Non-clinical nursing - What is out there?

[Sarah27]

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i was three years into nursing school when i knew that clinical nursing was not for me. now, i have been out of school a year and my only job has been at a holistic health clinic doing mostly medical assistant type work. i really enjoyed parts of it, mostly what they practiced, but the rest was just the typical stress and b.s. that comes with working other women and in a health care environment so i quit for my own sanity. now, i can't find any other work here doing holistic care and until i move to california next year i don't have many options. i refuse to do hospital nursing as it goes against my morals and i don't like the negative environment. so, my question is what types of non-clinical nursing jobs are out there that don't require much more college. i am already swimming in student loans and don't want to add much more to that. but i would really like to be able to use my degree and do something i love everyday. any advice would be greatly appreciated. :)

[happy2learn]

I decided to fork over the $$$ for a Premium Membership just so I could have unlimited powers of editing! Oh yes and because I support allnurses as a wonderful resource for the the nursing community that is over 434,620 strong!

Really?? Hmmm...... might have to do that. Lol

[Noelani]

I think she's talking about a "Meals on Wheels:)" business. You don't have to be a dietician to do that.

Sarah27

I wish I still lived in Boulder, CO! It's Alternative Therapy Central and home of the "free birth" movement. The freebie directories in the newsstands have a staggering number of specialty certifications. There is a university there called Naropa which teaches predominantly Buddhist principles but with a broad philosophical focus. Their catalogue could spark your imagination, at the least, and they offer distance learning.

Buddhist Inspired Contemplative Education - Naropa University, Boulder, Colorado

It sparked my imagination! Thanks!

[cnmbfa]

To get a school nurse job, you need a BSN, and must be pretty much cream of the crop with extensive Peds experience, so that is out.

A DON or administrator, even astaffing coordinator, will probably also be out because of you won't understand the issues if your haven't practiced. You would not make a credible nursing instructor, and almost all faculty get hired in first as clincial isntructors; you alos need a Masters to teach. Staff educator also requires expertise gained on the job and at least a BSN. Research nurse also requires a BSN. Same for case management and public health, which also want several years of inpatient experience.

If you have excellent writing and researach skills you might right for $$ for some websites, but that is a long shot. Only other thing I can think of is doing insurance physicals.

[txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN]

my school district has lvn's district wide with one rn in charge. its not just my district either there are ads in the paper for lvn's at other districts....so i guess this is geographical.

to get a school nurse job, you need a bsn, and must be pretty much cream of the crop with extensive peds experience, so that is out. .

[cnmbfa]

Interesting. That's not the case here.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

What about case management? I have also seen ads for BSN educated nurse instructors to teach the Health Care Aide course, or PSW, or whatever you call it there.

[holistic14u]

I just wanted to say how much I agree with you on so many points. I am currently in nursing school & doing clinical rotations; I am the non-typical student; I am 40+ and have many years experience as a business owner of a medical supply company which I sold 3 years ago - and like you, I have a strong aversion to much of what goes on in traditional health care. My passion for pursuing a degree in nursing is to one day work as an NP in integrative & holistic medicine. The academic clinical experience has certainly underscored my aversion to the hospital system, e.g. namely the overuse of medications. Patient's I've cared for thus far are on an average of 42-56 meds in the hospital, & most of these are not conversion meds. Also, one week a certain narcotic is the drug of choice being prescribed by all the docs, & the next week it's something else - I'm sure Big Pharma revels in the millions that hospitals & nursing homes generate for them. It literally makes me sick & is hard to watch these precious people wonder why they're not getting better when in reality it is all the meds they're on. I've only heard one physician (a specialist) communicate to a patient that they needed to find a PCP when they were discharged who would work with them to at least d/c half or more of the meds they're on. There is a very strong push to medicate people too, & I've noticed that nurses do not like it when a patient rejects meds - I've even seen them get borderline hostile about it. My thinking is that all humans should be treated with dignity, & we all have (or should have) control of what goes into our body. There is a cash cow situation going on here, & nobody is doing anything about it.

I praise the person who initiated this posting because it is honorable to express the desire to use your nursing degree in God's healing ministry in a way that it should. There is more to caring for & helping heal the mind, body, & spirit of a patient than serving as a pill-fairy for the pharmaceutical companies.

[elljayo]

there are more and more "integrative medicine" medical clinics cropping up in my area - practices and agencies that try to integrate traditional western approaches with nutrition, nutritional testing, testing for toxis, molds, food sensitivities, allergies, heavy metals, etc. etc.... and treatment with more than just medications, but nutritional supplementation, DO, acupuncture, massage, and the like. not quite purely holistic but a much more comprehensive approach than traditional western doctors and hospitals, and you still need your credentials. their benefit is they find a balance point between both philosophies and many if not most of their services are still billable to insurance and therefore affordable and accessible to more clients. they are, in my experience, much more client-based and may match your personal moral code more accurately. look for "integrative" or "functional medicine" clinics and practices. could be psychiatric as well as purely medical.

[Nei77, MSN]

Hi, Sarah, I know this post is old. Like you I do not believe in western medicine practices and I have been a nurse for 3 years working in a hospital. Even though I do not believe in western medicine. I believe this is where nursing comes in place. We are the ones that make the patients comfortable, we can help address their concerns and work in the spiritual sense more than the medicinal if that makes sense. I work at an outpatient procedure center, but I had a patient that needed to stay for more than 6 hours. His wife was very tired sitting in our chairs. I got her a recliner, a pillow and a warm blanket. That is not medicine. That is all it took for the patient and family to be happy, my patient eve hugged me. On another note, I do health coaching for another company, and I really enjoy that job. I go to big factories where people need basic health education: diabetes, HTN, DLE. It gives me great satisfaction when the patients learn about their chronic diseases and learn new diets, how to search the web for info, exercises, meal preparation, lifestyle changes. I now applied at another job at an allergy and asthma place. I know it sounds nuts, but my three jobs are PRN and honestly I looooove the variety of nursing. I like that place because even though is western medicine, it helps patients so much to live a normal life. Another thing you can do is get a certificate in Coding and Billing along with your RN I know there are places hiring. Le me know what you ended up doing.