People enter the health care industry for many reasons. Primary among these is the desire to make a positive impact on patients’ lives. Nurses are among the professionals having a direct impact in this regard. You don’t just treat people every day, you also influence the way they respond to their health challenges. It can be a rewarding experience.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t always result in pleasant career experiences. A toxic culture of overwork and receiving regular harassment are among the reasons nurses are leaving the profession in significant numbers. Not to mention your pay will often not accurately reflect the skill and commitment you provide. As a result, you may have decided it’s time to seek a career providing you with the respect and rewards you deserve.
Let’s take a look at some of the other health care fields that can benefit from your perspectives as a nurse.
Wellness Entrepreneurism
Wellness entrepreneurism is a growing field, particularly in the United States and across multiple specializations. It’s no secret the health care sector can be a lucrative prospect. With the profit pool for providers expected to top $197.8 billion by 2024, it’s no wonder entrepreneurs are drawn to this area. As an experienced nurse, you can find a fulfilling career shift in this part of the sector.
This isn’t just about chasing profit. By starting your own wellness business, you can bring more patient-focused imperatives to your practice. That said, you need to pair this to an extent with a business mind. Health care enterprises need business leaders who can effectively manage finances and operations in a way supporting sustainable growth. Leaders also need to be able to organize the administrative and security hurdles while setting achievable care goals. Your nursing experience can help you make purchasing decisions to improve patients’ lives. While your organizational expertise helps make certain these care imperatives are actually practical.
One of the most important perspectives you can bring to the table as a wellness entrepreneur is a commitment to collaboration. Smooth interactions between medical personnel are essential to a facility’s success and a patient’s well-being. This is true whether you build a facility offering interprofessional care or a single specialty. However, efficient and effective teamwork in health care can be very different from other industries. As opposed to non-expert entrepreneurs, your nursing background can ensure seamless and relevant collaborations.
Health Communication
Communication is vital in all health care fields. As a nurse, you will have developed a habit of concise and mindful communication as part of your day-to-day role. If you’re looking for a new position in which you can make a positive impact, health comms could make use of your talents.
There are a few areas you can focus on here. If you want to make an impact on the community, a role as a public health adviser may be a good fit. Professionals in this field are usually hired by regional public health services or national agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Your background as a nurse can provide the perspectives of your medical expertise to public health guidance aimed at organizations and wellness education directly to communities.
However, you may find success in the private sector, too. Private providers and pharmaceutical companies utilize experts in medical communications to design their messaging. Creating effective digital marketing often forms a vital first interaction between patients and medical professionals. Personalizing this experience to patients’ needs and utilizing inclusive methods can help make engagement successful for both patients and the organization. As a nurse, you can apply your skillset to make certain this has a care-first approach alongside achieving marketing goals. You can also identify the information and advice that makes the most difference to patients’ uptake of services.
Medical Technology
Technology is dominant in various areas of contemporary life. The medical industry has long been at the forefront of developing tools from scratch and adapting existing tech for compatibility with health care protocols. Your nursing career will likely have seen you utilizing health care technology. You may even have adjusted it to suit your needs. This practical insight can offer you careers in the health care technology development landscape.
You could act as an expert consultant to development businesses. This can be particularly valuable if you have specialist knowledge in a specific area of care. Your experience may be valuable even at the iteration stage of the development process. You’ll be able to provide designers and project managers with insights into what tools are most in-demand or in need for professionals and patients alike. You’ll also be able to contribute ideas about what elements of functionality can make it most likely for health care staff to use these tools. Many companies already invite nurses to be involved at the testing stage of their process. But you can have a greater impact as a more central part of the project.
This doesn’t have to be particularly advanced technology, either. As telehealth technology is becoming a more prevalent part of nurses’ toolkits, providers will be designing new patient portal platforms and applications. Your insights into where the challenges are in utilizing these tools are valuable to developers in these fields, too. This can also see you offering perspectives on how additional tools and functions correspond to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance.
Conclusion
Your experiences as a nurse are valuable across a variety of health care fields. If you’re looking to change careers, it’s worth considering the potential to provide a more patient-focused approach to wellness entrepreneurism. You can also make an impact on health care communication in both the public and private sectors. As technology expands, so too does your potential to be an expert consultant in development. Remember that your talents and knowledge are an asset. You deserve a career that reflects this.
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