Question:
I've been an RN for about four years and have varied experience, gerontology,
med/surg, tele, etc. My last job as a resident care mgr. at a nursing home,
though, turned into a real crash-and-burn because of the stress. I've been
out of nursing for a year and have been doing medical transcription to
support my family. I really want to ditch transcription and get back into
nursing--but I want to try and avoid the high-stress stuff like working on
the floor. I know most of nursing is pretty high-stress but there have got to
be some things out there that are less so. Any ideas? I've thought about
things like dictating discharge summaries for doctors, coding, UR/QA,
insurance company work, etc., but just am not quite sure if any of this would
be viable.
Answer:
I too have quit nursing due to the stress... and I am looking into massage
therapy. It will make for a much more flexible schedule! I do understand
though, I have been out of nursing work for about 5 months, and have been doing
non-nursing work since then.
Consider the burgeoning field of health information technology. Many
hospitals use computers now for pt care documentation, and the companies
that make this software (HBO, Eclipsys, etc.) need people with health care
backgrounds to test the stuff. Right now, with the year 2000 approaching,
most of them are upgrading ALL of their clients so the programs will be
compliant with the year 2000 in all the dates. You can get into
side-by-side testing for some. Pay is reasonable...more if you have any
computer background.
I don't know what stresses you, but we have many ads where the pharm
companies are looking for nurses to detail (i.e. "sell"). Might be fun to go
to the docs offices and do some teaching, etc.
In the classified ads this past Sunday, I read advertisements for people who
were interested in managing clinical trials for new medications and
overseeing
the process. . . .
Doesn't sound too stressful---however, the ad also stated that while one
could work at home, the job involved 25-50% travel.
