN-BSN jobs, there aren't that many and most of them want RNs because they want the clinical experience and expertise, not just the educational background that nursing school provides. Thus, most "research nurse" positions require some clinical experience. Some nurses work in "research coordinator" positions but these types of positions aren't limited to licensed personned so you don't need a RN-BSN for such positions.

There are some nurses (not too many) who strictly do "lab research" but again, for this type of research, a nursing degree isn't mandatory. Think of it this way, you don't have to go to medical school to research medical issues and it's the same with nursing.

Nursing is predominantly a "practice" field. It's kind of like teaching or social work in that respect. The science of these fields is often approached through other fields such as the social sciences, the psychological sciences or - in the case of nursing - the medical sciences.

This is my impression as a person who has always enjoyed the sciences. I'd love to hear what others may have to say. Anyone else of a scientific bent have comments?

[gt4everpn]

Well you asked the right person, Did you know there are over 90 career options for nurses! Wow- go to discovernursing.com for career options and testimonies from nurses in those fields, it helped me to see beyond beside nursing. I am very scientific as well and I aspire to be a Clinical Nurse Specialist(CNS) they do research, among other things. Good Luck to you!

[Daytonite]

Here's that page on Discover Nursing with the different nursing careers:
http://www.discovernursing.com/nursing-careers - list of nursing specialties

The one area of nursing that popped up in my mind was psych nursing and nursing in the area of substance abuse and detox programs. These nurses, while they still work with patients and give medications, are treating behavioral problems. When I worked for the VA, we had nurses who clamored for any nursing positions in the research department when they opened up. Most VA hospitals around the country also have large research departments.

Also, with a Bachelor's degree along with a RN license you can pretty much get a lot of jobs. Many other businesses recognize the value of a nurses training that contributes toward their capabilities to perform as managers and supervisors in other businesses. I worked with an RN/BSN who really didn't like working with patients as much as she thought she would. She went on to work for a lawyer reviewing charts of prospective clients to see if there was any grounds for malpractice before he would take on a case, worked for a very famous manufacturer of hospital beds as a representative and instructor who went to the facilities that bought the beds teaching the staff how the new beds their facility had purchased worked (inservicing), and for a medical billing company reviewing charts to make sure the hospital billers hadn't overcharged for any services (if it isn't charted, it wasn't done--and they can't bill for it either) saving insurance companies that employed them thousands of dollars. She found these jobs through employment agencies that specialize in finding jobs for professional white collar workers (head hunters). Other nursing related careers are nurse informatics for the computer literate geeks and something I am doing because my back has died and I can't do the required standing to work in clinical nursing anymore--health information management (used to be called medical records).

http://nursing.about.com/od/nursingshortage/a/transferskills.htm - "Nurses Skills Transfer to Other Professions". A list of 8 basic job skills that nurses are able to perform making them desirable for hire in many other professions.

[Skrawberri]

ER nurse?

[pagandeva2000]

I say research nurse, also.

[jemommyRN]

I would say forensic nurse.