Bedside nursing is a career that can bring a lot of fulfilment. But for nurses who have hit a plateau or are looking for something different to get stuck into to expand their skills and capabilities and give them a different challenge, what are the options? There are actually more ways to put a nursing degree to use than working bedside in a hospital, and if you’re getting itchy feet, it’s worth looking at what you can use your training to drive a new career.
Here are a few roles that can offer just that for those who want something new and different while drawing on the training and skills they have to back it up.
Critical Care Transport Nursing
Critical care transport nurses provide advanced ICU-level care to patients while they are being moved between hospitals or from an emergency scene, often working in the back of an ambulance rather than a fixed unit.
Employers hiring for critical care transport services generally require two to three years of ICU or ER experience before a nurse can apply, since the role includes intubation, cricothyrotomies and ventilator management, all performed in the back of a moving vehicle rather than in a fully staffed unit. On top of this, you can expect shifts to run differently compared to the standard five-day pattern most ward nurses work, but it’s the ideal role for nurses who want to keep working at a high critical level but are done with the pace and structure of hospital shifts.
Travel Nursing
Travel nurses take on short-term contracts, usually 8-13 weeks at a time in hospitals facing staff shortages. Nurses taking these roles move to a new city or state for each assignment.
This path can suit nurses who are looking for variety and flexibility in their career since each contract means a new team, new systems and often a new region entirely.
Pay tends to be higher than permanent staff positions to offset the short-term nature of the work, and many contracts include housing stipends on top of base pay too.
Legal Nurse Consulting
Legal nurse consultants bridge medicine and law, reviewing medical records and advising attorneys on cases involving malpractice, personal injury or workers’ compensation.
This role moves out of direct patient care entirely and into research, chart documentation review and sometimes expert witness testimony in court. It suits nurses with sharp analytical skills and an interest in the legal side of healthcare, though breaking into the field often requires additional certification and building relationships with law firms directly.
Correctional Facility Nursing
Correctional nurses provide medical care within jails and prisons, managing everything from chronic disease care to psychiatric needs and emergency response within a highly controlled environment. The role demands strong independent judgement since correctional nurses often work with less immediate physician access than a hospital setting and need to make more autonomous clinical decisions.
This path works best for nurses who are comfortable working in a structured, security-focused environment and are drawn to a patient population that is frequently underserved elsewhere in the healthcare system.
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