Many nurses love nursing because of the multitude of career choices that it offers. Although the myth persists that hospital nursing is the only “real” nursing out there, most of us now recognize that it doesn’t matter where someone works or what they do — if they have a nursing license and see themselves as a nurse, they’re indeed a nurse.
So, how do you nurse? And how do you define your nurseness? There are as many answers to this question as there are nurses, and as we continue to bust the stereotypes of who nurses are and what they’re capable of, the profession’s breadth and depth will only continue to expand.
It’s Not About the Hospital
While some holdouts may feel that the hospital is the be-all and end-all of nursing, most of us agree that the boundaries of what defines a nurse have expanded. Ask an average person on the street what nurses do, and you’ll probably hear about nurses working in hospitals caring for sick people. Still, the narrowness of that viewpoint has no bearing on our current reality.
If around 55 percent of nurses work in the hospital, we know the other 45 percent must be working elsewhere. Let’s face it: it’s not all about the hospital anymore, and that’s wonderful for those who would never want to work in one.
You could find yourself working in a primary care or medical specialty clinic. However, nurses may also now be found in the offices of functional medicine providers, medical aesthetics clinics, or other slightly off-beat practices that serve specific purposes and client populations.
The Rise of the Nurse Entrepreneur
Many nurses now find themselves using their nurses’ minds in ways that may seem unusual to those not in the know but that are becoming more commonplace.
Nurses are carving niches for themselves in all corners of the working world. Nurse writers may focus on medical writing; others may try their hand at other types of technical writing or even advising on television or movie scripts. Is this nursing? Again, if they see it as nursing, then it is, and who are we to say it’s not?
We also know that nurses are natural problem-solvers and often have brilliant ideas for products or devices that could make the lives of patients and clinicians easier. For some nurses, their work is boldly inventing medical products and bringing them to market. Nurse inventors? There are more out there than you realize.
Nurses also transform themselves into professional motivational and keynote speakers, coaches, consultants, and the owners of businesses like home health care agencies. There are even several nurse comedians out there, nurses who write and market their own CEU courses, and a handful of nurses who have created educational cruises that give nurses the opportunity to relax at sea, have fun, and earn some continuing education credits along the way.
There is money to be made on YouTube and social media for those who are willing to work to become influencers who can actually pay the bills as part of the creator economy, although this is a difficult road that few can actually transform into a full-time living.
Nurse entrepreneurs are so common now that no one should be surprised, but since using the words “nurse” and “entrepreneur” together still sounds strange to so many people, we have a way to go before nurse entrepreneurship is a household term.
How Do You Nurse?Â
So, how do you nurse? How would you like to do it in the future? There’s nothing wrong with being a nurse in the hospital, and if there’s something you’d like to do that involves coloring outside the lines, know that many doors have already been opened for you, and the road can rise to meet you.
If you have a vision of nursing that is distinctive to you, that’s totally fine. If you want to go against the grain and be a nurse iconoclast, there’s room for you to do so. How you nurse is up to you, and how you define what being a nurse means is your story.
No matter how you nurse, do so proudly and know that the nature of being a nurse has changed so fundamentally that you’re in good company, no matter your direction. How you nurse is what nursing is for you; don’t ever let anyone tell you anything different.
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