Becoming a nurse is a lucrative but demanding career path. You have a steady annual average income of $77,600, paid vacations, and health insurance benefits. A Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree lasts four years, and choosing a nursing program is also a viable option after an undergrad degree in another subject.
However, nurses work long hours and have inflexible schedules, and the work burden increases stress and emotional burnout. If you believe the career is too demanding for you, here are some other jobs you can pursue after getting a BSN degree:
1. Nurse Educator
Nurse educators prepare qualified and knowledgeable nurses for entering practice. They instruct new nurses on clinical rotations, hospital protocols, and patient care, acting as mentors and helping upcoming nurses deal with the stress and pressure of nursing. To become a nurse educator, you must have a BSN or MSN with two to five years of clinical experience. Pursuing a post-master degree can allow you to specialize and become an advanced nurse educator.
2. Health Coach
A BSN degree gives individuals advanced knowledge about the human body, allowing them to become excellent health coaches. A health coach helps people improve their lifestyle by recommending changes in diet, sleep, activity, time management, and stress levels. They help patients who suffer from chronic illnesses like diabetes make small gradual changes and set goals to improve their well-being.
Health coaches can encourage and motivate patients to make lifestyle changes. They can use cognitive behavioural coaching to help people work through their thoughts and assist them in eliminating the barriers stopping them from improving their lifestyles.
3. Legal Nurse Consultant
A legal nurse consultant (LNC) is a registered nurse who works with attorneys and provides them with healthcare knowledge on cases. They must have extensive knowledge about healthcare and nursing laws as most cases they help with involve medical malpractice.
LNCs are required in hospitals, clinics, law firms, and insurance companies. They have to analyze evidence and provide an expert opinion. As a legal nurse consultant, you will also be called to take the stand often to share your expert opinion with the court. An LNC earns $106,691 per year and only requires a BSN. To pursue your career, you can enrol in an LNC program and take the legal nurse consultant certification (LNCC) exam.
4. Clinical Research Nurse
Clinical research nurses work in research programs and liaise between the researchers and volunteers. The nurses must ensure that the volunteers are treated safely and ethically. They explain to volunteers their role in the research and obtain consent. Clinical research nurses also monitor volunteers and obtain data throughout the research, for example, by noting vitals.
Individuals must have a BSN and state registration to become a clinical research nurse. Communication with volunteers is essential for clinical research nurses, so experience in providing care gives them the skills needed to communicate with volunteers and increases job competitiveness.
Endnote
Nurses are an essential part of the healthcare system. However, the long hours make balancing work and life burdensome, and the career isn’t for everyone. If you want to pursue nursing education but do not intend to become a practicing nurse, you can pursue a career as a nurse educator, health coach, legal nurse consultant, or clinical research nurse. This can let you join the healthcare system and go for jobs that aren’t directly patient-facing.
