options outside of nursing

[gonzo83]

Can anyone please let me know of any jobs which are outside of nursing that can incorporate a health care background? Preferably an office type job. I am looking into leaving the nursing profession and would like some advice to see what other options I can explore.

[rukiddingme]

So can I ask why you want to leave the nursing field?

This job that you want, outside of nursing, do you mean completely out of the nursing field? Or office work within the realm of nursing?

What about Medical Records?

MDS Coordinator in LTC facility?

Possibly something in the health insurance industry?

Just my . Hope it helps. Tara

[Mijourney]

I agree with the previous poster. You may not have to get completely out of nursing. I have spent over the last 10 years working in a managed care environment. Currently I work as an auditor for an insurance company. The managed care environment heavily relies on your clinical knowledge. But, you also must develop skills and knowledge in legal, business, finance, privacy and security. You need utilization review skills, coding and reimbursement knowledge and skills, writing skills, knowledge of various databases and so on.

If you want to get out of nursing, I agree with the previous poster that you should consider health information management as one option. There are two major organizations for HIM or medical records as it is formerly known: American Academy of Professional Coders (http://www.aapc.com) and American Health Information Management Association (http://www.ahima.org). If you like legal, you can consider becoming a Legal Nurse Consultant or a nurse paralegal. Best wishes.

[jjjoy, LPN]

There are many jobs out there that might suit you that may not be a distinct category of jobs (eg case manager, nurse, accountant). So you don't need to limit yourself to specific job titles if you're exploring your options.

I'd suggest going to an on-line job site, punch in some key words such as 'health' 'coordinator' 'program' 'manager' 'clinical' (or any other specifics that might interest you such as diabetes, education, etc) and see what comes up. Look at the websites of health-related companies (eg. medical device companies, insurance companies, even hospitals) and see what kind of job openings they have that might interest you (there are many non-nursing jobs in hospitals!). Many jobs you come across would be totally irrelevant to you, but you might start seeing some job descriptions that interest you and then you can use that to start researching more specifics regarding what you find.

[HealthyRN]

Gonzo83, could you tell us more about your education and background in nursing (how long you have been a nurse, what specialty, etc.) and so that we can help you more? The more experience you have, the easier it will be to make a transition into a non-clinical role. That being said, I found a non-clinical role after only 10 months at the bedside. You don't have to leave nursing altogether in order to get out of acute care nursing. There are a lot of options out there.

I work as a rep for a home care agency. Many other health care organizations and industries also employ nurses or those with health care backgrounds as reps. Pharmaceutical, medical equipment/products, home care, hospice, and many other companies like to hire nurses into these positions.

[gonzo83]

Thanks for the replies. I have another degree in psychology, right after I finished my psych degree I jumped into nursing. I have only worked as a bedside nurse for 6 months and honestly just can't take the bedside anymore. I've become so disenchanted with nursing all together. I want to be able to use my healthcare background and knowledge. I do like working with people, but I can't take the stress and tremendous responsibility of bedside nursing any longer. Other than being a full time student for 6 years, the only other thing I've done is worked at starbucks!