Nursing remains one of the most noble professions in the world—an opportunity to help and support others through unnerving times. Unfortunately, some career statistics don’t reflect the significance of nurses in today’s stressful, turbulent world.
According to a 2025 Nursing in Practice survey, around 28% of nurses plan to leave their general practice roles within a year. Almost 97 percent feel their workload is too intense, and the corresponding salary does not reflect this. What’s more, many nurses report not receiving a regular monetary bonus.
These circumstances prompt many to look beyond conventional nursing roles to grow their careers. Exploring your options can rekindle your passion for the field and help you contribute to public health in meaningful, satisfying ways.
1. Advance Healthcare as a Nursing Researcher
A nursing degree can open up an academic career in healthcare for those who wish to blend practical learning with scholarly pursuits. As a nursing researcher, you will work to improve healthcare practices to further patient care. To do this, you will conduct clinical studies and perform analysis. These approaches can bring to light pain points people experience, such as a lack of caregiver education.
A recent study in the Journal of Advanced Nursing highlights the rising importance of doctorally prepared nurses in today’s world. These professionals can generate new knowledge related to clinical practice, directly improving patient outcomes. The study also showed that nursing researchers benefit from institutional support and mentorship.
Although highly fulfilling, this career option requires the ability to balance research with part-time work positions. It requires a temperament to gain and implement advanced knowledge while striving for work-life balance.
2. Share Your Learnings as a Health Educator
Some contemporary nursing degrees equip students with the confidence and wherewithal to experiment and explore. Outside a conventional nursing role, why not pursue a career in health education? Many schools and universities look for trained nurses to impart health knowledge to students from a practical viewpoint.
This route may come naturally to nurses who subscribe to the principles of serving by sharing knowledge with others. Some nursing courses emphasize the values of Cura Personalis and Magis to reinforce the need for growing together. For example, Rockhurst University online graduate programs have a foundation in Jesuit values of reflection and wisdom. Nurses from such backgrounds can thrive in classroom environments besides conventional settings.
3. Consult With Lawyers on Various Cases
Being part of the legal profession may not have struck you when you pursued a nursing degree. However, it has become an exciting and urgent field that more nurses explore.
Consider a scenario where medical inputs are integral to an ongoing legal case. These inputs could relate to caregiving, managing medication, or providing outpatient support. Nurses can offer expert advice in such scenarios and drive the proceedings meaningfully. You can partner with legal firms and consultancies to find positions in this domain.
Closely linked to this possibility is taking on a forensics nurse role, assisting with deriving insights and testing theories in criminal cases. Your role will focus on collecting evidence, like DNA samples, and supporting victims through a difficult time. You will work intimately with law-enforcing agencies to present findings in various cases.
4. Fly High as a Flight Nurse
Why restrict your nursing expertise to a traditional hospital setting? You can use your skills to deliver patient care up in the air as a flight nurse. These professionals help transfer critically ill patients to another destination for medical or personal reasons.
The Nursing Beat explains that transport nursing could take different forms, requiring you to be available on fixed-wing or rotor-wing transport (airplane or helicopter). Besides regular nursing skills, this career path needs excellent communication and teamwork.
Nurses in this field also need impeccable stress management and presence of mind. You’ll often deal with sensitive patients with life-threatening conditions, making confidence in handling equipment and medication essential.
5. Become a Health Writer
Louisa May Alcott, the author of the classic Little Women, is perhaps one of the first nurse writers in the world. She worked as a nurse during the Civil War—her experiences are evident in her beloved book’s underlying messages of helping others while pursuing one’s ambitions and dreams.
The world needs more people who create genuine, engaging content that is also verifiable and practical. For people with nursing degrees, the media and content world is an opportunity with immense potential. As a nurse educator, you can share meaningful information about disease management and self-care.
Some people write for themselves, building health and wellness blogs or vlogs. Have you seen Nurse Blake’s (@nurse.blake) Instagram handle? He is a hilarious nurse who shares laugh-out-loud moments from his life and work. For him, it is also a unique way to combine his passion for nursing with doing stand-up comedy.
Alternatively, you can work for content agencies or publishing companies. This field is a perfect fit for anyone who wants to combine their desire to support others with their love for the written word.
Which alternate nursing career appealed to you the most? A few require additional certification, while you can pursue others with a BSN and MSN degree (Bachelor/Master of Science in Nursing). Some present rewarding opportunities to devote time to your interests, helping you balance work and creative fulfillment.
We recommend keeping yourself open to the possibility of new opportunities in nursing—it is an evolving field whose relevance will never be lost.
