Registered nurses have many career options in hospitals and clinics. But some RNs may have responsibilities or needs that keep them from usual healthcare settings.
We researched legitimate full time and part time alternative careers for RNs that want to telecommute and have compiled a list of nursing jobs from home.
The great thing about today’s technology and globalized world is that there are demands out there for almost any field. And the nursing profession is one of those specialties with a great demand for.
RNs can work remotely through the internet or by telephone, and these alternative careers for nursing majors and graduates even older nurses may just be your prescription for success.
9 nursing jobs that can be done from home
1. Medical call center, nursing phone triage jobs, telehealth RN – there is an increasing demand for experienced nurses to perform telephone triage nursing.
Hospitals are often crowded and it is the responsibility of a triage nurse to answer patients’ questions, assess their medical needs, refer them to specialists, teach patients on how to deal with minor symptoms, and prioritize or schedule patients’ appointments.
An experienced RN knows the right questions to ask in determining the urgency of calls from patients seeking medical attention. For the not-so-urgent calls, an RN can advise patients, ask questions, and record medical information and history.
2. Nurse case manager – a nurse working out of his or her residence can evaluate and manage cases of patients to coordinate patient care and treatment with appropriate agencies and organizations.
Case management is also relevant for insurance companies and healthcare services.
Nurse care managers are also sometimes called patient advocate, Medicare specialist, and workers’ compensation coordinator, among various titles used.
3. Virtual teacher – also called online teacher, a registered nurse may teach health, healthcare, anatomy, and nursing subjects online.
Online programs are growing and nurse professionals have another venue where they can use the knowledge they gained as an alternative career.
In line with teaching, a nurse may also do tutorial classes. A master’s degree will definitely be an advantage when one becomes more interested in teaching and will give you the upper hand if you are applying for nursing education jobs from home. A career in teaching can be rewarding and is good for those who want a non clinical nursing job.
4. Legal Nurse Consultant – with their knowledge of anatomy, patient care, hospital systems, malpractice and other related matters, an RN may work as a consultant for lawyers to assist the latter in preparation of legal cases.
5. Health Care Recruiter – recruiting for the health care industry can be done at home, as long as computer, the internet, and other communication devices are present.
A recruiter may still need to update regularly with the brick-and-mortar office, but this will be on rare occasions only.
Generally, recruiting can be 100% home-based. The responsibilities of a medical recruiter will involve screening of applicants for healthcare employment, public relations or staffing firms, and human resource department of large hospitals.
The job usually demands forty (40) hours per week, which could require overtime work most evenings and weekends due mainly to the irregular work schedules and shifts of doctors and nurses.
Medical recruitment entails conducting interviews of applicants by phone, evaluation of resumes and CVs, as well as validation of official credentials and experience.
6. Work online for Insurance and Benefit Funds. There are about 80 nurses working in this kind of agency, and they earn an annual mean wage of $78,600.
Obviously, registered nurses are most sought after by insurance agencies largely because of their medical knowledge and expertise on the nitty-gritty of the healthcare system relative to the insurance business.
While these RNs usually work in physical offices, employers often allow telecommuting especially for responsibilities involving assessment of claims, underwriting, reviewing contracts, and evaluating existing company policies.
They may also hold other administrative roles and functions which can be performed online or on the phone.
7. Medical transcriptionists – federal law provisions requiring healthcare providers to maintain digitized record-keeping are about to be strictly implemented.
This increases the demand for medical transcriptionists to keep health records and patients’ medical histories updated and in digital form.
Medical transcriptionists often work in home offices although there might be some who work in offices, doctors’ clinics, and hospitals.
This is another opportunity for RNs to make full use of their clinical training and knowledge about medical conditions and pharmacology, while working from home.
8. Medical coders and billers – hospitals hire coders and billers. Often they work as regular employees of hospitals and medical centers.
Many employers, however, prefer off-site coders and billers because it lowers operational cost for managing these people and the facilities they use.
The familiarity of RNs with procedures, hospital systems, medical conditions, medications and treatments often make them ideal candidates for the position.
If you find job posts for coders and billers, inquire if the employer allows its employees to telecommute.
9. Medical Writers – a nurse who loves to write will find that writing for healthcare and medical topics is a well-paying career.
You may explore publishing your own articles on your own website, or you may want to do freelance writing for publishing companies, healthcare websites, medical corporations, marketing department of medical products, and even government agencies involved in healthcare and medical research.
If you find the right employer or your niche as a writer, you might find out that being a medical writer can pay much better than practicing the profession in the clinical setting.
Most remote nursing jobs are connected to a physical workplace or office. At least a tenth of the job is done reporting to an office or to a supervisor. The bigger part of the job, though, can be performed from home.
We hope this list of nursing jobs from home provides an alternative to the hospital or clinic.