The day will come in the career of almost every GP or clinic nurse that will be devastating. If you work as a practical nurse, chances are it will happen to you too. It’s the day you realize you can’t work as a practical nurse anymore. This possible conclusion to your nursing career can happen suddenly or over a period of time, and for many reasons. It may be the result of injury, burnout, cutbacks, old age, or physical inability to handle demanding work. When this happens, how will you continue to find income? Finding another job can be an arduous process. If you have a family to support, this is a serious problem. The smart thing to do is to start preparing for this eminent situation. The question is: what can you do to prepare?
First, you need to realize that your nursing career will eventually reach this point. You must make the decision that something needs to be done to prepare. Once you make this choice, the rest isn’t too difficult. The key to preparing for this crossroads is to have a backup career option. When choosing your backup option, there are a few criteria you need to consider. This option should pay equal to or better than your current job, may be one for which you are qualified or one that requires some additional training, and should offer you the flexibility to enter it at your own pace. The option is even more ideal if you can use it on the side while still working at your regular job, allowing you to earn extra income when needed. Unfortunately, many nurses don’t realize that this type of option exists.
When faced with this life-changing decision, a nurse’s common reaction is to start looking for another job that meets their new requirements. Although the job application process can be very slow, sometimes it works as a good option. When available jobs are in the same facility, the hiring process can be much faster. Many nurses tend to seek administrative jobs when they are no longer able or willing to withstand the physical demands of practical nursing. However, administrator jobs often have stiff competition for a limited number of positions. There are many other jobs where your nursing experience will be relevant, such as case management, insurance, pharmaceutical sales, recruiting, or teaching. But what if your best option isn’t a typical job at all? If you’re nearing this point in your career, it might be time for you to think outside the box.
Luckily, there is a career option that meets each and every one of the conditions explained above. It allows you to use your existing medical experience, offers great flexibility, presents exciting new challenges, gives you the option of finding a job or freelancing, and can pay much better than a typical regular nursing job. On top of all these benefits, it offers you the opportunity to continue the main reason you probably went into nursing in the first place; allows you to continue your patient advocacy. The nursing career option we are referring to is Legal Nurse Consulting. It is important to remember that one day you will need an option like Legal Nurse Consulting, so you should familiarize yourself with it. If you’ve already heard of this option, chances are you don’t understand its real benefits and what it entails. As a legal nurse consultant, you can learn how to use your medical experience in the legal field or in the legal aspect of health care. Any case involving medical records needs his expertise in interpreting and analyzing medical information. If you prefer to avoid working with lawyers and insurance companies, hospitals and managed care facilities often hire legal nurse consultants to help with areas like risk management, insurance issues, and case management.
Do you have to make an important decision. Whether you decide now or after you’re forced to, this kind of career-altering decision is hard to face. You can be like the many other nurses who just hope nothing happens, or you can start preparing for the future.
