Nurses who DON'T work in a hospital, what do you do?

Jo Dirt · Jul 27, 2007

I am doing private duty. It's pretty low skill, I mostly sit with the patient all day and watch tv.

HealthyRN · Jul 27, 2007

I don't work in biotech, although I would be interested to hear from those that do. However, I do work outside of the hospital. I work for a large home health care company. For part of my job, I do community education. I travel around to various community centers and teach on health topics (diabetes, cholesterol, stroke, etc.). The other part of the job involves serving as a representative for the company. I am responsible for bringing in a certain number of referrals for home health care.

I love the community education part of the job, but I don't like the rep part so much. I also dislike the amount of driving that is required. I'm reimbursed for mileage, but the driving itself gets tedious. I am very satisfied with my salary. Many people believe that jobs outside of acute care don't pay well, but I am making more than I was in the hospital. Also, my benefits are great!! For my first year, I get two and a half weeks of paid vacation, plus two weeks of sick/personal time. Not to mention that the hours are wonderful. Everyday is a little different and I set my own schedule. Some days I leave my house at 8 AM and other days I don't leave until 1 PM. Other days, I work only out of my house and don't have to go anywhere. Regardless, I am always home by 5PM and I never work on weekends.

I have only had this position for about 3 months. Prior to that I worked in the ED for 10 months. A BSN was required for this position.

santhony44, MSN, RN, NP · Jul 27, 2007

I'm a FNP, so I work in a clinic. We have LVN's there who help the providers, one who works as a pharmacy tech in our Class D pharmacy, plus one who works as a Case Manager.

Most Case Managers are RN's, I think; I know that ours was told she couldn't certify as an LVN.

I also know nurses who work in WIC clinics, health departments, freestanding dialysis centers, freestanding surgery centers, in industrial facilities, and as school nurses.

There are many more opportunities to work outside the hospital than there were 20 years ago.

RNfaster · Jul 27, 2007

Thank you all, so far! You have noted some positions that I hadn't thought of. Do you think that hospital experience is something that it is markedly better to have in your line of work now? (I am not certain I want to do the 12-hour shifts that seem so prevalent in hospitals. --As such, I am investigating other options. --I think if I were to be a nurse with seniority or many years of experience, I'd be better able to get a dayshift of 8 to 10 hours. But as a newbie, I doubt it.)

Thank you, again. :)

Luv2BAnurse · Jul 27, 2007

I work from home for a disease management company. I make telephone calls to educate members regarding their specific chronic conditions (MS, CF, ALS, Crohn's, Scleroderma, MG, SCD, etc...). I worked in a hospital and ltc prior to this position (without that experience I would not be as efficient at this job).

mamalle · Jul 27, 2007

I work outpatient pacu. my background is ER. I have acls, pals and cpr. Its pretty much low stress but not as much money as the hospital. I have a flexible manager and it has been a great job for me. I still do 2 shifts a month in the ER just to keep my position and skills up- god forbid I would ever need to go back fulltime I would be able to. I also do some contract work dictating for doctors at various hospitals just not the one I work in. Its flexible and works great with my home life..

Hospice Nurse LPN, BSN, RN · Jul 27, 2007

I work as a hospice nurse. I simply love it! My pt's are in private homes and LTC facilities. I enjoy getting to know my patients and families personally and helping them deal with impending death. The job requires at least two years experience as a nurse and additional training is encouraged. I took the hospice and palliative certification exam last year.

EnigmaticParadigm · Jul 27, 2007

I work as a Correctional RN at one of the State of California's prisons. I run one of the "yard" clinics (one of five) during the day shift (0600 to 1400). There are approximately 200 inmates per building and six buildings total...1200 inmates to one RN, rofl. Some days are tougher than others, but all in all it's a blast; never know what you're going to get.

The pay more than makes up for the craziness: $5100.00 take home for a normal 40 hour work week/ month + approx. $3000.00 take home in overtime/ month (about $11,000.00 per/ month before taxes).

Not too shabby for an out-of-hospital RN.

TazziRN, RN · Jul 27, 2007

Home health. I'm new to this field, just 5 weeks old. Before that I was in the ER for 19 years. I love this new job. I see up to 4-5 pts per day and am the case manager. I can pretty much set my own hours. It doesn't pay as much as the hospital but I'm happy there.

dijaqrn · Jul 27, 2007

I work in an ambulatory care center urgent care. It can get to be only a step down from ER at times. You need CPR, ACLS, PALS , IV and critical thinking skills for this job. I do think all nurses should have some acute care experience, it helps with organizational and critical thinking. Good luck with whatever you decide to do:balloons:!

catlynLPN · Jul 27, 2007

I work for the state in a facility for the mentally and physically challenged. I love it. I've been there 27 yrs and 9 mos.

I don't plan to retire until I'm 62. {54 now}

My typical day is spent passing 2 rnds of medications with the HS round being the heaviest. We have a few treatments to do, but no decubs, or anything bad. It's a great job, it's not hard and the people are well cared for. We pass inspection with flying colors everytime, and our facility is one of the highest rated in the USA.

It's a very good place to work, alot different than what you would think a state facility would be. I've heard bad things about other state facilities but this one has none of that.

It's well run and that's due to the administration being very strict.

So I don't mind doing a little bragging.