How Online Nursing Has Revolutionized Senior Employment Opportunities
There are many seniors who want to, or even need to, either continue working or re-enter the work force. This can be due to monetary need, to keep busy, broaden their horizons, or a combination of these and other reasons. Some of these seniors are people with nursing and other medical care experience and are looking for appropriate employment.
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A major challenge for these seniors is that traditional nursing jobs require them to be onsite in hospitals and other medical facilities and often be required to do strenuous physical work. This situation is not feasible or safe for many seniors – even more so with the advent of the COVID epidemic. Due to the shortage of nursing personnel, which was made worse by the COVID situation, a small area of nursing opportunities has become a large and growing area – that being “remote nursing”.
Thanks to the modern internet and advanced software and computer applications, a whole new field opened called tele-medicine, which is where health care services and tasks are conducted remotely. Remote nursing is part of this field and there are many different types of job opportunities. Seniors can take advantage of these opportunities, from the safety and convenience of their own homes. The most appropriate types of these remote nursing opportunities are discussed below.
Remote Triage Nurse
This type of nurse talks with patients via the internet or phone to ascertain what kind of care they need. The main task is to determine whether the patient requires emergency care or not. If not, they can also help the patient make an appointment with an appropriate physician or advise how to treat themselves at home. A key skill needed for this job is to be a good investigator – you need to get lots of information from the patient in order to assess the patient’s condition and make the proper recommendation for their care going forward. The reported average salary of a Remote Triage Nurse is about $77,000 per year, or $38.50 per hour.
Legal Nurse Consultant (LNC)
A LNC opportunity is good for someone who is a RN with strong experience in clinical nursing practice to be able to assess and advise on complex, relevant information in legal cases. This type of job is especially relevant to an RN who has some sort of legal background or education. Some of the types of tasks a LNC are involved in are:
Evaluating medical records
• Conducting client interviews
• Securing expert witnesses
• Explaining medical terminology for attorneys
• Giving testimony in court as an expert witness
• Preparing for depositions and trials
• Serving as a jury consultant for the legal team
• Consulting on medical product liability cases
The American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC) can provide career guidance in this field. The average salary of a Legal Nurse Consultant (LNC) is around $76,000 per year or about $36.50 per hour.
Health Coach
A Health Coach is not just a consultant, but also an educator and facilitator for their patient-clients. They teach patients how to recognize and live healthy lifestyles. This is especially important for patients with chronic conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. A Health Coach also advocates for the wellbeing of their patients. To ensure this, they might negotiate with insurance companies, speak with doctors on a patient’s behalf, and devise plans to meet their patient’s specific health and economic needs. These positions are often with insurance companies, hospitals, hospices, or other medical services. However, they can often work for themselves as an independent coach. The average salary of a nursing Health Coach is around $66,000 per year or about $32 per hour.
Freelance Nurse Writer
For people with a nursing background and a talent for writing, becoming a health care writer (geared towards an audience of patients) can be ideal. This position is in demand as there are numerous organizations, companies and websites that are constantly looking for nurse writers who can provide insightful and useful articles and content for their websites and social media posts. Nurse writers are skilled communicators who educate and advocate for patients and engage in meaningful dialogue within the healthcare industry. The average salary of a Freelance Content Writer is about $53,000 per year or $26.50 per hour.
Nurse Recruiter
For nurses with a flair and affinity for sales or marketing, becoming a Nurse Recruiter can be very rewarding. The continuing shortage of nursing personnel has made this type of job high in demand and financially rewarding. The main role of this position is to specialize in finding the right nurse for the right role. It’s their responsibility to sell an employer’s job openings to qualified nurses. A Nurse Recruiter can work remotely from their home (physical interviews of candidates are usually done by others) and often as an independent agency. The average annual salary range is between $76,000 and $98,000, with the top 10% earning more than $109,000 per year.
