Career options for nurses leaving the profession

In the past few years, we’ve seen a significant rise in the number of registered nurses exiting the profession. This phenomenon has been termed “the nursing exodus” because it has led to widespread shortages in hospitals, long-term care facilities and other healthcare organisations across the country. The reasons why so many nurses are leaving their profession vary from person to person. Some nurses find that they are overworked and underpaid at their current job. Others may feel that they haven’t had any opportunities for growth in quite some time. Whatever the case may be for you, if you are a registered nurse looking to leave your job, there are plenty of other career options available to you outside of nursing.

Healthcare Managers

One of the most common professions for nurses to transition to is healthcare management. As a nurse manager, you would be responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations and managing the staff of a specific healthcare facility. For example, if you worked at a nursing home and you were promoted to nurse manager, then you would be responsible for making sure that the nursing home had the adequate staff and supplies to serve its patients in a timely manner. You will be responsible for improving the quality of care at your specific facility by making sure that all of your staff members are trained properly and that they are meeting the needs of patients. In many cases, you will also be responsible for managing budgets, managing patient records and leading regular staff meetings.

What are the least stressful nursing jobs?

Nurse Journal reports that:

“Some of the least stressful nursing positions occur in areas that are not as fast-paced as hospital settings or do not require more intense, medically urgent responsibilities. Though school nurses face their own challenges during the pandemic, traditionally, working as a school nurse, researcher or educator allows individuals to apply their healthcare knowledge in non-bedside nursing jobs, limiting the stresses that can come with bedside nursing.”

Nurse Journal identifies some other healthcare-related jobs that may interest you:

“Other jobs for RNs include telephone triage, insurance claims, research, legal work, freelance writing and education, among others. Nursing provides diverse career opportunities in many different professional sectors and focus areas.”

If you want to leave your nursing job and pursue a completely different career, then you may want to look into health information technicians, medical assistants and medical administrative assistants. A health information technician is responsible for managing and analysing patient health data. You may work in a hospital, doctor’s office or research facility. Your job duties may include creating charts, processing insurance claims and creating reports. A medical assistant is responsible for assisting a physician or other medical staff members in a variety of ways. Your job duties may include taking patients’ medical histories, drawing blood and performing other administrative tasks. A medical administrative assistant is responsible for managing a physician’s office in a variety of ways. You may type and file patients’ medical records, schedule patient appointments and take care of other administrative tasks. If you decide to pursue a vocational career after leaving your nursing job, then it is important that you pick a career that is closely related to healthcare. This way, you can make the most of your previous medical experience and apply your skills in a new way.

Nurse Journal identifies valuable skills that RNs develop:

A good professional CV writer will be able to identify your personal and professional skills, and prepare a CV that sells you for your new career.

For more detail about jobs available for nurses visit Nurse Journal