How My Nursing Background Propelled Me to Other Careers

• One nurse shares how her nursing background helped her break into other career fields. 
• Beginning her career as a bedside nurse gave her the technical knowledge and skills that benefitted her in other areas of medicine and healthcare. 
• She took on each role with the passion of creating an environment for staff and patients to give and receive the best care while in a healthcare facility. 

I began my nursing career knowing I wouldn’t stay a bedside nurse forever. I knew nursing would give me invaluable skills and knowledge that I could parlay into a variety of roles throughout my career.  

Since becoming a nurse, I’ve worked in infection prevention, informatics, and policy and regulatory roles. With each job transition, the hiring manager would tell me that my nursing background was one of my greatest assets, and I would definitely agree. Being a bedside nurse taught me technical knowledge and skills within medicine and healthcare, along with communication, prioritization, professionalism, multi-tasking, teaching, compassion, and so much more.  

Career Outside of Nursing

I began my first career outside of nursing in February 2020. I landed my dream job with infection prevention for a large healthcare organization comprised of 11 hospitals and more than 300 clinics. Within days of starting my new role, the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in my state. I was immediately relied upon due to my knowledge in nursing practices, healthcare workflows, and practicality of standards. It’s important for infection preventionists to understand healthcare staff and patient interactions; analyze infectious disease trends and outbreaks; and observe and develop best practices to prevent the spread of infectious disease to keep staff, patients and visitors safe.  

Infection preventionists also need a working relationship with staff in order to step in and correct a standard workflow and teach staff during their workday. I was able to parlay so many aspects of why I cared about nursing into infection prevention. In both roles, I was concerned about eliminating the spread of infectious disease, protecting vulnerable populations, reducing healthcare costs, decreasing the length of stay for patients, and maintaining a trust among patients and the healthcare organization. Infection prevention and nursing work hand in hand, and I provided a trusted link between the two.  

Benefits of My Nursing Background

After spending a whirlwind of nearly two years with infection prevention, I was prepared to take the next step in my career into informatics. I have always felt that informatics, which is the combination of information and technology, is the future of healthcare.  

When I transitioned from infection prevention to informatics at the beginning of 2022, the healthcare organization had drastically shifted from in-person to remote (or work from anywhere) capacity. This meant all our education was being completed online. Everything from new employee orientation to electronic health record (EHR) optimization, Information Technology (IT) help, and mandatory annual education quickly transitioned to employees accessing from home rather than onsite.

I am a firm believer in advancing technology, but with the awareness that not every individual in an organization of more than 12,000 employees is considered “tech savvy” or has the time or patience to work through online material. Understanding the demand of nursing roles, medical providers, and other integral onsite staff, I knew my role in informatics was to provide education in a concise, correct, and prompt manner. 

I also needed to adjust my teaching skills to help visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and reading learners via a virtual platform. I was creating education material for new EHR upgrades, new documentation requirements, and new technology equipment for nurses and providers. I was better equipped due to my nursing background, and was able to create the most concise, correct education possible with the easiest access for staff in a virtual format. 

After my time in informatics, I realized my values in rules and regulations and therefore took a policy and regulatory role. Policy and regulatory ensure healthcare organizations and staff fulfill rules and regulations set by lawmakers and licensing agencies, such as The Joint Commission and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Policies help nurses and healthcare staff provide and abide by best practices. 

The Bottom Line

I knew my path in nursing wouldn’t be at the bedside forever; yet through my nursing education and career so many new job opportunities opened. I took each role with the passion of creating an environment for staff and patients to give and receive the best care while in a healthcare facility. Nurses are important at bedside and in other supporting roles throughout healthcare! 

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