Non traditional nursing jobs

[Ethancio]

Hey guys, so I'm thinking of going into nursing someday soon and realize that there is a lot you can do with a BSN. I understand I probably would have to work for a year or two in a hospital before doing any crazy jobs or anything, but how common is it for nurses to work in a clinic with a 9-5 schedule? I hear Oil rigs, the military etc. also hire nurses with a much different employment package.

Does anyone work any of these places? How do you like it? Is the pay/schedule/job better? I have volunteer experience and I like working in a hospital (especially if I'd be travel nursing) but what else is out there? I want something really wacky, a very exciting, off the beaten path job if you will.

Thanks!

[klone, MSN, RN]

I work in a clinic Monday-Friday, 8-5. It's not all that uncommon, but it's sometimes hard to find a clinic job without experience.

Because the clinic is part of a large health network, all the RNs are on the same pay scale, regardless of where they work. So I make the same as a hospital RN with an equal amount of experience. But most clinics are not like that, and private practice tends to pay their clinic nurses quite a bit less than what you would make inpatient.

Before this job, I worked in research. I worked 4 weekdays a week, 7:30-5pm, and then took weekend call once a month. We assisted PIs with their research studies, enrolled patients into studies (in the hospital setting), collected samples like blood, stool, tracheal aspirate, compiled data for the researchers, helped them disseminate the information, went to IRB meetings, etc.

[fetch, BSN, RN]

Before this job, I worked in research. I worked 4 weekdays a week, 7:30-5pm, and then took weekend call once a month. We assisted PIs with their research studies, enrolled patients into studies (in the hospital setting), collected samples like blood, stool, tracheal aspirate, compiled data for the researchers, helped them disseminate the information, went to IRB meetings, etc.

How did you get into this? I have wanted to do research nursing for a while but all the places around here require you to have prior experience in research (the ever-wonderful catch-22, you must have experience to get experience). Do you have a science degree or something?

[klone, MSN, RN]

No, but I had a background in L&D, which they were looking for. This research department dealt specifically with studies being conducted in the hospital on all aspects of pregnancy and premature infants. The other nurses all had a NICU background, and they wanted someone with the OB background to round out the group. Everything I learned about research itself was learned on the job.

[JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN]

I work in a school with a 7:30-4:30 or 8-5 schedule (depending on the day of the week). I love it. I only work 10 months a year, get paid over 12, and enjoy my weekends & holidays off. I also qualify for the teacher's retirement system. The pay is much less than hospital nursing, but the benefits outweigh it for me. Plus I love preventive care and teaching. I fell into this kind of nursing right after nursing school by landing a substitute nursing gig in a large school district, then after a few months of that, was able to land my current full time job.

[hope3456, ASN, RN]

Just a warning but the"wacky, really exciting jobs" are what a lot of nurses are after and there is a lot of competition. The majority of nursing jobs are fairly repetitive - not necessarily boring but involve a lot of mundane tasks such as charting and filling out forms, dealing with bodily fluids, lifting, walking, giving the same instructions over and over. There are also fewer jobs to choose from now than there were in the past - it depends a lot on your locale.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Hi, and welcome to AN! I think if you go to the yellow banner heading on the top of this webpage, you'll see a tab marked "Specialties". There you'll find a TON of different kinds of nursing, and people talking about them all :)

[hope3456, ASN, RN]

I work in a school with a 7:30-4:30 or 8-5 schedule (depending on the day of the week). I love it. I only work 10 months a year, get paid over 12, and enjoy my weekends & holidays off. I also qualify for the teacher's retirement system. The pay is much less than hospital nursing, but the benefits outweigh it for me. Plus I love preventive care and teaching. I fell into this kind of nursing right after nursing school by landing a substitute nursing gig in a large school district, then after a few months of that, was able to land my current full time job.

I work in a state facility and am also getting better health insurance/ retirement/ schedule than the local hospital nurses get - however I would not describe my position as "exciting."

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

Hehe my job is definitely wacky, but it's in a hospital and involves your standard nocs/weekends/holidays.

[deepadishpizza]

There are scientific research stations in Antarctica that have 6-month nursing contracts for on site health care support staff. The one I looked at several years ago was called Project Ice Cube, and they wanted nurses with some ER experience. I ended up deciding it was not for me, but it's certainly off the beaten path!

[nurse4ever08]

Oil rig? That would be like occupation health nursing. I have heard of nurses traveling with bands, working at Disney or Sea World. You just have to really search for the odd jobs