The Road Less Traveled

A nursing degree can open many doors, and not just the common bedside jobs that people think about most often. We've already discussed some beyond the bedside jobs, and here are a few more:

Nurses in Genetics

Job Description: Screening, treating, and counseling patients with genetic diseases (e.g. cystic fibrosis, Huntington's disease, neuromuscular diseases, hereditary breast cancer). Genetic nurses may work as case managers, counselors, researchers, educators, or administrators.

Educational Requirements: RN with BSN, MSN, or PhD.

Employers: University medical centers, research facilities, hospitals, clinics.

Associations: International Society of Nurses in Genetics.

Holistic or Complementary Health Nurse

Job Description: Holistic nurses address all areas of the patient's wellbeing, including physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects. In addition to Western medicine, they may use a variety of complementary health practices (e.g. massage therapy, acupuncture, talk therapy, etc.).

Educational Requirements: Varies. Holistic nursing certification is available from the American Holistic Nurses Association. Training, certification, and/or licensing may be needed for various complementary health practices, and requirements vary depending on the state/province.

Employers: Healthcare facilities, holistic health and wellness centers, spas, health clubs, private practice, pain management centers, doctors' offices.

Associations: American Holistic Nurses Association and the Canadian Holistic Nurses Association.

Medical Writer, Editor

Job Description: Writing, researching, editing, fact checking, copyediting, and proofreading material for print or online media. Medicals writers and editors may work in biomedical research, education, training, sales, marketing, journalism, publishing, or other disciplines. They may also consult or write for films and TV shows about nursing and medicine.

Educational Requirements: Varied. A BSN or higher degree, proven writing skills, and extensive nursing experience is often required. Some training or experience in editing, copyediting, etc., may be necessary.

Employers: Pharmaceutical companies, medical marketing/communications companies, medical and general interest publications, medical education companies and professional organizations, freelance.

Associations: American Medical Writers Association.

Nurse Researcher

Job Description: Conducting scientific investigations in a pharmaceutical, medical, or nursing subject. Nurse researchers may carry out experiments and work on clinical trials, analyze data, solve clinical problems, write papers and grants, etc.

Educational Requirements: Varies. Some positions may require a Bachelor's, Master's or PhD degree.

Employers: Pharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations, teaching/university hospitals, educational institutions, temporary technical placement agencies.

Nursing Entrepreneur/Consultant

Job Description: Nursing entrepreneurs run their own business (perhaps even a consulting business), while nursing consultants provide consulting services on some area of healthcare (e.g. service implementation, patient flow, QA) to clients on an hourly or contractual basis.

Educational Requirements: Varied. A BSN or higher degree; most consultants have at least a Master's degree.

Employers: Self-employed, hospitals, clinics, private and public sector companies.

Associations: National Nurses in Business Association, Inc. (NNBA).

Health Policy Nurse

Job Description: Analyzing and making recommendations on healthcare and government policies.

Educational Requirements: RN with graduate degree, usually a PhD.

Employers: Government agencies, think tanks, universities, colleges.

Other: Politically-minded nurses can also work as advocates or legislators to bring about change at the local, state/provincial, or federal level. See our article Lenny Winkler, Nurse and Republicrat.

Forensics Nurse

Job Description: Forensic nurses use their clinical and counseling skills to aid in legal investigations and the treatment of victims. Specific jobs include sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE), nurse coroner, nurse investigator, correctional nurse, forensic psychiatric nurse, pediatric or geriatric nurse educator, researcher, and consultant.

Educational Requirements: Varied. Forensic nursing degree programs are available, but generally not required for entry into the field. Forensic psychiatric nurses require a MS with counseling certification, while sexual assault nurse examiners (SANE), forensic pediatric nurses, and forensic geriatric nurses generally require certification courses.

Employers: Acute healthcare facilities, correctional institutions, insurance companies, psychiatric facilities, and prosecutors', coroners', or medical examiners' offices.

Associations: The International Association of Forensic Nurses.

Legal Nurse Consultant

Job Description: Legal nurse consultants apply their nursing experience to help solve legal problems. Common duties include reviewing the validity of workers' compensation cases or reviewing medical records to help attorneys decide if professional negligence had occurred. Legal nurse consultants can help attorneys prepare for cases, and may testify as an expert witness at trials.

Educational Requirements: Extensive nursing experience required. A certificate in legal nurse consulting, graduate degree, or relevant legal experience would be helpful.

Employers: Law firms, law offices, workers' compensation boards.

Associations: American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants.

Other: Also see our article From Bedside to Courtroom.

Nurse Attorney

Job Description: Nurse attorneys hold both a nursing degree and a law degree. They may deal with legal cases that involve medical issues (e.g. medical malpractice, personal injury) or work to develop healthcare policy.

Educational Requirements: RNs with a diploma or degree in nursing, as well as a law degree (as well as passing the bar exam in their jurisdiction).

Employers: Law firms, solo practice, hospitals, insurance companies, educational facilities, lobby groups, medical and nursing associations, corporations, government.

Associations: American Association of Nurse Attorneys.

For more information, visit the American Nurses Association, Nursing Spectrum, and DiscoverNursing.com in the United States, and the Canadian Nurses Association in Canada.

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