This is a good time to be a nurse, because the industry allows so many choices with respect to place of employment, type of employment and specialty areas. Many options are outside the actual traditional role available in the medical environment, including:   

• Upper Management: Many upper management jobs in nursing require at least a bachelor's degree -- if not a master's -- in Nursing or Business Management.   

• Pharmaceutical Sales: This requires at least a bachelor's degree and some sales or recruiting experience.   

• Legal Nursing: This is the hottest new opportunity in the nursing field.  Nurses are needed to review charts and assist with lawsuits.  This is a good alternative path for someone with a strong hospital background or nursing home experience. 

• Recruiting: Nurse recruiting is another fairly new avenue for nurses.  Companies are utilizing nurses to hire and interview other nurses.  Who better to understand the needs and wants of a nurse?    

• Case Managers, Nurse Advocates and Nursing Home Positions: Nursing homes, hospitals and insurance companies need nurses as case managers to review patient care.  Some hospitals now have nurse advocates to serve as liaison between the clients and staff whenever problems occur between the patient and staff.
  
  Nursing homes are a wonderful place for diversification.  A registered nurse can be a care plan coordinator.  This may not sound glamorous, but it does teach some very useful skills for learning Medicare, Medicaid and managed care regulations.  This is a good start for someone interested in learning case management and insurance regulations.  Registered nurses are also needed as supervisors, in-service coordinators and, of course, nursing directors.   

• Nurse Practitioners or Advanced Practice Nurses: A large number of nurses decide to become nurse practitioners or advanced practice nurses.  In certain areas of the country, there seem to be more nurse practitioners than jobs.  It is more difficult to find work in bigger cities, however, especially in areas where there are large medical schools.  So, if you truly want to succeed as an advanced practice nurse, you should go to rural areas where the needs are greatest. 

• Staff Development: This is a fast-growing area in nursing.  It allows you to train and work with Human Resources and is an ideal position that can lead to many different career areas.  You can branch out into the teaching aspects of staff development or recruiting.  Large companies are reaping a number of benefits from having nurses in charge of workmen's compensation issues, as well as helping with quality assurance and quality improvement. 

Education and experience are key factors in following any of these directions.  Is a bachelor's degree absolutely necessary?  In most cases, yes; in other cases, experience and a broad knowledge base can suffice. 

Don't be discouraged if you want to get ahead but lack the degree.  Turn to the back page of any nursing magazine and you will find accredited nursing schools where you can earn your bachelor's degree.  Colleges are realizing that not everyone has time in their busy schedules to balance a full-time career with a full-time academic pursuit.