Crazy Nursing Jobs

[PiedPiperRN]

hello,

i am just finishing up my asn and will take boards soon. while i was in school, i worked as a tech on a med/surg floor. i have to admit that had i had the two years of experience as a tech first i am not sure that i would have gone into nursing. although i liked the work, i did not love it, and i am not sure that i want to be a "conventional" nurse.

my school had me do clinicals in such places as nursing homes, community service centers, etc. a community health center had a little more appeal to me, but there was no "click".

i am starting this thread for people to post possible "alternative" and (dare i say) "crazy" jobs that can hire nurses. as i am a new grad, suggestions for alternative jobs for new grads are also welcome. i am especially interested in jobs that involve travel or other alternative experiences.

hopefully this thread will stir some creativity and give options for people that don't want to go the floor nurse route, which i feel is the route that we are taught to expect in nursing school (at least in an asn program).

have at it!

[PiedPiperRN]

I will start this thread by suggesting the Peace Corps. I actually did the Peace Corps as a teacher for two years, and loved it. It is espeically nice for people tha thave not travelled overseas before, as the PC will take care of the little details and let you focus on your work. (For example, they will take care of finding housing and a job for you, although your housing might be a mud hut!) I know that as of one year ago, they were very intersted in health care professionals. In fact, I have heard that the Peace Corps is trying to get more professionals rather then fresh college grads.

The con of the Peace Corps is that you don't get to pick where you go (you may be able to pick a region) and you generally don't know what you are going to to do until you get there. When you get your assignment, you may find that you don't have the resources needed to do your project, and might spend a lot of frustrating time trying to raise money rather then doing nursing work. Also, I have heard that most health care jobs involve teaching and education rather then clinical work. (This isn't really a con unless you want to do clinical work, like I do!)

Anyway, I loved the Peace Corps and I hope to join as a nurse when I am a little older and ready to focus on teaching. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions!

[Nursemom64]

I am very interested in what the replies to this post will be. I am not a new nurse but I don't have years and years of experience either. Sometimes I feel like I could "fall through the cracks." I recently lost my job and am looking for something new. I really don't want to get back into med/surg or shift work (I've never been drawn to any type of critical care area either). I've been trying to get back into hospice but in this economy those jobs are few and far between as well. I'm trying to think "outside the box" to see what else is out there but many of the positions are for advanced degrees or ones that expect you to already have experience. It comes down to that age-old question, "How do you get a job without experience but how do you get the experience without a job?" I'll be watching this thread!