Am I qualified for an at-home position?

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

You're looking to transition out of MDS (Minimum Data Set) and DON (Director of Nursing) positions and into something more remote where you can utilize your chart auditing and efficiency skills.

If you don't find a remote job right away, consider taking an office job to learn the specialty. Then, you will be well qualified for a remote position down the road. When learning a new job, there are definite advantages to having face-to-face coworkers and mentors.

With your skills and resume, several remote nursing jobs could be a good fit.

• Clinical Chart Auditor. This role would leverage that expertise since you're already skilled in auditing charts. Clinical auditors review medical records to ensure compliance with regulations and standards. Some companies, like hospitals and insurance companies, offer remote chart auditing positions.
• Medical Review. Medical review nurses work for insurance companies, reviewing clinical documentation to determine whether services provided were medically necessary and whether the claims are valid. These roles are typically remote and well-suited to your skill set in auditing and clinical knowledge.
• Utilization Review Nurse (URN). In this role, nurses review patient records and treatment plans to determine whether the care provided is appropriate, necessary, and covered under the patient's insurance plan. URNs often work remotely for insurance companies, healthcare facilities, or third-party review organizations.
• Health Information Management (HIM) involves managing medical records and ensuring that they're accurate and accessible. Nurses in this role might be responsible for reviewing records for completeness and compliance with regulations. Many HIM positions can be done remotely. 
• Case Management Nurse. Telephonic case management allows nurses to work remotely, managing patient care, coordinating services, and ensuring that patients receive the appropriate care. This position requires strong communication and organizational skills, and you could work with insurance companies and healthcare providers or even work independently as a contractor.
• Telemedicine. Telemedicine has expanded significantly, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine nurses provide patient care remotely, assessing patient needs through video or phone calls. While some telemedicine roles require direct clinical care, others involve triage, assessments, or advice.
• Compliance Nurse. Compliance nurses ensure that healthcare organizations adhere to regulations such as HIPAA, infection control, and accreditation standards. Some positions are remote. Compliance roles require chart reviews, policy audits, and overall compliance checks.
• Nursing Consultant. As a nursing consultant, you could remotely offer your expertise to healthcare organizations. Your expertise lies in MDS knowledge. This might include reviewing policies, advising on best practices, or helping to implement quality improvement programs. 
• Remote Clinical Research. In clinical research, nurses help manage and monitor clinical trials, often reviewing patient data and ensuring the trials are conducted according to protocols. Some clinical research organizations allow nurses to work remotely, especially for data analysis and patient monitoring roles
• Legal Nurse Consultant. If you are interested in the legal side of healthcare, this could be a potential fit. Legal nurse consultants review medical records and assist attorneys with medical-related cases. This growing field can be done from home. They review charts and provide expert analysis on healthcare-related legal matters.
• Medical Coding and Billing. If you're interested in learning a new skill, becoming a certified medical coder or biller could open up remote opportunities. While this requires specific training and certification, it's a job that can often be done from home, and it pairs well with chart auditing experience.

Each of these roles uses your clinical background while allowing you to work remotely, and many are well-suited to someone with a knack for auditing and organizational tasks. If you're open to it, additional certifications (like coding, case management, or health information management) could make some of these options more accessible and lucrative.

I suggest you start looking at job boards of potential employers and register on Indeed.com. Use "remote" and "nurse" for keywords. This will familiarize you with remote jobs for nurses. 

Best wishes,

Nurse Beth