Yes, You Can Be a Nurse and Work From Home — 3 Top Ways to Earn Money
Nursing is one of our most revered and necessary professions. And yet — out of the 5.3 million nurses in the U.S. today — only 15% of those who work in hospitals say they will “continue working as I am” over the next year, according to a recent survey. The same survey found that while nearly four out of 10 respondents (36%) still want to be nurses, they’re looking for a new place to call their work home. If you're a nurse and can relate, you can continue nursing with a convenient home base, thanks to an onslaught of work-from-home nursing jobs! Not a nurse yet? Take note: You can become a certified nursing assistant in as little as a month and a licensed practical nurse within a year and get in on the nursing-from-home trend. (Click through to see more ways to make money working from home.)
How to become a work-from-home nurse
There are at least six different nursing certifications, which range from a certified nursing assistant (CAN) to a registered nurse to a nurse practitioner. Entry-level nursing certifications can be completed relatively quickly, while attaining a doctor of nursing degree — which gives someone the ability to diagnose and treat patients as well as prescribe medications— requires a bachelor’s degree and either a master’s or doctorate. In addition, anyone who wants to provide nursing care must pass a state exam whether they have completed a short 12-week course or attended a doctorate program.
While there are only a handful of official certifications or degrees that make it possible for someone to provide remote nursing care (for example, the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing provides a telehealth nursing certification), there are steps you can take that can help you get the job, says Oriana Beaudet, vice president of innovation at the American Nurses Association, a nonprofit professional organization. What you need:
1. A private room: One of the most important things is prepping your environment so you can tell potential employers you have a work-from-home setup. This includes setting aside a room or private area in your home so you can ensure patient privacy while you work. “When you're working with protected health information, you have to make sure that nobody else can overhear the conversations you have or that information,” she explains.
2. A fast internet connection: While most remote nursing employers will provide you with a computer and other office supplies, you’ll need to make sure you have fast, reliable internet access and a solid telephone or cellular connection before you get the job. Since the bulk of your day as a remote nurse will be spent either on video or audio calls dealing with patients or talking about them, if your internet and telephone connections are spotty, you’re going to struggle to get your work done. The good news is that most W2 employers — and some per diem agencies — will reimburse you for the cost of anything you need to complete your tasks, including connectivity, Beaudet says.
3. State licenses: You’ll also need to confirm you are legally allowed to work wherever your remote work virtually takes you. “Practice takes place where the patient is — not where the nurse is — so nurses have to be licensed in every state they work to protect the patient,” explains Dawn M. Kappel, the director of marketing and communications at the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), a nonprofit nursing regulation organization. A nursing license includes getting background checks, passing a test and providing proof of education. That’s where a nurse compact comes in, she says. Today, there are 41 states and U.S. territories that will accept the license from another compact state as long as the nurse is in good standing in their own state. If you live in a state that doesn’t participate in the nurse license compact, you will need to obtain a nursing license in a compact state, Kappel says.
What can I do as a work-from-home nurse?
Once you’re all set to work you can start your job search for a work at home nursing job by considering the type of remote nursing you’d like to do. There are dozens of new remote nursing jobs popping up.
1. Make $50 or more an hour as a telehealth nurse
Some jobs are similar to traditional patient-centered nursing, such as telehealth nursing. Often called telehealth nurses, these registered nurse professionals use “telecommunication technology such as video, phone, email and messaging to provide high-quality care to patients,” according to Nurse.org, an education and career website.
A telehealth nurse might take phone calls in the middle of the night from sick people, provide training and education for people with chronic illnesses, or do mental health counseling and crisis intervention. Some telehealth nurses follow up with patients after procedures or operations and help people who are enrolled in home healthcare. The average base hourly rate for a telehealth nurse is $34.12 an hour, with some nurses making more than $50 per hour, according to Payscale.com.
Watch this TikTok from @nursefarynheight about the benefits of being a telehealth nurse:
2. Make up to $110K a year as an insurance case manager
Insurance companies are hiring nurses to work remotely as case managers. In this role, nurses are charged with helping insurance companies make sure that treatment is appropriate. They also flag patients that can benefit from health interventions that can help them be healthier while keeping costs down for the insurance company. One recent job ad pegged the salary for this role between $67,700 and $110,000 per year. Insurance companies also use remote nurses as claims investigators. These care providers will make sure doctors are billing for the right services and may help decide if a procedure or visit is payable by insurance.
3. Earn a full-time salary as a legal consultant
Some nurses are moving out of patient care completely, working as legal consultants and writers. Legal nurse consultants help lawyers cut through medical jargon during personal injury cases or insurance lawsuits. Some nurses work on behalf of the patient, working on appeals if their medical claims are denied. The American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants offers certification to anyone who is interested in getting into this area.
Nurse writers may work with pharmaceutical companies or other healthcare organizations to write patient documentation, educational materials or consumer stories.
To learn more about remote nursing jobs, check out this TikTok from @theremotenurse
Related: 31 Nurse Jokes Guaranteed to Make You Laugh So Hard Your Stitches Come Out
Where can I find work-from-home nursing jobs?
It’s never been easier to find work-from-home nursing jobs since career and employment sites have responded to the surge in remote nursing positions. For example, LinkedIn transformed its job search function on the site to support nurses looking for work-from-home positions, Rohan Rajiv, director of Product Management at LinkedIn, says.
Search these sites: “We’ve made updates to LinkedIn to support the 3 million-plus nurses in the U.S. who are actively using [the site] for career growth,” he says. “Nurses can now use new job search filters for Specialty, Shift, Schedule and License to find the best matches for their qualifications and preferences. We also have preferences for Open to Work, allowing nurses to indicate whether they'd prefer to work On-Site, Hybrid or Remote.”
These features make it easier for nurses to browse the hundreds of thousands of nursing roles across the U.S., helping them to find their ideal job, he adds. Other sites such as Indeed.com, ZipRecruiter and FlexJobs.com also have remote searching options. Social media is also a great place to find out about open positions as well as new and emerging ways nurses can work remotely. (Search “at-home nurses” on TikTok, and you’ll find thousands of accounts dedicated to just that!)
Create a profile: Finally, if you love where you work but can’t handle the commute or working at the bedside, Beaudet says it might be worth it to ask your current employer if they can transform your job or are looking to fill a remote position. In addition, Beaudet says, make it easy for people to find you by creating profiles on all the major job sites. “All the biggest employers are out there looking for nurses with specific specialties,” she says
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