desk job with flexible scheduling?

[srleslie]

Is there such a thing as a desk job for a RN (or a job that is light duty) with flexible scheduling? Acute care has burned me out and I have many health issues that make working three 12-hour shifts a week painful and challenging. I still have two years left to become an APN - this is where acute care helps because my schedule is flexible and my supervisor works around my school schedule. I'm off work due to knee and arm surgery until April, and honestly, I dread going back to work on the floor. I've also had zero back pain (cervical and lumbar degenerative discs) since I've been off work on STD, which tells me that being on my feet for 12 hours and moving heavy patients are contributing to that problem. I can't work a full-time Monday through Friday job because of school so I feel my options are limited. Two years seems like a long time, so if any of you have some ideas, please share. Thanks.

[evolvingrn, BSN, RN]

Phone triage?

[ChrissyRN74]

You might want to look into research nursing.

[srleslie]

What exactly is research nursing?

[roser13, ASN, RN]

As I think about it, it seems to me that most desk jobs for RN's consist of at least some phone responsibility - someone must be in the designated place at the designated time to answer the phone. That would limit flexibility, I would think.

How about looking for a position that allows job-sharing?

[netglow, ASN, RN]

Office Pediatrics or Allergy - I've seen ads for these ramping up for their busy seasons with part time work. Peds - late fall (sick season), Allergists (now). Some are not too straight up about stuff, so you have to get it in writing as to what your availability would be to them, etc.

[ChrissyRN74]

I'm sorry my reply is late. Have been working past few night. As for your question of what is a research nurse is they run clinical trials. Some are drug trials some are diagnostic test trials, etc. They are run by drug companies through a hospital or doctors office. There is a whole section here on AN about research nursing. I did it for a little while and while it was a great job with basically office hours it is a lot of paper work with some patient interaction. Not nearly as much interaction as acute care and that was what I really missed and why I switched. If you have anymore questions PM me and I will be happy to answer them for you. Good luck!

[WindyCDE]

I have Fibromyalgia and I work from home and decide my own hours. I realize my work situation is unusal (and believe me, I am grateful every day), but perhaps my suggestions will help you in your brainstorming efforts. I work as a diabetes educator, mostly writing education materials for both patients and staff at various hospitals and offices, but I also do contract work auditing charts, setting up in-office patient management protocols and troubleshooting for doctors who want better health outcomes for their diabetic clients. I also write health related articles on demand for newsletters, websites, and so on, and lastly, I am certified as a health coach and do phone-based and web-based weekly counseling with 10-15 private clients per month. It's a pretty good living and the hours can't be beat. I'm able to schedule my work around the unpredictability of Fibromyalgia and having more flexibility for self care actually improves my functional capacity quite a bit. I can take "mental health days" when needed, as long as I figure in enough time to meet my writing deadlines and don't have a standing appointment with the folks I coach.

I don't really know if there's a career pathway to get to where I am-it's pretty eclectic- but I can suggest that you produce some writing samples of nursing/health topic near and dear to your heart (it's easiest to write what you know), consider becoming ANCC board-certified in your specialty area, and don't be afraid to go out market yourself as a skilled, passionate healthcare leader every chance you get. Network, baby! It's not just for shmooze artists!

I wish you the best success,

~Windy