Top 10 Best Alternative Careers for Healthcare Workers
Nursing and other healthcare work is an incredibly rewarding career, but the responsibilities of a health worker can be heavy and take a toll.
If you are looking to switch careers, there are plenty of alternative routes you can take. A science degree is pretty versatile. The career pathways of a nurse or a healthcare worker aren’t limited to working in a hospital. Consider other types of work that may be more to your liking.
Also read: Guide To A Successful Nurse Career Path
Why Consider Alternative Jobs?
Nursing is one of the most important professions in the world, providing vital care for the sick and injured, but it can be a demanding and stressful job. While nurses should be celebrated for the vitally important role they play in the healthcare system, burnout from the long hours and physically and emotionally draining nature of the job can be a problem.
Another reason for switching jobs is because of economic reasons, such as a recession or other economic downturn. You may also want to earn more and pursue a path that leads to promotion, greater financial success, and increased job satisfaction.
For these reasons, some nurses may want to seek alternative employment that can still make use of their skills and experience. Nurses and healthcare workers are not limited to hospital jobs. There are many settings, other than clinical roles, where they can shine and succeed.
Virtual Healthcare Jobs
In high demand now are tech-savvy healthcare workers who are equally at home at a computer as they are in an emergency room. As the medical field takes up more space in the digital world, there are a lot of opportunities in nursing informatics and other tech-based solutions. Many of the jobs are virtual and thus more convenient and less stressful than a hospital-based job.
Among the transferable skills for such jobs are typing skills, knowledge of basic and specialized software and tools, as well as the ability to manage teams, multi-task, and stay on top of deadlines.
Why Consider Virtual Healthcare Jobs?
Virtual healthcare jobs provide an improved work-life balance compared to traditional healthcare jobs. Working virtually provides greater flexibility and the ability to work remotely, on your own schedule. This allows you to balance your work and personal life better, while still being able to provide quality healthcare.
You can also say goodbye to long commutes, which saves time and money. Working virtually can also reduce stress levels since you don’t have to worry about the distractions of a busy office.
Finally, virtual healthcare jobs provide more opportunities for career development since you can take on additional projects without sacrificing your home and personal life or struggling with the burnout and emotional toll of clinical roles. Some jobs also have better opportunities for promotion and career advancement.
Top 10 Alternative Careers for Healthcare Workers
Here’s JobStreet’s list of 10 of the best alternative careers for nurses and healthcare workers, with their estimated monthly salaries:
1. Health Management Analyst: P23,000 to 40,000
This job requires providing documentation coverage and updating clinical reports. Candidates should know how to use audio equipment, use the related AI technology for audio records, and be skilled in data entry. It also helps to be able to learn how to use new software.
2. Home Health Nurse: P27,000
This virtual health job requires processing patient care requests, filling out medication profiles, and reviewing and transferring medical notes and charts into a system, among other duties.
3. Medical Review Representative: P27,500 to 30,000
Duties include reviewing requests for procedures and services, reviewing treatment plans and services, and evaluating the quality of care provided and its compliance with relevant laws, rules, regulations, and policies.
4. Clinical Appeal Executive: P30,000 to 47,000
Responsibilities include reviewing electronic medical records of emergency department admissions and screening for medical necessity, as well as data entry of information for insurance purposes.
5. Regulatory Specialist: P33,000 to 35,000
This job requires monitoring the progress of clinical trials, and providing documentation, coordination, and monitoring. An important aspect of this job is being able to keep everyone on the team compliant with applicable regulations, guidelines, and policies.
6. Clinical Instructor for NCLEX: P35,000 to 60,000
If you have an active USRN license, you’d be a shoo-in for this job, which requires preparing trainees to take the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination), a licensure exam for nurses in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
7. Patient Care Coordinator: P50,000
This job is online at a call center, while some opportunities allow you to work from home. Duties include logging in patient referrals, creating patient charts, and uploading records into charts. Many such jobs require the coordinator to work on overseas time.
8. Billing and Accounts Receivable Specialist: P54,820
Got a head for numbers? Consider working as a billing specialist. Tasks may include posting insurance payments, denials, and adjustments; determining the cause of denials and following up with insurance companies; and keeping track of patients’ charts for documentation.
9. Medical Scribe: P55,000 to 57,000
Duties include scribing medical charts, scheduling patients, and assisting with requests for medical records, among others. As a scribe, you need excellent typing as well as oral and written communication skills.
10. Medical Coder: P70,000 to 80,000
It helps if you have technical skills such as knowledge of 3M coding and abstracting software such as Epic, Power Chart, or other EMR software. Some employers also look for candidates with experience in providing ICD-10-CM and CPT codes for diagnoses and procedures.
Other Healthcare Jobs
These are only some examples of health workers’ alternative jobs. There are many other opportunities for nursing and healthcare graduates other than working at a hospital or clinic. Other virtual jobs for healthcare workers are medical transcriber, medical virtual assistant, and medical underwriter.
Search nursing and healthcare jobs on JobStreet.
You can also consider non-virtual and non-hospital-based jobs such as teacher, healthcare administrator, pharmaceutical sales representative, medical writer or communicator, and personal caregiver/nanny, to name some.
These are just a few of the most innovative alternative careers for healthcare workers. In a fast-evolving healthcare industry, there are many more options and opportunities available. For healthcare workers looking for something new, these alternative possibilities may help them further their careers while staying in the healthcare industry.
Ultimately, it’s up to each individual to decide which job options are the best fit for them. But it’s clear that there are a range of alternative roles available for nurses who want to make use of their experience, take on a new challenge, and potentially earn more in the process.
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